@LK about my lungs and the rest of my body….. I already have issues with those and I get a yearly CT for the lungs and MRCP mri for my pancreas and I just had an abdominal CT for my hernia from my general surgeon. Nothing off in the abdominal. A couple loops of bowel that he said not to worry as of yet and my hernia is back a small bit. 

@chelly   ...Thats good to know but keep in mind that a Radioologist or Lab Tech mostly only look at what the doctors ordered be look at.  Similar to blood work. If the iron test isn't requested they don't look at the iron levels. I was thinking while every thing is reacting/inflamed  that a full scale CT or MRI may prove differently & if negative... then all the more AWESOME!! 

I can't wait to hear the outcome of this all for you.  I know that being told your nuts or to go home read a book or to have sex with your hubby as I was told bcuz I was hard to diagnose is rediculous & very belittling.  This is all so over due for you & needs to be taken seriously by the medical profession. Stay tough!!! 

@dlkfiretruck that’s true but if something is off in the same area that they are looking they will report that as well. For instance they did a CT of my abdomen and pelvis for stomach pain and found kidney cancer years ago. Then another abdominal ct years later they saw a pancreatic cyst. They can even see the lower part of the lungs on the abdominal. But my lungs already have nodules in them and they have been watching them yearly. So far ok. 
mist things they find on me when they do CT are incidental as they are usually looking for something else. It’s strange. 
so I had pink eye 2 weeks ago and now ear infection in both ears. Doc pulled out tons of white crap from right ear. Pathology shows bacteria. Then there’s my skin and the sticky. My biopsy came back showing eczema but they feel some allergy to something causing it. 
since I’ve had all this I called the water company and they came out today to take specimens of my water. This way we can rule that out. I will get the answer tomorrow.

@chelly    Good thinking on the water too!! Maybe you should be a detective! I always feel very sensitive towards thw need for clean water.   Years ago I had cryptosporidium & almost died from it, Clean water shouldn't be something we have to guess about at all !!! I always feel deeply for people in far away countries drinking contaminiated water or having to walk miles for it . . .   ugh!   Its just something nobody should have to guess about.

@dlkfiretruck the water tested ok. No bacteria there. I was amazed how fast the water company came out. They were so nice and concerned. 
this bacteria must be from my job or my car. The lab test showed 3 different bacteria’s.

@dlkfiretruck the water tested ok. No bacteria there. I was amazed how fast the water company came out. They were so nice and concerned. 
this bacteria must be from my job or my car. The lab test from my doctor showed 3 different bacteria’s in both my ears.

@chelly ... Oooh Chelly!! So good to know about your water!! Perfect actually, BUT 3 different bacterias!!! This is awful!  I'd ask what causes it! Don't  be afraid to pick his brain & ask how you can find out & if it can be done to find out whatever "it" is.  What is being done to treat this & all your sores or are they waiting on more tests & whats their explanation???  Don't wait for the doctor to call about tests even if they are negative, go see him.  Make sure & ask if you should be working during treatment, reminding them what you do for work & show him your legs & sores if he hasn't seen them recently.  If he says no work, ask right away if he can they sign a medical notice so you hopefully still get some kind of pay while off work & while healing your body & then get on it immediatly.  Its amazing how many people think a women working just sits behind a desk.

The one time I finally broke down and cried in front of my doctor was the time he started finally taking me much more seriously about how I was doing & the wear & tear it was having on me physically & even mentally, but it took my tears to get him there. 

@dlkfiretruck so the water test came back good. It’s not the water. But I’m glad I knocked that off the list. It could be something I’m allergic to at work why I’m getting this pink eye and ears. They use this horrible smelling floor cleaner called fabuloso. The stuff should be banned and it gets my eyes running every time I mop. Allergies can cause pinkeye too. 
As for the sticky mess, the biopsy came back eczema like. So now I am looking at this medication that I’m on for my asthma. One of the side effects can be eczema and other skin issues. It’s a shot I do once a month. As for sticky I’m not sure if eczema causes stickiness but I think I’m willing to skip these shots for the next 6 months to see what happens. I will tell my allergist to put me on something else in the meantime. My asthma can get just as debilitating but damn!!! 
if this stickiness is from this medication I’m gonna be so mad. I’ve been in it for a couple years but they said side effects can happen at anytime. This medicine is made from cells from Chinese mice’s ovaries. WTH? God only knows lol

another thought I had is I do chew a lot of gum. Could that be it? Maybe it’s coming threw in my stool? Saw the stoma nurse again and she felt really bad for me but said I dint think it’s coming from your bag. She did say though that ileostomy stool can be acidic which can break down the adhesive. But she says she never heard of the sticky but she has heard people say their wafer melts. I see a different nurse each time cuz they send in who’s available at the time and she is like the 5 th one who says they never heard of this. The problem does  continue and with learning along the way of how to keep it under control the best I can I just keep moving along but it’s very difficult living this way. 

@chelly  ... So glad to hear its not your water!! But... oh my Heavens Chelly! It might just be worth it to try changing medications! Make sure & check about side affects of changing & starting a new one.   I certainly would if I was on one made "with" cells from a mouse Ovaries ! ...In a heartbeat!!   Did you know this before you started taking it?  it sounds by your reaction to be a surprise?  Don't mind my asking,  but is the Doctor who prescribed it a Naturpath by chance? 

Stay strong Chelly, don't get discouraged! This is your body & you have a right to know what your putting in it "ahead of time". 

Posted by: @chelly

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another thought I had is I do chew a lot of gum. Could that be it? Maybe it’s coming threw in my stool?

Are you swallowing the gum, too? If you do, then it would come out into the bag - and it will look exactly like it did when you were chewing it since it doesn't break down.

That could certainly cause a gummy/sticky "something" in your bag. I've had gum actually stick to the inside of my bag... it was funny at the time, since I expected something like that to happen.

Gum would not cause the wafer to degrade or anything like that.

Wafers melting, yes, that is a thing. Most wafers will not really "melt" but degrade in a way that compromises the seal around your stoma.

The only exception to this are *some* moldable wafers. The Hollister Formaflex, for me, began to disappear, exposing large areas of skin around my stoma. You can see what it looks like in my review: https://www.veganostomy.ca/hollister-formaflex/

I don't recall this happening with other wafers, but I suppose the possibility is there that it could happen with non-moldable wafers, too. More so on "standard wear" then "extended wear", I would guess.

Hello Eric,

no I’m not swallowing it but I have had it disinigrate in my mouth a few times. Strange huh? 
the sticky continues and it’s a real pain. No one has an answer in the medical world or the bag world except that I’m coming in contact with something that is causing the bag to melt and become sticky inside. Or that my output is sticky. But seriously sticky enough to put a tacky coating on my hands or floor if anything slightly splashes? It’s hard to get off the floor and my hands as well. 
One nurse mentioned could it be the m-9 causing it to break down? But I would think if that were the case that others would be complaining about the same issue. Also, been using m9 for years. Back to the gum, I’m stopping it for now just to see. 

@dlkfiretruck no it’s a prescription medication called nucala and it’s an injection used once a month. Medical doctor prescribed. Made by a pharmaceutical co. I’ve developed eczema suddenly out of nowhere and that is a listed possible side effect.

As for my car, me and the dealers service manager have came to a conclusion that maybe antifreeze was accidentally put into my window washer resivoir at an oil change. That would account for the red sweet smelling sticky that the detailer found in my wiper resivoir. In that case.. if I use the wiper fluid and have on the defroster then that could pull in the fluid to the cabin of my vehicle. Could this be what I’m coming in contact with? Eczema can be caused by allergic reaction? I may have to think about replacing everything that goes with the wiper fluid. The resivoir, the lines, jets etc… he has had my car twice and they have checked it for everything!!!  There is always a smearing coating white when I use the wiper fluid and that is not normal. But antifreeze would do that. 

then there is the covid shot to think about… I’ve had 4 of them. No one really knows the side effects or long term issues they can cause. 
and then lastly, since covid, we have exposed ourselves to so many chemicals to disinfect. Everything we touch now days has been disinfected over and over and over. Shopping cart handles, door knobs etc.. toilet handles. Sink handles. 

@chelly   That's very interesting about the anti freeze in your car.  How would they say someone "accidently" made the container swap, I'm curious if its happened before from that dealer.  When you think of it... science has proven that flushing the toilets can shoot germs 6 feet into the air.  Your distance in the drivers seat to the windshield is much closer, so you do have to wonder about the affects its had on you!  Knowng a bit about your line of  work, I'll ask... Do you wear a mask in your car??? 

Also if you look up  * FDA Warns vapors from alcohol based hand sanitizers can have side affects... Theres a whole bunch of other warnings there right down to its affects on our urine so why wouldn't it cause other issues. Sure these are odd symptoms yiu have, but so was what led to my ostomy but that was because *one person listened to me*,   which is likely why no one ""so far"" can put their finger on whats happening to you but keep looking... you just never know what will surface!! 

 Theres been interesting side affects to the covid vacinations as well, most I'm sure well never hear of for years.  Even I have to wonder if the sudden acceptance of my parepheral nueropathy that began shortly after my 1st covid shot & increasing with the last 3 have to do with side affects as well.  No one forced me into having the covid  shots but I knew if I was going to avoid dieing from covid I was going to need that vacination just as pneumonia shots have kept me out of the hospital the last 6 years.   I'm pretty sure even to this day if I'd gotten covid, my chances of survival were mighty slim!! Lol!  My lungs have scarred areas from serious asthma as a child & adult repeated bouts of pnuemonia yearly & chronic bronchitis & I won't bore you with kidney issues. Knowing covid was shutting down in its victims their organs left, right & center the only thing I had going for me was being under weight...maybe! Lol!  I also know that crossing a busy road can be just as dangerous!!  We lost 8 people we know due to covid and the first 3 were very quickly after it started.  My own Brother inlaw lost both his very wonderful  parents 3 weeks apart. Both lived in sep.  Old Folks Homes requiring diff. services.  They never got to say goodbye to each other after over 60 years of marriage. 

Don't stop asking questions Chelly. You deserve answers!!   

@dlkfiretruck well, dealer had the car again and says found nothing. He told me not to use the wiper fluid. WTF? How can you have a vehicle that you pay $435 per month payments and you can’t use your wiper fluid. Not to mention northeast Ohio gets lake effects snow and salt gets in the windows and you have to use the fluid. 
to me it sounds like he knows one of his guys made a huge mistake. Upon researching online I have found others that this has happened to as well. Not the Ostomy but the antifreeze in the wiper fluid. 
so today I took the car and traded it in. I’m done and over this BS already!  5 detail cleanings, new wipers. Wiper resivoir flushed out a zillion times and to no avail. That leaves a sticky residue that will never come out and I must be highly allergic to it. My skin is messed up. Car stunk like hell. 
anyhow that problem solved!! lol! 
yes at the beginning I was so careful with covid but now I’m over it! They need to stop over sanitizing!!

@chelly What a conclusion!! Glad it got resolved, but that took an unreasonable amount of effort on your part. 😱 

I hope your skin feels better soon.

@veganostomy yes crazy isn’t it? I guess others have had similar. You got to watch these mechanics at the oil changes. This is a known occurrence that I never knew of until this ordeal. Believe me….. nobody will be topping off any of my fluids at oil changes unless I’m standing there watching from now on. 
believe it or not the same dealer that this happened at would not trade my car in. I had to go down the street to a complete different dealer and traded it in. But of course I did not mention what happened. 
so my hopes are that in the next few days my skin will heal. I’m also hoping that the antifreeze in the air in my old car was what I was coming into contact was what melting my bags. I seriously just want this whole nightmare over with. 
It’s been quite nice being able to go out to my car not dreading getting into it. It’s a normal car lol!!! 
you guys have no idea how messed up it was driving that thing and the crazy things I had to do just to drive it. 
3 pair of  shoes. One to walk into work. One to drive with and another to get into my house with and as soon as you walk in my door in a table sat 2 baggies and a roll of paper  towels. Baggies on the feet and grab a wad of paper and straight to the tub to wash my feet. Then proceed to remove cloths and bag them and off to the shower that took  1 hour just to get the sticky and stinky crap off of me. Could not have a purse or the stuff would get all over it. Your skin and feet would burn from it. Ya know but ya gotta have the heat on it’s winter.

oh and not to forget if you stop at a store you have to tie the bags shut real tight and then double bag. And much more it was all too exhausting. 

so yea anyhow I can’t wait to see if this makes a difference.  

So I got an email from the dealers sales manager as they got wind that I traded in at another dealer. He’s asking why I did not purchase with them. 
I did not want to cause a stir and get folks into trouble so I just said there were no options for me for what I was looking for. 
I mean they told me me they had nothing fir me. Said they could not trade it in. I don’t like getting people into trouble. I just don’t ever go there ever again fir  a vehicle. That service manager should have just taken the hit and replaced everything for me or gotten me in a new car. I think he was covering for someone. He was having the fluid holder flushed a zillion times, even took it to his house to ozone it. Then kept telling me you gotta watch who you let under your hood and I told him your company is the only ones ever under my hood. Oh well it’s over and I’m happy and that’s all that counts. Nothing lost but the hell I went through for months in that car. 

Posted by: @chelly

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Then kept telling me you gotta watch who you let under your hood and I told him your company is the only ones ever under my hood.

Oh boy. Yeah, I understand you not wanting to get anyone in trouble, but they seem so clueless! I'm glad you got "out" and don't have to deal with them again.

@veganostomy exactly! Another problem solved!