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← Return to Colostomy: I hate this thing!
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@piki I am 77 years old and have had a stoma since my colon removal 7 years ago. I at times had problems with leakage around the base plate until I started making the hole bigger in the base plate around my stoma. Now I don't seem to have any problems. I discovered if I drink beer or wine I get leaks more easily so I think the alcohol is melting the adhesive on the base plate so I am more careful about that now. My stoma protracts out every once in a while and I don't know why. Sometimes it happens if I am working hard and lifting heavy items. Other times it just does its own thing. In 3 o4 days it shrinks back to normal size. I empty 6 or 7 times a day. I change my bag every 4 days because going longer can cause leaks. Overall I am satisfied with the stoma but wish I didn't have it of course. It is better than the alternative of always feeling discomfort and pain in my lower abdomen from serious ulcerative colitis and never knowing if I would feel better again.
Replies to "@piki I am 77 years old and have had a stoma since my colon removal 7..."
@fckaiser Hi. I'v had my colostomy for about two years. It behaves well when I avoid being too casual about changing bags.
I notice you talk about "working hard and lifting heavy items" and I find these and other activities cause the pouch to drift around, sometimes covering the edge of the stoma itself. My stoma nurses are pretty helpful in general but they don't seem to want to discuss 'protection'. There are several systems on sale but, at their prices, I don't feel like experimenting with all of them.
Our two conditions are not the same (I've had about 1/3 of my colon removed due to bowel cancer) but it would interest me to find out if your activities also cause the bag to move about. Have you tried any forms of protection / cover?
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@fckaiser
Please explain what you mean by "making the hole bigger in the base plate". I have had leakage problems too. I was advised to be sure the baseplate fits close around the stoma, so very little skin is exposed. If you have had better results by exposing more skin I would like to learn more about that.