Welcome, David!

That's a long time to be suffering, so I trust and hope that your ostomy has given back some positivity to your life!

Hi David, Welcome to the forum. This site is definitely a Global source of help. Best wishes 👍

Hello David!!!

Nice to hear from you! Bangkok, Wow! Welcome to VO where you don't have to be vegan to be here!  We respect the word of Vegan & those who choose it. I myself have been slowly learning to make the change over & I am enjoying the wide range of delicious foods that go with it!   

If you have any food questions we'd  be glad to share tips & tricks we have learned to continue eating foods we enjoy by making simple food prep changes. 

Here, no question is a dumb question!  Live your best life!! 

Linda

@dlkfiretruck 

    Linda,

    I actually live in chiang mai,   small city in northern thailand.     had my surgery in bangkok.      i moved here from the states last year.       

     im still figuring out what i can and cant eat without issues,    blowing up like a balloon every 15 mins being the biggest problem.   i will never be able to make the change to vegan,   it holds zero interest for me.  i am trying to avoid sugar as much as possible.        

          sourcing supplies over here isnt so easy.   our version of amazon is extremely limited and most things are shipped out of china and take 10-14 days to arrive.   there are a few things i can get from amazon but shipping is crazy expensive.     just had 2 boxes of skin tac delivered,    $25 for the product,    $35 for shipping and duty.   ( a 4oz bottle of skin tac on lazada is $75 plus shipping and wpuld take 2 weeks to arrive,   screw that !!! )          Cavilon spray is great   but the heat and humidity here cause me to sweat like crazy if im outside after 9am.     so did a bag change today and trying skin tac.   so far so good.     went for a haircut and it was busy so sat in the 90+ heat and 85% humidity for 45mins waiting for my turn.    no issues when normally the tape and my wafer would be lifting when sweating that much.          fingers crossed removal and bag change isnt too awful 3 or 4 days from now.    

@davidinthailand ... Hi again ... I get what you mean about the heat. Occasionaly we do get those high humidity days but most are the high hot days where dog walking can burn the little cushions of my little dogs feet if not walked before 10 a.m.   I live in Canadas only Desert. Watering restrictions start as early as beg. of June. Most of us have rock front yards or brown grass only watered by rain.  we have plenty of Lakes but we get wildfires all thru the Spring to deep Fall.  That said its beautiful here & known as Wine Country due to all the lucious Vineyards.

As far as Gas build up, I deal with this on a regular daily basis. My guts are bound by so much scar tissue that the moment food is added there is sever pain. I have short gut syndrome & build up gas in the walls of my intestines. I can truly say " I hate my guts!" Theres nothing can be done surgically due to All the scar tissue. 

So the Gas that builds causes such pain that I take a capsule called GAS- X.  I have no clue whats available to you there or the cost involved.  Unfortunatly it no longer works well for me & the GI team are trying to figure out how to help. 

In the mean time David, I can suggest a few things food wise.  Theres no issues on VO if your vegan or not, your still very welcome here Sir!  I sure wasn't thinking Vegan when I first joined & am still a meat eater but more towards fish & easier to digest meats with less long fibres, like chicken cut against the grain & verses steaks.  I choose high protien & Iron & vitamin rich vegies & fruits for snacks like dried cranberries dates ect. I am still doing lots of research bcuz from the time I eat I'm flushing a meal down the toilet in less then 30 min most times.    A dietition is helping me sort out foods with less residue to hopefully stay in my nasty guts longer. Malabsorption is ALWAYS an issue with me. 

So David, try to avoid Gassy foods. Cabbage, brussel sprouts, brocolli, cauliflower some beans, white beans are easier to digest then red... you can google for more ideas if thats available to you. 

Eat slower, putting your fork or foods down between bites & chew your food to death.  Until you can no longer tell what was in your mouth.  Drink fluids before, during & after a meal to help digest whats in your stomach. If your underweight from your illness, lean towards foods that have a more fatty benefit, puddings, cream soups ect.  but at the same time are resonably healthy. Its going to take time to sort out issues & I'll admit Gas problems to me are nasty bad ones with no quick fix.  

You can try making a food journal or spread sheet. Write in everything you eat, what meal & how your intestines related to it & how good or bad things went. You can also clock how long foods took to pass into your pouch. It takes detective work! Lol!  If your able to identify whats in your pouch food wise you are not chewing your foods well enough. Put that fork down between bites. It really can make a difference. I know thats not easy when eating out with friends & I can only imagine the range of delicious foods & flavours  around you. 

Meats... red meats are typically hardest to digest. Cutting smaller pieces against the grain, chewing them till you can feel in your mouth that the fibres have broken down enough to seperate is when to swallow.  I know all this takes time but being careful to avoid blockages is going to be key here as well.  It took me eons to figure out what worked for me & I love to share what I've learned.  A food journal/spread sheet no matter how silly it can sound can be really helpful in identifying the issues. I've done one several times in my ostomy life. . 

If your a raw food lover like I am, I've learned to peel cucumbers & even red peppers or green. I love the taste of raw asparagus. Its a very high fibre veggie. So instead of eating a  good bite of say a  1" peice from one atick,  I cut them in smaller rounds about  1/8" in size &  place them on a salad. Raw carrots are grated onto a salad or steamed with a meal. 

If you enjoy steamed veggies at home, check for tenderness using a fork not a knife. Nothing is worse then mushy soggy veggies that are not fun to eat. Testing with a fork will still give you that steamed veggie texture we enjoy but no mush. A knife means you get the same result but it makes the veggies hard to digest. Remember to still cut your foods in smaller pieces, to help avoid gas as well. 

I hope this is helpful to you! Good luck as you start a slightly different journey with foods. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Others here can help as well.   I'll always be checking back. Please don't be a stranger! 

@dlkfiretruck

thanks for the tips.      i have already figured out that beef is a big no for me.   it hurts going thru me and no matter how much i chew even ground beef comes out looking undigested.     same with any green vegetable.   anything spicy gives a new meaning to gutts on fire,      it feels like my stoma is on fire after the smallest amount of red chili ( which  thais put in everything )     pork here is nothing like pork back home,   and i have no problems with it.    or chicken or duck.    when i got sick with UC,   i went to mostly fish and turkey.   i still eat fish at least 1 meal a day 5 days a week.          i stick to fruit, especially golden mangos and dragon fruit - both are super cheap here.       egg noodles work better for me than rice or rice noodles.     tons of eggs.    tons of organic full fat yogurt.     and tons of creamy organic peanut butter - easy to digest, lots of protien and good fat.   

      when i do introduce a new food,   i only do 1 new thing and give it a few days to see how i do with it before trying something else.          my diet was so limited thru the last 4 yrs of UC that eating is almost a joy again.      

my main issue is keeping the wafer from wrinkling below my stoma.     i have multiple surgical scars from 40+ years of surgeries and 2 are just below my stoma and the size / depth of a belly button.     i have tried filling this with stomahesive from convatec and cutting pieces of barrier ring to cover them but neither works well and after 2 or 3 days those wrinkles turn into leaks.     

     anyone else have this issue ?      any advice would be great.      

Great work David!! I had to do the same with red meats.  It was very difficult to give some things up.  Theres two young gals on instagram & I think facebook that have & provide  great recipes for meat replacements even though meats are used. One is Mary Berg, the other is Nagi ?? under  "recipe tin" but her recent recipe book is full of wonderful easy to prep recipes. These ladies both provide recipes on their sites or TV shows. I don't bother with those who tempt but no recipes its a waste of my time!  Lol. My sister sent me the recipe tin ladies new cook book for my Birthday & bcuz of the change in my health this year I've not yet been able to try any recipes  but I've sure chosen a bunch of recipes I can't wait to try. Lots of fish recipes as well, marinades & creamy sauces.  When foods or meats don't have extra flavor it can be hard to enjoy any meal. Noodles & eggs are good to. I enjoy a boiled egg/s with any meal but esp. salads. Stir fried into a meal is great too! Avocados have good vitamins.  Can you get Avocados there?? 

Have you made your own fruit smoothies? I make mine in that magic bullet machine but a blender is just as good. I use in thirds, frozen fruits, yogurt, Orange juice, which I now change to milk, but I add the fruits to the bullet first, all frozen esp. in winter to mulch skins of blueberries, strawberries, & the fibres of mango which is very delicious & my gut just need it broken down better ahead of time before the yogurt & juice or milk.  No worries with the seeds though they can be strained out if you like.

Yes "spice" is hard on the gut but can also be left out of any recipes only changing the spice levels but giving you  flavor all the same.  I've used ginger in tiny amounts to kick up flavours a wee bit. It keeps well in the freezer & can be grated into foods being cooked giving a nice taste. I stick it in a small ziploc sandwich bag then in a lidded container or I loose it in the freezer. Iol! I grate it right off the frozen chunk & stick it right back in the freezer.   I find the small amount of ginger can be adjusted to what you can handle. Using a fine grater means no big pieces to be digested. Used in marinades give a nice boost & can be removed from what your marinading if in thin slices still respecting your guts demands. Same with garlic & lemon grass. Giving gentle flavors to foods. Garlic is very peppery raw but cooked its a lovely taste in foods. 

I'm going to suggest you start a seperate thread here in order to get the attention of your "wrinkly" sitution. I know several others who have & are dealing with scars on or close to stomas causing leak issues. You'll gain great tips from them. Squeeky & Liza for instance has had a difficult time & I'm sure she will have a few tips for you. 

@dlkfiretruck thank you 🙏

@davidinthailand convatec makes a 4x4 stomahesive barrier that can go under your wafer. You cut a hole in it just like the pouch and then place the pouch on top of that but I don’t know if that would wrinkle as well. I would call convatec and ask about that or if they have anything for your situation. They even have stoma nurses that will get on the phone with you. I hope you can find a solution that has to be frustrating.

@chelly 

     the hospital where i had my surgery in bangkok is the #1 place on this side of the planet for this surgery.   they do at least 3 a week.   so the stoma nurses really know their stuff.      i didnt have an issue with wrinkling and leaks when i was just laying around recovering for 2 weeks and once i got home i wasnt doing much.   the more active i have become,   the more wrinkles i get.   and theyre deeper if that makes sense.    the stomahesive works better than a piece of barrier ring but once it hardens its pretty uncomfortable.   i have seen the sheets advertised and i think they will do the same thing.     the hospital started me on the coloplast alterna 1 piece as it has a fairly stiff wafer and it still ends up with at least 2 deep wrinkles after the first 8hrs.    ill keep experinting. 

@davidinthailand I wonder if the coloplst mio would work for you. Call and ask for samples. The adhesive they use is elastic and it moves with you. That might do the trick. It has Velcro ends though.

@chelly thank you.       i will do that.    i dont mind the velcro ends at all.    ive had zero issues with them so far.   no idea how long it will take for them to ship to thailand.       and i have a 30 bag stash of the alterna bag because they arent easily available in chiang mai.   i have had several GI dr here looking for one i liked and none of them has done an ostomy surgery.    further,   when i tried biologic treatments, i was 1 of 5 people having that treatment in the largest hospital in chiang mai.  none of them thai.   when i asked my dr if he had ever had a thai patient on biologics he said no.    i said why do you think that is.    he said simple.  your food is full of poison.   ours is not.

@davidinthailand I really think those may work out for you as they are flexible and will go with your dips and scars.  They have this big round filter in them and sometimes output gets stuck in there but they do have a one peice mio that has no filter, clear pouch with Velcro #16778 and you have to cut it yourself though.the non filter do not come precut. But being in Thailand if all you can get is the one with the filter just take it and try it out. The non filter may be hard to get over there. 

Oh wow! Not good your food is poison but hey so is the food in the United States. It’s tainted with chemicals. What kind of biological are you on? I take one for my asthma.

@dlkfiretruck 

Hi Linda!!

David, 

Linda is right. I have been having trouble with leaking for almost 5 years now. I know your frustration!!  And the problem with getting leaks is your skin becomes macerated and raw, which causes more issues with the wafer sticking. It is a never ending cycle. I have tried the things people here have suggested and have been seeing an Ostomy nurse. Another problem I have is frequent granulomas on and on the edges of my stoma. They also make it more difficult for the wafer to stick. My Ostomy nurse burns them off whenever I go see her. 

I have a lot of scar tissue and skin irregularities. It took over 2.5 years for my tummy wound to heal after having my colon removed. I have tried paste, rings, barrier sheets, all with limited success. Since the worse part of my skin is toward my center, what I have been doing now is breaking off a portion of an Eakin ring and sticking it along the left side and bottom of my stoma, trying to mold it into the crease from the scar tissue. Then I take a third of a 4x4 protective sheet and use my cut wafer to trace where to cut it. Then I put it over the ring piece and then add the wafer on top. I use a deep convex wafer because my stoma is recessed. 

I have an ileostomy, so I have to empty my bag frequently and the output leans more toward runny. I think that tends to break away the adhesive and cause leaks too. I get leaks a lot and my skin is super irritated. Sometimes my skin will start hurting so bad, even before a leak or breach has happened. Sometimes it hurts so bad I decide to just preemptively remove the wafer. There is always stool against my skin. 😕 I don’t have trouble getting supplies here in the states, so I try to make a habit of changing every couple days. At least half the time, the change is because there is a breach or leak, but I usually don’t go more than 2 or 3 days tops between changes. 

It is a frustrating way to live, but I am fortunate enough to have a very supportive husband and a group like this, full of people offering suggestions. 

Welcome aboard!!

@squeakyandliza    

     Liza,

Uggghhh.   that sounds awful.   my skin has been pretty resiliant so far.    i had a BIG leak my first week home and learned quickly to recognize what a leak feels like and not wait to change.    i try to plan my changes for early morning when im empty and "the bitch" is less active.     thanks for your advice.   sounds like those of us with lots of humps, bumps, scars and creases fight a never ending battle to keep the wafer in place.     the high heat and humidity here causes lots of sweating and makes the problem worse.    my local pharmacy is going to try getting me a couple coloplast sensura 1 piece xtended wear - maybe it will help.      i tried ordering a few samples from coloplast but they dont deliver to thailand ( not that i can figure out anyway ) 

       great you have an understanding husband.    

     i am lucky to have met an incredibly understanding woman here during the worst days of my UC and has been amazing since my return home post surgery.    we are getting married december 1st.     

@davidinthailand David... Big time congrats on your engagement!! Home support is a wonderful thing and support with Love thrown in is even more amazing!!  

I'm glad you found a name for your stoma be it temporary or permanent Lolol!  I gave mine about 11 of a wide variety of names with words I would not typically use even in the dark! Shame on me!! Lololol! 

After several years of issues I accidently stumbled upon VO & what a difference this made for me.  My hubby of 30 years had died 5 months after my big surgery from pancreatic cancer & I was frustrated beyond all means with issues & at my wits end!!!! After finding tips here and binge watching Erics fine videos full of information & then  months of my stoma behaving from applying these tips from many forums and things going well, I decided on naming my stoma  " ROSE " because it really was a beautiful thing to have an ileostomy and not go thru the wicked lifestyle I was forced to live for way too long! 

I should tell you that here is where I learned about  "Osto-E Z -Vents". Its much like the valve on a blown up beach ball.  They are not covered by medical here at all & I have to install them myself but what a difference it made in the world of ballooning pouch for myself.   I no longer had to go lay down to burp the old bag way too often in a day.   The simplicity of opening a small vent even while I was out walking my  dog made my life so much easier. 

There are 10 vents in a little bag and run about 3 - 4 dollars a vent depending on where I find them on the internet. I'm on very limited funds as I was a stay at home Mom & living off my hubbies disability for what incomtax figured  I was worth after he died.  I never got a chance to go back to work. But I spend the money on the vents simply bcuz of the "difference they make in my life" ... sounds like a song...!! Lolol

Good luck figuring out the gas thing & I hope it settles soon for you.  Mine mostly is controlable now depending on if I cheat on foods & spice! Lol! 

@dlkfiretruck   thanks.    a friend has had on ostomy for 10yrs and the osto ez vents were her first recommendation.     luckily my brother can send things i cant get here via usps altho shipping aint cheap,  it costs at least $30 for a 9X12 bubble pack and takes 10 days to arrive.    but at least i can get them.     i use them most bag changes.

     there is no insurance coverage here for pre existing conditions - for me that eliminates pretty much everything.  so im casg pay for everything.      luckily most things are far more affordable here.       my surgery and 17 days in the best hospital on this side of the world with amazing food and 1 on 1 nursing care cost $46,000.    i was happy to pay it,   my co-pay wpuld have been close to that price and my insurance company would have fought me on everything.      not worth it.   

@davidinthailand  Thats great David!  Just a little tip for applying the vents & removing the shine off the pouch where you place it.

I learned this from a lady here whose hubby helps with applying them. Using the finest sand paper you can get gently scrub off the shine & then wipe with alcohol to clean the surface.  Don't scrub too hard you can go thru the plastic!! Ask me how I know! Lol!

I use a hair blow dryer to heat that little washer before applying & then cure the vents over night. I also had my Son drill a hole in a piece of 1" broom handle to fit over the vent where the hole goes & it made it so much easier on my arthritc hands to apply the pressure on the vents.  I  also use wooden match sticks lit, blown out & placed thru the little vent where the hole goes to melt the hole in the bag. Make sure you only melt the hole area & no area around , under or thru it.