Over active stoma

Hi Baglaydee,

Welcome to the group! I can understand how you're feeling right now, but I don't believe that this is "just one of those things" for a minute. The bowel does take time to settle, but you're 7 months on, so you should be fairly settled by now, I would have thought. Have you spoken with your stoma nurses about this? It could very well be the things that you eat - everyone is different, and we all have to find out what works for us and what doesn't. Although I'm a believer that no food should be out of bounds - just as long as you know the effect it has on you! Definitely speak to your stoma nurses, and when you do, if you have a permanent colostomy, ask them about irrigation - this is a means of introducing water into the bowels and flushing everything out. It gives you back a bit more control. But I won't say more than that at the moment, just incase you don't have a permanent colostomy.

Hope you get help soon, and if you want to rant or ask questions, we're all here for you.

Linda :-) 

Hello and welcome

Do you have a colostomy or ileostomy? They are both quite different in the type of output you get and temporary or permanent? Also are you on chemotherapy as this makes it worse. Bodach will be along soon I expect as he is the expert on all things Baggy. I had a temporary ileostomy and had problems on chemo and added in additional medication which helped and I was strictly on a low fibre diet for a while but without knowing a bit more about your circumstances it is hard to give any more advice.

Hi, thank you for your reply.  My stoma is permanent. I'm currently under the care of the stoma nurses and I'm waiting for a specialist appointment for my skin, which is sore and inflamed around the stoma. This means my bag isn't sticking properly, so my skin is the priority  at the moment . Irrigation has been suggested but I really don't like the idea of it. My diet doesn't seem to have any effect on my bowels, however I'm trying out a more plant based diet to see if that helps . P

Hi, I have a permanent colostomy. I had chemo and radiotherapy last April and may, which was successful and also made me pain free within the first few sessions. My health is now pretty much back to normal,  apart from the problems my bag causes. I'm trying out a mainly plant based diet which I'm introducing slowly, but so far diet doesn't seem to make any difference to my bowel 

Hi Again

I had sore weepy skin which responded well to being dried with a cool hair drier, paste being applied first to sore areas then the bag on top. I am sure that your stoma nurses have many tricks up their sleeves and they are the real experts. Time spent without a bag def helped. I just padded myself up well, wiped whatever came out immediately and tried to give the skin a rest every day. 

Obviously you can try whatever diet you wish but plants are full of fibre and will loosen many peoples bowels (the sprout effect!). In your position I would try going down the strict low fibre route to see if it helps and then reintroduce fibre slowly. There are many diet guides out there but mashed potatoes, root vegetables, and milky puddings helped me. I would also look into probiotics and/or live yogurt helps to re balance the gut bacteria which can be damaged by previous treatments and get out of balance.

I hope you find something which works for you as many people say that they could lead a normal life with a bag.

Thank you for your advice  on diet, I'll definitely give it a go. As for my skin, I've been  referred to a specialist. The chemo and radiotherapy left me with psoriasis and the  nurses have come to the conclusion that is what it is. Its slowly spreading beyond my bag now. We've tried a number of different things but nothing worked. Its half term next week so I'm getting myself back into the gym again which will make me feel better. Until these problems I was getting back into my old routine and I fully intend to get back to my old life:-)

I will also tag in just in case he has any other ideas .

Your skin sounds very sore . I hope a dermatologist can clear that for you very soon .

Court 

Having a stoma shouldn't affect your daily life but here we are having problems that proves the opposite.

I don't have much experience of irrigation but agree with that it might be worth your while giving it a trial to see if the effect of not consistently changing your bag will clear up the psoriasis. I am sure that if you wanted to learn more about the procedure Linda and others will guide you through everything it is time consuming on the days you irrigate but the time spent will be fully compensated by the time saved on emptying your bag, but please do discuss with your stoma nurse before doing anything about it. Again I'm sure that Linda will be able to give you a list of pros and cons that you can apply to your daily life.

However if irrigation is not for you other means have to be found to reduce your psoriasis and get your bag to stick.

I'm also a great believer in getting my stoma out especially after a shower l and just sitting for as long as possible and allowing the skin to get the benefit of daylight and fresh air.

Your stoma will appreciate having water sprayed from the shower on it but not so much that it becomes active.

Whilst you are sitting with your stoma out you could try dusting your peristomal skin with stoma powder, the powder doesn't have any medicinal properties, to dry the skin out. If you try the powder make sure that you completely remove all of it before attempting to apply your pouch.

The same applies to applying emollients or topical creams as the protective film they leave may make it difficult for the bag to stick. You might want to try an emollient soap to wash around your peristomal cream.

Experimenting with different bags could be another answer as manufacturers include different additives such as aloe vera or manuka honey into the adhesive all claim to help with skin problems.

Having a dermatologist looking at the problem is a good time providing that they remain open minded and are able to focus on the fact that whatever they do their plans they must include the fact that you need to be able to attach a bag and it remains stuck.

With regard to your high out, if you speak to your GP as the dosage of immodium can be increased considerably under medical supervision.

Playing around with your diet and keeping a food diary to record everything you put into your mouth and how your output is affected is a good rule of thumb what's going on.

I think we all believe that we smell, remember your nose is just above your bag. You could try adding a patch over the bag filter when you put on a new bag to see if that makes a difference.

When you want to go swimming and to the gym you could try putting on a new pouch or flange and before starting the activity  and adding quite a few, a lot of, extra large flange extenders all round the flange. I use Brava extra large flange extenders and two completely cover the bag flange with quite a bit of overlap and going swimming another two overlapping should give confidence to enjoy swimming and other activities you enjoy doing. When we can start to resume doing the activities we previously enjoyed  doing everything becomes brighter.

Everyone in this group and the Ileostomy, colostomy, urostomy and any other stoma support is 100% behind you and give you all the support you need.

Don't hesitate to come on here and ask any questions or even come on for a chat we'll be pleased to see you at anytime.

Ian

CC

Thank you for your advice. The stoma nurses have suggested irrigation, but its not for me. Having to sit next to a toilet for between 45 and 60 minutes, each day is too much.  I've tried many different bags, but none made any difference and one bag also added bruising to my sore skin . I'm hoping diet and exercise is the way forward as I don't like taking any form of medication (no idea why, I'm just odd like that). I think leaving my skin to breathe is a great idea, also showering without a bag, although at the moment, as soon as I put the shower on my bowel starts working lol. I  try to be a positive person but I'm finding it hard to be positive at the moment,  so please excuse me if I seem grumpy. Petra