New Ostomy: Any help would be appreciated

Have you tried eating foods that can thicken your stool, such as applesauce, bananas or creamy peanut butter? This may help to slow down the diarrhea. If not, you may need to contact your physician to ensure you are not becoming dehydrated. What is the frustrating part? The constant loose stool or is there something else going on with you bag and pouch system?

Have you tried using high output bags? These are larger bags meant for this kind of output.

I have a colonoscopy, my surgery was in September so I am still in the learning process. My home care nurse determined a convex wafer would be best for me because my stoma is retracted and we tried a couple different ones. I still was experiencing leaks almost daily but at a visit to the ER due to bloody stool leaking, the on call doctor used Tincture of Benzoin to "glue" everything to my skin. My husband is the one who changes my appliance because I can't see to do it, due to the placement on my body. He first uses a crusting technique to protect my skin when it is reddened, and uses the tincture over that when dry. He also uses it on top of the seal before applying the wafer and bag. We don't use paste. This has been a world of difference for us. The tincture is most widely used before applying Steri-strips to a wound to help them adhere to the skin. Removing the residue from my skin is somewhat more laborious than it was before we started using the tincture, but it's worth it. We have gone from daily changes due to leaks, to being able to go 5 or 6 days between changes.

Hi @blinken, I see this is your first post since joining. Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for sharing your experience with the group. Going from every day to every fifth or sixth day is wonderful! Did one of the physicians suggest not using paste or was this a personal decision that just led to a better application of the wafer and bag?

Not using the paste was my husband's preference. He does my appliance changes and found it much messier to apply and much less secure than the tincture. My home care nurses guided us from the start as to what products are available and demonstrated their various techniques. But it was only because an ER doctor used tincture of benzoin and supplied us with some packets to try at home that we found secure adhesion. My home care nurse had never heard of or thought of using that product in this application but she said she will definitely suggest it to other patients who might have adherence issues. You don't need to use very much and it can be a bit of a challenge to remove but it is worth the trouble.

i use a belt and it is very effective.

@zxyoma What type of ostomy? Colostomy?

Take a look at these sites:
https://www.newbieostomy.com/get-support/ostomy-support-groups
http://www.uoaastl.org
https://www.ostomy.org
They all provide support for ostomy patients. Hope this helps. Perhaps be more specific on what you are looking for.

this should have been addressed to @zxyoma

I second the use of tincture of benzoin. It is an old-fashioned remedy. I remembered having to use it many years ago to help keep bandages adhering to my very active son's skin and tried it when I was having issues keeping my wafer in place. My home care nurse practitioner never heard of it, either. It works better for me than any other of the products such as "Skin-Tac" that I've tried.