ileostomy Stoma

Sorry to hear you are struggling - and please be reassured that things will get easier.

I had an ileostomy 7 years ago and really struggled at the start too. Sounds like you are experiencing pancaking and I did too. Did they not give you the number of the hospital stoma nurse or simply the ward you were on when you were discharged? You are only 5 days post discharge so I would have thought you would have been given someone to contact if you were struggling. I ended up using a different type of pouch with a concave flange, which really helped, but in the meantime I am sure there will be someone on here with hints and tips to help - I remember adding a couple of spoons of water to the pouch and that helped a little and lubricating the pouch to stop a vacuum forming - it's been a while since I experienced this, but I think I used a little Vaseline - check out what others say though.

i really hope you get sorted soon and things settle down for you.

Hi Twirly 

As FostermumMandy  says it sounds like pancaking which is relatively common. You should contact your stoma nurse tomorrow (if you don't have a number then phone the general number of the hospital you've been treated at and ask to be put through to the stoma nurse team). In the meantime try drinking a little bit more to see if that helps to loosen the output a little or, alternatively, add a little baby oil to the bottom of your pouch, not too much as you don't want to compromise the adhesive, and massage it round the inside of the pouch so that the output can slide down. Blow a little air into a new pouch before you apply it. If you have filter covers then use one of these to cover the filter on your pouch (they're little plastic patches). It may well be that you need a different type of pouch in the long term but there are lots to try and your stoma nurse will help by sending you different samples and styles. You're very early on in the process and it is daunting at first. A steep learning curve tbh. However, there's always lots of advice on here and many people willing to help so please keep asking. 

Don't worry. You'll definitely find a solution soon.