Welcome! Can't really help you with anything yet, I'm still waiting for my surgery. I am in the Netherlands, where it's very, very hot right now. Two steps in the sun and I'm sweating like a pig. I've heard that applying some anti-perspirant underneath your wafer might help keep it on for longer. 

I am advised to use a one piece system untill at least a few months after surgery, to be able to get to leaks faster and prevent the skin from breaking down. But maybe that's the expensive option where you are.

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. 

     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.   

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! 

     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.     

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!!