Hi Dilia,

I have mine for 6 months. You may find more info from Eris' post and comments from below :

Coloplast Brava Protective Rings: REVIEW (w/ video) | VeganOstomy

Currently, I'm using Coloplast protective ring. My output is quite thin therefore protective ring is necessary to protect my skin from any leakage. The ring does swell up at the edge around my stoma. I changed my appliances every 3 days.

May others in this forum help verify am I right or not. Thanks

Hi Dilia, Welcome to the forum. Yes the barrier ring will swell and that the way it works. It’s catching moisture and protecting. Eventually all products will break down and while it’s great to have 5/6 days wear time I would change a bit sooner. Their is more chance of skin damage and a leak. As you are in the early days keep measuring your stoma to get the correct wafer fit. 

Hi Dilia and welcome to VO!! When your up to it & if you feel like it...you can start a new forum & introduce yourself to the group & share your story. We are from all over the world & from all walks of life! Eric has done an amazing job here & supplies a ton of information & great videos & experience.  We know that watching videos can mean time hunting them down so never hesitate to ask questions here as well. It may take a day or two but you'll hear from us eventually! lol! 

I'm sorry I can't answer your question tonight. It's been a long time since I've worn a ring.  But I do know that sometimes a change in diet can cause appliance equipment to react differently to your output. 

 I too have very watery output from my ileostomy & well remember my first whack of questions! But I never considered finding answers on the computer as it was just not my thing at the time! lol, your well ahead of me there & doing well by the sounds of it! Don't be a stranger! 

Hi Dilia, and welcome. I use a Hollister barrier ring, and yes, mine does morph into a little tunnel right around the stoma not long after I put it on. As John says, this is normal. They do melt; about 3 1/2 days is what I get before output starts to seep under one side (my stoma is what you might call “tipsy”) - it is so important to keep the output off your skin. 

You will learn so many useful things on VeganOstomy - when you have a little time, surfing through the videos, product evaluations, forums, etc., is interesting and educational. This is such a friendly, easy to use website, and we can’t thank Eric enough. Check out the “support me” link at the top of the page for information on how to help, through Amazon purchases (use the link),  financial contribution, etc. I know that every little bit helps.

Again, welcome. You will be so happy to have found VeganOstomy.

Welcome Dilia,

I have recently transitioned from using Stoma paste to a ring. They tend to melt right into the wafer and come off together. Sometimes a little bit of the ring will be stuck in the little “moat” I have around my stoma. My ostomy nurse gave me a syringe (large one with no needle) that I can fill will water and then flush out the most. Sometimes little pieces of ring come out when I do that. I don’t think the rings hurt the stoma at all. They are flexible and as long as your wafer isn’t cut too small, your stoma should be fine. What I do is cut the wafer a little too big and then stick the ring directly onto the wafer, overlapping the hole a little bit. Then I use my fingers to mold the edge of the ring thru the hole. For me, it helps prevent leaks more. It is also easier than sticking it directly to my body. I have trouble getting it to still well and it wants to stick more to my fingers than my tummy. 

I took a picture the other day. Let me see if I can attach it.  The picture didn’t work, but I will try again later. 😊

thanks so much to everyone here! all of your responses help a lot. I think I am so nervous about my stoma getting "strangled." my Ostomy nurse said that's a possibility if you cut the wafer too small. I cut it a little bigger than my stoma itself and then put the ring around it, I think like how you are describing it Liza. So I guess it is normal to see a little bit of the ring melted around the stoma right? Sigh! I think my anxiety is getting to me. I'm worried I've cut it too small, even though I know I cut it about 1/8 inch larger than my stoma. And the ring is flexible so it should be a problem!!! I guess I feel like the ring really sits close to the stoma, so I'm worried the stoma isn't "breathing" right or something. But the output seems to be coming out normally... 

Hi Deedee, The best tip I can pass on about an ostomy is don’t over think 🤔. Take time when changing the appliance watch the back of the old wafer for sign off any leaks and keep products simple. Then relax and let the stoma do its thing . This will soon become second nature and you will even forget it their. 👍

@deedee42

As always, I am a little late coming to these things. Welcome!

I agree with John totally. Sometimes we do get anxious about our new selves, but really, you will get better at this and have more confidence in yourself as time goes on. You will find so much support here. I think you've found pool of people who have been where you are to help you with any questions you have. Eric has so many wonderful videos that address many of your concerns as well. Just know we are all cheering you on!

God Bless,

Stella

Liza

Tip of flushing around the stoma with a syringe or I use a swan neck squeeze bottle it a good tip to flush the output of the skin directly around the stoma to reduce the length of time output is in contact with the skin. I personally stopped putting barrier ring under my wafer not changed the wear time at all. Mine is difficult mound on one side moat on the other.

John is correct try to keep it simple and be patient with yourself your get there :-) 

thank you so much to everyone for such thoughtful responses. 

@chrisandbagpus... I'm wondering. Can I just do the flange and the bag, without ring or paste? I feel like trying that to see what happens...

@deedee42

A lot of people on here just use the wafer with no ring or paste and are very successful. It doesn’t work for me, as I am very prone to leaks, but you should give it a try!!  Good luck!!

@chrisandbagpus

I was just curious - it sounds like you have a similar body type to mine. I have a slight protrusion just above the stoma and a divot below it. Do you happen to use a light convex? When I first came on board with my colostomy, my ostomy nurse had me use a ring with a flat barrier. It never really worked for me. Then, after awhile, I decided to call the specialist at Coloplast, and I got samples of light convex barriers - I have been using them since. I had one batch of one-piece bags with problems, but never had a problem with them after that. 

Stella

@sjlovestosing

Yes I think a bit more extreme than yours. My whole stoma will tilt and change shape a lot depending on my body position, can herniate behind and traps wind easily! 

I tried convex wafer they were painful and caused problems. that's why I tried stacking barrier ring segments in the moat (divot) they stuck to the wafer and output tunnelled underneath heading for leakage! I now just use the wafer and irrigate under the wafer where the divot is, this seems to help keep the area clean, doesn't affect the adhesion I find I change wafer every 3 to 4 days

So in a nutshell I tried all the extra I could and ended back at the basic like john suggests.

However if there any suggestion to try, I'm game my stoma nurse have been left stumped with me.

@chrisandbagpus

Sometimes we do things that just defy the odds and are successful. I totally get that! Good for you!

Stella

Been using the Bravia Protective ring.

The rings are supposed to swell up and snug up to the stoma. Sometimes I get quite a turtle neck round it. I do notice that the ring does not stick to the skin as well as the base plate does. I also notice that I will get some burning sensation soon after a change. I think there is quite a lag time for the ring to expand to it's useful size and purpose. I left one in a glass of water to see what it did. Left the protective layers on. It very slowly.... expanded out from between them. May be a lot faster with actual stoma fluids. But that convinced me to wait longer when I suspected a bad appliance change.

It may be that the fluid does sometimes leak under the ring at first. Get some burning sensation. But if I give it a second chance before replacing, it seems it will often seal up. I also get a lot of annoying sensations all under the base plate anyways soon after a change. If I give it some more time, the ring gets more sealed up around the stoma, and the sting stops. The ring is not sealed well to the skin, but is sealed up round the stoma?

It's a real judgment call. Don't want burnt skin. Don't want to waste time and resources on appliance change. Getting the feel of it now.

Hi Kedikat, I was using the brave ring a while back and I liked it but! I seemed to get a reaction to it. Why not give some of the others a go. Plus any moisture on the skin will leave the ring harder to apply. 

@john68

Definitely have to be dry skin. I have to dry the stoma itself then immediately apply the ring round the bottom half. ( standing in shower ) And be quick to get the rest on. Having just taken advantage of the changing routine to take a long hot shower, I also have to take some time for the skin to really be dry. Lots of wiping with paper towel.

Still wearing the one I applied 6 days ago. Changing it tomorrow morning. My record so far. I think I would be very happy to get 5 days average wear.

That’s great to hear, I find the hair dryer is a useful tool drying skin but probably best away from the shower 😁 While it’s great to get a good wear time don’t over do it. Keeping good skin is key to happy ostomy life👍

Yeah. Seven days may be pushing it. Have to keep an eye on it.