I had my Illo done about 4 months ago, and have been wearing sweat pants since. It seemed my stoma was located right on my beltline, and was afraid of pressure at the site. Well, I got the nerve up to dress up for a Christmas party, and the waist of my pants was a little tight. Well the unexpected happened, I had a Major blowout out the top of the seal. I use the Hollister "New image" Barrier, and the Tupperware bag. If I wear pants over the barrier, I have the "Grandpa" look,if normal, the pants cut off the drainage, and I get the blowout. What do you guys(and gals) do?

Hi Mike,

Sorry to hear of your little mishap. Being female with a very low placed stoma I can't really relate. All my jeans and skirt waists come well up above Wee Willie so no problem with the waistband cutting off the flow.

The only things I can think of that might help with your stoma being in such a bad location is to wear a pheonix belt and buy your pants a size larger on the waist.

I'm sure there will be a few of the guys along soon who can offer some better suggestions.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Shell

I was lucky to change location of my illeo ( had temp and now end ) but my trick was to go up one pants size and all is well. I am a state trooper and wear a gun belt all day ( about 20 extra pounds ). One thing I always do is wear a tshirt under my regular shirt... I tuck it in and if I get a little leak or something it usually absorbs the leak (knock on wood 7 months no leaks). Go up one more size and a lot of stress will go away!
On the positive - great to see you out and about and you seem to handle life ok with it. I tell everyone when I had UC i #$%^ my pants a lot more then the illeo does LOL!

Thanks guys ! It took me the operation to finally get down to the size I am now, but I'll swallow my pride for a little bit of self assurance. BTW Shell, it was good to have my wine at dinner!!

LOL mike... You will feel much better in the bigger size.. To others it looks the same to you a bit more of room you really will like. Dont just go buy jeans a size bigger.. there are all types of fits (relaxed, straightleg and so on) they all fit so much different. So you may be able to keep your size u are now and get a relax fit

My Stoma is right in the middle of my waist line too. I had a problem at first with the top half filling up with *youknow* and looking odd under my shirt. So This is what has worked for me. I bought a bunch of granny panties that go almost to my belly button. I tuck the bag in those and the top part of my bag I fold down. I also wear a size bigger in my pants.

If you really want to be daring, you could tilt the bag across your stomach and then put your beltline right under the ostomy. Thats what I used to do, I like to think that I started the low rider trend

Mike, I'm so glad you were able to enjoy a glass of the old red stuff over Christmas. Raise a glass with me on Monday night to toast in the (hopefully healthier) New Year.

Cheers! D-|

Shell

Thanks for all the great ideas! Jessica , my wife may wonder if I grab a pair of her Granny's, so I'll try some large boxers. Jason, I tried on some of my old jeans, and they worked great...... And CHELSEA , The world is not ready for me in lowriders LOL!

Shell, the glass will be raised ! Happy new year all !!

I wear haynes boxers they are the tight ones... and they have what they call I think soft waist band - they are great no pressure on wafer and ride under it... I then keep the bag outside my boxers I dont tuck it in.

Hey Mike I have had good luck with the phoenix belt + jeans / pants. My stoma is level with my belly button. By turning the bag sideways and keeping my shirt un-tucked, better yet a loose sweater, I feel like I look pretty normal. I just let the pants sit about 1” bellow my belly button right at the bottom of the flange. I have had more flange failure problems with the loop vs. the end, and the belt has bailed me out on those as it works as a first line of defense. I have punctured my bag twice because with the belt I seriously forgot that I had a bag LOL. Wearing regular pants / jeans to me is an important part of getting back to a “normal life”. I really hate wearing sweat pants, as I feel like they’re not appropriate for going out in public (I.E. can you imagine dinner at a decent restaurant with sweats on LOL). Hope this helps.

I discovered this brand of underware (mens and womans) that has a built in pouch that help tremendously! They also have a underware for intimacy too. You can find them at http://www.options-ostomy.com/. It has made it easier to fit clothing, but I too went a pant size larger for comfort.

Julie,
I will definately look into this! Anything to help is appreciated. Also Tad, I can relate eating at a restaurant in sweats.... I need to get back to jeans though....Thanks!