I have read online to take a handful of mini marshmallows about 1/2 hour before bag change times to stop the stoma from giving output while you change the bag. 

So last time I went grocery shopping I thought hmmm I'm going to give this a try and I can confirm that this really does work.

Lifesaver for me at the moment because I've been for some reason having a lot of liquid output. 

Nothing worse than changing when the old stoma wants to act up and keep going and going. Nightmare changes as to explain the best. 

Thanks to Lindsey for the photos and permission to post this hack here.

"The owner of my neighborhood ostomy supply gave me some items he got off Amazon, and I think they are moldable hair curlers! He said my holster belt wasn’t supporting the way it’s supposed to, and offered me a few of the “items” bend into a horseshoe and place over the top of my stoma between my wafer and bag, with the ends between the belt loops and my wafer. He told me I could wear all my tight pants with that in position, providing a buffer between my pants and my stoma. (That still isn’t quite true. I “can” wear them, but it’s not very comfortable for me to have the weight of my jeans pulling down from above my stoma and the only thing I have that’s low-rise enough to go under my stoma are athletic shorts)...

... I just found them – they’re 7” flexi rods for heatless hair curling and are sold in a 47 pack, with various diameters. I tried the two larger sizes while I was at the store and they did help alleviate the sort of pull I get as my bag begins to fill, or when I try to tuck my bag into my clothes. Not exactly a stoma guard, but a cheap little hack that might help some others with comfort...

... The amount the foam pushes the top of the bag away from my abdomen seems to help balance out the pull I get as my bag fills."

https://youtu.be/oEtTSNgJSMM?si=bZ5ZrXRkIaatwn8S

I’ve had my ileostomy for 5 years now, but it took me a long time to heal, and anyone who has been here a while knows about all my struggles. 

Here is my question. We have done a little traveling since Squeaky joined the family—a long weekend in Vegas, and a weeklong trip to Hawaii. Both went well, with my being well prepared after watching Eric’s videos. But now we are considering a longer international  trip. When we are in the US, we know what to expect. We speak the language and know if we had an emergency or something happened and I ran out of or lost supplies, we could go to a hospital and explain and get help, and possibly sent to a supplier if ostomy supplies. 

Eric, I think you have probably done international travelling??  Do you have any advice?

Anyone who has done international travel experience and has comments and/or suggestions or stories, I would really appreciate it!!  Thanks!!

So I am 'practicing' taking care of an appliance. Some things I've learned so far...

It's insanely difficult to remove an appliance with just water or even soap and water. I do have some remover wipe samples, but I don't want to get used to those. Remover products are not covered by insurance, because "research has shown their effectiveness is lacking and they cause skin irritation for many people". 

I used the practice stoma that Convatec provided in their sample set. It comes with a hydrocolloid (I presume) sticker. And then I applied a one-piece flat Dansac bag. The Convatec sticker broke down within a couple of hours. I have to add it's very hot where I live, so it's sweaty weather. I guess that made it break down so fast. It was not too hard to remove the Dansac bag and it left no residue. 

Then I tried a Coloplast two piece Sensura mio flex system. It was more comfortable to wear than the Dansac bag (which pulled a little). But it felt a little bulky. Removing it was insanely difficult however, and my skin was pretty red afterwards. This while I took my sweet time to remove it with wet cloths and even some face cleanser. Lots of redidue left on my skin and I finally resorted to using a remover wipe to get rid of it all. The redness did come down and was hardly visible the next morning. 

Currently wearing the Sensura mio click since this morning with a drainable bag. I occasionally fill that with some oatmeal and water to see how it feels to walk around with a filled bag. And to practice emptying without making too much of a mess (needs more practice, lol). It's getting a bit itchy right now (it's almost 10pm now and I've been wearing it since around 10 this morning), not sure if I should remove it, or try sleeping with the bag.

So, any tips and tricks on removing an appliance without using a remover product?

    for those of you in north america,   you can order one thru amazon ( not that they need more business but they are cinvienient ) for $26 and easily install it with a cresent wrench.  if you dont have one im sure a friend does.   

i tried adding a few pics of this device and where to find it on amazon but i cant figure out how to do that,   maybe someone can give me a clue and i will edit this topic if thats possible.     

hope this helps.........

I invested in biodegradable liners for my two piece new image Hollister system...from Colo-Majik (not all liners from different manufacturers are biodegradable).  I'm getting some Cottonelle Fresh Care Flushable Wet Wipes to replace my Equate flushable wipes tomorrow.  The fragrance free Equate wipes work well on the inside of the wafer and were easy to flush (with no stoma or adhesive issues for me)...then I read the fine print about flush ability.  That's why I'm going to give Cottonelle a try.  They breakdown immediately in water.

I have a low output, high viscosity output stoma.  We apparently are all different, so what I do may not work for everyone. And, I may change it up again soon, too!  Who knows?

I was rinsing my bag to flush it, but the bag always looked a mess after...even with the rinse.  And, the frequent pancaking really wasn't getting addressed as well as I would like.

-- I change my liner two or three times a day depending on output.  While standing in front of the toilet I  detach the pouch from the Hollister wafer, and the filled liner is easily lifted out of the pouch.   It gets flushed. 

-- With the bag off, I have access to the inside of the wafer, and wipe it down with the flushable wipes. 

--Having already put a liner in a fresh bag, I add lubricating deodorant inside the liner (already inside the Hollister bag.)

-- I attach the new pouch, save the old pouch for adding a new liner to later and wash my hands...and off I go.  

I only keep the pouch for a few days, and dispose of it.  I mark each pouch when it's used.

I spend way less time in the bathroom than prior to my ostomy.

Does anybody else have any shower tricks?

Now, the velcro on my pouch has never failed, and the little clamp sometimes pokes, but for some reason I feel a bit more confident, and don’t empty as often (was I a little compulsive about that?). Another thing is, I don’t have to tuck things up into the pouch cover (I use Hollister with the “fabric” covering) which keeps the cover from wearing out/tearing, so it stays nice longer.