Nu-hope support belts are great, they keep your pouch very secure

Hi again Eric,
I can totally relate to this article, way back when I first had my little mate created I used alot more products than I do today.

I noticed small white itchy pimple like lumps under my wafer, these would bust when I would change my wafer or if I scratched which then created this red, weeping, ANGRY looking, itchy rash under my wafer.

Low and behold the wafers were no longer sticking to my skin which then created another problem "I no longer wanted to leave the house for fear of leaks or the appliance coming off completely", I went to my Dr (GP - General Practitioner) to see if he knew what the problem was, I explained my situation he had a look at my skin, and said it looked like Contact Dermatitis I must be using something that I am allergic to.

So then the fun began, what was I using in my changing routine that could be causing my skin to break down?......

I had to use the trial and error method, anyway to try and cut a long story a bit short, I found out I was allergic to the Barrier Wipes I was using, so my stomal therapy nurse said "It's fine you don't have to use them". So I stopped using the Barrier Wipes and I haven't used them since that was about 15 years ago.

But PLEASE to anyone reading my story here ^^^^ if you have the same sort of thing happening under your wafer PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE see your health care professional or Stoma Nurse BEFORE you do ANYTHING else xx.

Allergies can be a huge pain! I'm glad you got it sorted out, and I'm going to be writing an article about testing for allergies at some point.

Hey Bob, are you referring to the new one I just reviewed, the Nu-Comfort belt, or one of their hernia support belts?

Just wanted to say thank you for this article!!! My baby is in the NICU with double barrel stomas, and we are having a very difficult time keeping bags on her (even working with the wound nurses). This has given me a few good ideas to try going forward!

I wish you the best of luck, Samantha!

I am severely allergic to all tapes and adhesives. It will literally eat the layers off my skin. It will get itchy, weepy, infected (yeast) and turn dark purple. The ostomy nurses said they'd never seen such a reaction to tapes and adhesives. Cloth tape, barrier wipes, etc? I've tried them all. They don't work.
So, after asking around and talking to my ostomy nurse, I found out from her about a product called Perma-Type. These are permanent ostomies for people like me who can't wear the adhesive stuff only for a few days before I experience skin break down.
Perma-Type comes in a 1 or 2 piece. They are completely made of rubber like material. There's no tape anywhere.
All I have to do is secure it with a belt and use a little barrier ring around the stoma for protection.
Some insurances cover these supplies. Mine doesn't but at $200, it's totally worth every penny. It lets my skin breathe. It's reusable. Just clean it with DCP powder. I can take it off easily, shower then put it back on with no cutting a new wafer, drying my skin with a blow dryer, no wipes, nothing. It doesn't matter if I have eaten or not. It takes 5 seconds to put on. No waiting for the heat of my body to warm up the adhesives.
And, I can use body wash and lotions.
Swimming is easier, too. It doesn't matter how wet it gets. You just towel it off and go on.

Thanks for sharing that, Stacy!

I've recommended non-adhesive appliances in the past (even mentioned it in this article under "skin issues"), but I know very few people who use them.

How long does one of those "wafers" last? Do you replace them after a few months? Years?

VeganOstomy, if well taken care of, my rubber appliances can last up to 2 years.
Some insurances cover these supplies.
Of course, there will be wear and tear after a lot of use.
But, my skin is finally clearing up and is no longer itchy, oozy and purple.
And, you can take it off an on unlimited times without worrying about the skin tearing.

I have a question for you.
You call yourself 'vegan ostomy'.
Can you eat an all plant based diet with an ostomy?
I can't sustain myself without meat, dairy, etc. I've tried being vegetarian and got sick and very anemic.
But, I no longer have a colon. And, I have scar tissue and strictures, preventing me from eating lots of plant based, fibrous foods.
I just got out of the hospital yesterday from another blockage. I think it was the firm peach and the few baked beans I had for the 4th.
That's the 13th blockage since 1997.
I hate the NG tube so much.

See, I've been threatened with death from some vegans because I said I love steak. One said she hated the fact that people killed for food, then in the same sentence, threatened my life and then said she would eat my flesh to show how committed a vegan she was. Smh
I'd still never go vegan.
Some don't get it that going vegan means more hospital time for me. One nurse asked if the vegans were trying to kill me. I thought the point of being vegan was to stay out of the hospital. And, sick or not, we all have different nutritional needs.
So, could you please let me know how some ostomy wearers can follow a vegan diet? Do you have an ileostomy or colostomy?
Thanks. :)

I really appreciate you sharing that info regarding the non-adhesive appliances, Stacy!

Yes, I've been vegan since 2000, and have been able to eat an entirely plant-based diet since my ileostomy surgery in 2013. I write quite a bit about diet (including what I eat) on this page: https://www.veganostomy.ca/diet-nutrition/

It's a shame that you've had threats from people who call themselves vegan - it's quite "unvegan" of them to do that, but on the flip side, I've received threats for not wanting to kill and eat animals. There are crazy people on both sides!

For those of us who have heath issues, especially digestive issues, a plant-based diet would require extra planning (as any diet would for the chronically ill), but I believe it's completely doable. Even people who are being tube fed can do so on a plant-based diet.

There certainly are foods you'd need to avoid (black beans caused a blockage for me, too), but I tend to find that it has less to do with the food we eat, and more to do with how we're eating those foods. There are 101 ways to prepare plant-based foods, that make them easier to digest or reduce the fiber content in them. Figuring out a plan could require the help of a dietitian or food diary.

But nutrition science is pretty clear with the fact that plant-based diets can offer all the nutrition and some added benefits over traditional diets.

If you have more questions about the topic, I'd love for you to post them in the Community Forum: https://www.veganostomy.ca/community/ as it's a better way to have a discussion compared to this comment section.

That's great you've found what works for you!
A high protein, high salt, low fiber is what I find gives me the most energy. And, my blood work is always coming back as normal. B12 is what gets affected the most. So, I'm getting what I'm supposed to with my eating plan.
My cholesterol is 140. Normal BP, blood sugar, etc.
It's taken many years of trial and error to find a plan that works for me.
The amount of salt I need would shock you. And possible cause you hypertension.
Beef jerky is the perfect food for me. High protein and salt, no fiber.
Oats, whole grains, pulpy fruits, fruit or veggie peels, celery, leafy greens, too many raw veggies, and so on are no no's. I do miss popcorn though. :(
And, juicing is too expensive. I can't live on too many fresh juices because it makes me have more frequent bathroom breaks. Not good with a bag.
Some beans are easier for me to digest than others. Black beans are the worst. The creamy colored large lima beans are the easiest. And, my favorites.

Yeah, there are crazies on both sides. It's all uncalled for.
Omnivores and vegetarians eat life. Vegans eat life as well. Plants are alive. We wouldn't eat dead lettuce.

I do think we should be in charge of our own diets because we don't really know exactly what another person needs. We don't know what every person goes through. Maybe we can understand a little about our close friends and family but not complete strangers.
I love good advice like your's because you are not saying I have to follow your plan because it works for you. Or you're not belittling me for my food choices.
I mean I have no problems eating some vegan meals if my small intestines can handle it but full time? Not for me.
I can't eat a lot of soy based products either.
I hate having to be a picky eater because I was never one as a kid.
I'll take a look at your page. I might find a recipe I can try.
Thanks!

I have been having a really hard time lately getting my bag to stick completely around my stoma, and I feel like I have tried everything. My WOC nurse showed me how to put on a barrier ring first, because my stoma sits in a crease in my belly. She cut a ring and applied it underneath my stoma and and up either side but not all the way around. I put on skin prep beforehand (sometimes i put a little powder first to let it crust, because I sometimes get irritation and tiny sores that weep) and make sure my skin and stoma are completely dry. The trouble is that the bag will stick fine around the top half of my stoma, but it always eventually loses the seal on the lower half of the circle, usually within a few minutes of putting the new bag on!. It leaves a little "cup" where stool collects, and sometimes I even put my finger on top of my bag and try to clear away the stool that gets down in there. The fact that the hole in my stoma sits rather low instead of being perfectly centered doesn't help either. I have tried sticking the barrier to the sticky part of my bag first, and I have tried putting on the ring first and sticking the bag onto it. I press on it for quite a while to warm it so it can stick, but it always eventually peels away. I use a one piece Hollister bag with a velcro closure at the bottom.
I don't get leaks from this, but I just worry that this is not a good situation. I can't even completely see all of little stomie most of the time, because the lower part is always covered in stool. And the other day when I went to remove the bag, there was some pancaked stool up top that had never slid down, stuck there right on the back back of the bag. If I can't figure this out I guess I will have to schedule another appointment with my wound care nurse...any advice is greatly appreciated!

Posted by: @lil-stomie

The trouble is that the bag will stick fine around the top half of my stoma, but it always eventually loses the seal on the lower half of the circle, usually within a few minutes of putting the new bag on!.

Do you have any 2pc appliances that you can use for a week or two to see if it's any better? The combination of using a 1pc, the barrier ring (or that the barrier ring is being broken up), and perhaps where the stoma lies (where bending may cause the wafer to lift), are likely all contributing to this happening. 

The fact that you say the top sticks fine leads me to believe it's one or all of those factors. 

The challenge is how to solve it. Ideally, I would start with the absolute minimum: wafer and bag and then move up from there by adding other supplies as necessary. Since you mentioned that you have a crease that needs attention, this isn't as easy because not dealing with the crease means other changes may simply fail. 

I would schedule another appointment with your stoma nurse so that you can explain what's been happening. 

Good luck! If you have any updates, please share them so we know what has worked and what hasn't. 

@veganostomy

Thank you so much! I don't have any 2pc appliances unfortunately, but I am curious about them because I have seen them in videos and they look interesting to me.

I was thinking that I will probably have to see the nurse again. The first few times I had this issue, I kept hoping I could deal with it on my own, but it has been almost 2 weeks now and every different way I could think of to change my bag has not worked.

I very much appreciate this site and your good advice! 

Thanks again!

Hi lil, I received an email from Clinimed they have a system that is for ostomates with a hernia. If it’s flexible enough to work with a bulge then maybe it’s flexible enough to deal with a dip where you bend. I hope that they are available to you that you could sample.

Hi Lil Stomie,

I have had a lot of problems with wafers not sticking and with leaks and have met several times with the ostomy nurses and tried several things. 

I have had better luck with a 2 piece than a 1 piece. For me there is less pancaking, and most importantly, it is much easier for me to make sure my wafer is going on with a good fit. Even with a clear bag, it is hard with a 1 piece to really see how the wafer is fitting around the stoma. 

The rings don’t work for me, but stoma paste  does work for me to prevent leaks. I have also experimented with using a protective sheet under the wafer. I didn’t think it would work but the stoma nurse put one on me last time and it did work better than I expected. It helped protect my skin when stool did get on it. 

My skin is dry and flaking a bit, so using one of the rougher gauze squares to “exfoliate” my skin a bit before applying the new wafer helps. And I always use wafer extender arches because otherwise the outside of the wafer starts peeling away. 

I don’t know if any of this helps, but I hope it does. Good Luck to you!!

Hi SqueakyandLiza,
Thank you for your reply!
I went to the wound care nurse today and she set me up with a Hollister 2 piece with a convex wafer. It seems better already!
I was wondering why my Stomie looked more recessed and the opening sitting lower. I realized that after my colostomy surgery I had lost a ton of weight (about 30 pounds, but I didn't waste away because I was a bit overweight to start!) I just couldn't eat because of nausea, and when I first started chemo it was got worse. But I adjusted and have gained back to a healthy weight (I am at my high school weight-140 pounds) The nurse said that may well be the reason the wafer and bag were not attaching the way they used to, because my stomach shape changed. I can see the difference with the new bag already. It is standing out more, not recessed.
Fingers crossed I have found a good solution!

Thanks so much! I am trying a new 2 piece Hollister bag with a convex wafer that my wound nurse gave me, and it seems good so far.

I saw a nurse today and she gave me some 2 piece Hollister bags and convex wafers! SO far it really seems better. It is staying stuck on and my stomie seems to be standing out a little better, so the output is coming out more easily.
We figured out that I have put on weight since the colostomy surgery. I lost about 30 lbs after surgery, (had nausea and NO appetite for food except popsicles and ice cream) and got so underweight that the doctor said they would have to stop chemo if I lost any more. Luckily I recovered and gained back some weight, but it has changed the shape of my belly.
Your advice was spot on! Thanks so much!