I am also having bad leaking problems and can only use the bag for one day.

I realized that my hole in the stoma is sometimes at the bottom of the stoma. Since I have some prolapse issues I can't use a complete convex wafer, as it pushes out the top too much.

I was wondering if anyone knows if there are any half or partial convex wafers to help address the hole at the bottom of the stoma.

Thanks for any help you might provide.

Z

Linda

I am still in the laundry/disinfecting clean up of the one that occurred at 4:30 this morning.  I wish I could say I can find a place for gratitude during these time or as Eric says look at it as an opportunity to learn and grow.  I admire that composure and state of mind but I do not share it during these times.  The best I can manage is the "one minute at a time" focus.  I have complicating issues during the night of long term T1 diabetes with an insulin pump and cgm attached so detaching and exposure to bacteria at the sites are a concern.

Since original ileostomy in 2014 I have had maybe 6-8 night time "blow outs".  No other words do it justice.  I can usually figure out a reason why but I have had 3 in the last few weeks.   I have a peristomal hernia that so far has not required surgery.  One of the questions the surgeons asked was - are you having leaks or trouble with you appliances.   In trying to sort out why these are occurring so often (after a year since the last one) I am wondering if it is the hernia, Arizona heat which never caused this before or what??  I haven't changed any of my process or supplies.

I can find one thing to be grateful for and it is having this forum to go to (thank you Eric) where I can share the nightmare of a "blow-out" and people understand and maybe help.

TIA

It certainly is a challenge and everyone gets an unpleasant surprise from time to time.

I have a friend who 's  mother has had an ostomy for decades, one day while eating dinner out the entire rig just fell off! Wow.

 I used to carry a lot more stuff around with me,  but have it down to a minimum now .. but I can always do a complete change. I haven't had to yet in a public place...but my day will come ( also worried about airplane heads!). I am so much better now than how I was before my ostomy surgery ... the ulcerative colitis pretty much had me nailed down to within ten feet of my toilet.

I just posted a link to one of my favorite videos that Eric has here. It about an emergency change.Its on the thread thats going now about pancaking.

https://www.veganostomy.ca/videos/

I have spoken to business managers about the fact that they are not providing a washroom fit for anyone that may need that Handicap washroom. I have suggested that they also provide a fold up table attached to the wall for people with ostomies to put there supplies on. It is hard to balance your equipment on a toilet paper roll.  Most often, I find they had no idea this could be an issue.  I do not normally use the handicap washroom, however, they are usually much cleaner in a busy place, and the room to change is awesome.  So when you have to do a major change or a minor one, what do you do?  Have you had these issues come up.  I have been in the Michael's craft store and had NOT one place to put my stuff so I could put the deodorant drops in my bag or change it.  Same with the hospital washrooms! They are prepared for wheelchairs but not Ostomates.  This morning, because I usually fold down the edges of a plastic bag to place in the crotch of my pants to catch all my wrappers, having to change my britches and no place to put the bag, I turned a trash can upside down and used that for a table.  I have used drawers for shelf space in other washrooms if it is available.  But what to do and where to put these things when in public is a real problem.  I am trying to get a hold of the Handicap parking people to find out who is making the rules for handicap washrooms and trying to make them aware that changes need to be made.  I have Ankylosing Spondilitis  and a handicap parking card for the  days when I am in too much pain to walk a distance. I respect the card and being able to have and use one.  Because I have had it for thirty years, I had people when I was younger say...hey your using your mothers parking card...and shame on you!  When I take out my card I carry in my wallet they are usually shocked when I prove I have a right to use the place.  Handicaps are not always visible and this needs to be known to the public!  I would be interested to hear how the men deal with some of these issues. They often have heavy work...construction and so forth, which means they are always bending or stretching,. How do they handle things especially if the have to empty there bag and there is not even a tree to fertilize. i had this happen before school was out. No washroom access, the dog in the car, a hot day and Rose had a temper tantrum.  So I looked longingly at the dogs pick up poop bags I tied to his leash and took them off. I layered them, then I remembered I had a pretty thick bag from a sample I was sent at one point. So, I took that out and put it around  the other bags. Four min. till the Grand came out from the school When I had asked to use the washroom in the school, I was told it was too close to the kids coming out and fair enough, they were not familiar with me, so I had to improvise. Layering the bags, setting up what I would need, and the kleenix box to wipe out the mouth of my bag, I set to work.  It was actually okay.  It worked. The dog behaved, the bag was clean again and just this quick, the grand arrived. She had no clue what had happened. People walking by never even glanced at what I was doing not that they would have guessed. I did not expose too much of my  pouch that day, and when I got home, I did have a small leak, but at least I prevented a huge disaster from a bag that suddenly ballooned with output and not air, saving me, my clothes and the car seat. 

We are survivors the way I see it and if we have knowledge I think it is important to share it. Just doing something to make  bad a situation easier is important to share too. No matter how insignificant we may think it is. I learned that thru Erics videos.  I do not think I deserve a medal, but the thought is real nice. Thank you Dona, your sweet.

Linda

Keeps your feet cleaner. HA HA

1. While I was changing and washing I thought about the things that I was so grateful for that I had lined up previously to use...just in case I may need them and no one is around to run for them. This was one of those times.  I had taken with me to the bathroom my portable land line, and as the cleaning started, I was grateful for the I plastic grocery bags I used to throw my clothes into to get to the washing machine, honorable mention goes to the spray kleen I use on my clothes,  the scissors to cut off and trash the underwear.  I was thankful for the non allergenic baby wipes to clean off my skin.  When I was in hospital, I had for some odd reason saved every little thing they could not recycle or sterilize. If it was unused, I ask for it, and no questions asked they were given.  My thought was, after a year in hospital that I would make a piece of bathroom art with the supplies and form them into the shadow of the IV poles I saw on the wall at night to commemorate my life there. I would be the only one to see it as something to celebrate.  At any rate, one thing I had nabbed was this little plastic pink bottle that they squeezed to pick up sterile water and rinse the operation sight with. I used that to rinse out my belly button.  Because I always rinse my bag, there was tap water there, so I also had nearby a bottle of water to drink. I dehydrate easy. I needed that again also. But the other thing I have on hand was the Q-Tips to help dry and make sure my belly button was clean and ready for the new bag.  About 50 minuets  later, I was out of there and just as tired as when I went to bed. 

While I was cleaning up, I thought about how realistic our situations are and now that I know we have all had them in one way or another...lets just say that I felt like you all were cheering me on this morning!

Thank you all!

Linda

1. While I was changing and washing I thought about the things that I was so grateful for that I had lined up previously to use...just in case I may need them and no one is around to run for them. This was one of those times.  I had taken with me to the bathroom my portable land line, and as the cleaning started, I was grateful for the I plastic grocery bags I used to throw my clothes into to get to the washing machine, honorable mention goes to the spray kleen I use on my clothes,  the scissors to cut off and trash the underwear.  I was thankful for the non allergenic baby wipes to clean off my skin.  When I was in hospital, I had for some odd reason saved every little thing they could not recycle or sterilize. If it was unused, I ask for it, and no questions asked they were given.  My thought was, after a year in hospital that I would make a piece of bathroom art with the supplies and form them into the shadow of the IV poles I saw on the wall at night to commemorate my life there. I would be the only one to see it as something to celebrate.  At any rate, one thing I had nabbed was this little plastic pink bottle that they squeezed to pick up sterile water and rinse the operation sight with. I used that to rinse out my belly button.  Because I always rinse my bag, there was tap water there, so I also had nearby a bottle of water to drink. I dehydrate easy. I needed that again also. But the other thing I have on hand was the Q-Tips to help dry and make sure my belly button was clean and ready for the new bag.  About 50 minuets  later, I was out of there and just as tired as when I went to bed. 

While I was cleaning up, I thought about how realistic our situations are and now that I know we have all had them in one way or another...lets just say that I felt like you all were cheering me on this morning!

Thank you all!

Linda