Teething problems with colostomy

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Hello - newbie here. Supporting a friend on his second cancer merry go round. Bladder cancer 5 years ago and lived with wee bag confidently. Now a new primary bowel cancer, stage 3. Has had first operation to create a colostomy as was at risk of obstruction. Now a week into chemotherapy. Then the main surgery to remove the cancer after that.

Anyway, this is hoping for any tips on the colostomy management which isn't going so very well. Several episodes of the bag just coming unstuck and poo everywhere which is deeply demoralising. Some combination of the adhesive hold not strong enough to hold the force, volume and consistency of the poo, and maybe the stoma itself on the small side (21mm). Trying to keep him well fed because he's not maintaining his weight. I'm guessing we need to reduce the fibre to de-bulk the stool, and increase protein and fats for nutrition. Not sure if this is a good place to post, but glad of any moral support and advice.

Kareno62 over 1 year ago

Hi Mulberry and a warm welcome to the board - what a lovely friend you are. Has your friend had any follow up appointments with his stoma nurse? They should be able to provide some different bags to try as sometimes the stoma can sit in a bit of a dip and there are bags that can ‘push’ the stoma out - think they’re called convex bags? There are also strips that can be applied around the seal for extra stickiness? I was told to warm the seal slightly before applying the bag so I used to pop it on a radiator or under my arm then apply the bag, run my fingers all around the seal then hold my hand over it for a minute.

Is his output too runny or too thick? A lot of the supplier sites like coloplast have dietary information that might help? Lastly there is a stoma page on here that you might like to copy and paste your post onto

Ileostomy, colostomy, urostomy and any other stoma support

Hope this helps

Take care

Karen x

Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

Mulberry over 1 year ago in reply to Kareno62

Thanks Karen. We've spoken with stoma nurse today and picking up some sticky strips and stuff tomorrow. Is already in convex bags. Basically output too thick/sticky and propulsed at magnificent speed in high volume. Will try the warming trick. And think he's been referred to dietician too. Back onto white diet for now!