Okay, I have a loop illeo now. It is driving me nuts, thank gosh it is temporary!!!

The problem is that either my output is pure liquid, and tons of it- or it makes this little clump- a little clump that sits next to the stoma in the flange and never moves down into the bag. It's a perfectly nice bag, I don't see why it won't just slide down...

The liquid I can handle, but the clump problem is horrible!!!! Every time it clumps, and that clump just sits there- the liquid follows and has no where to go, so my flange leaks. And we are talking violent leaking here. Action verbs all around. That one tiny little ball of poop, just sitting there, messes up the entire flow of traffic.

I've tried the following:

~convex wafers

~different pastes, eakins seals, etc.

~wearing giant shirts and leaving my bag outside of my pants at all times or just wearing dresses (so as not to trap the clump further)

~Sitting bolt upright and propping myself completely upright to sleep (ugh, I'm soo tired!)

~Unsnapping the bag from the flange and pushing the clump down manually as needed (this is the most effective- but not something I can do at work or while I sleep, as it needs a push every 30 minutes or so)

~wearing an ostomy/bag belt to hold the flange more firmly in place while leaving the bag free flowing.

~considering moving to a cave and becoming a hermit until takedown

~hydrate, hydrate, hydrate- drinking decaf warm teas to help break down the clumps

~chewing my food so thoroughly that I've almost given up eating out of sheer boredom


Help- I'm not able to sleep, or work or think straight!! ack! I'm so tired from not sleeping and I had to change the flange/wafer so much that my skin is threatening to fall off completely. This never happened with my end illeostomy...

Hi Kat,

The correct term for when this happens is "pancaking" (yeah gross I know! )

Wee Willie is exactly the same. He is either very liquid or very thick (mostly thick) and it can get annoying. Here's a few things that might help:

I wear lycra underwear (magic knickers) which helps to support the bag and also helps keep my convex wafer close to my body. Now you'd think that it would just stop the stool from having anywhere to go but it actually helps. As the convex wafer is pressed so close to my body by my knickers when the next lot of poo comes out it can't get under the flange so has to force the first lot down into the bag.

Also I always swish with water when I empty my bag because my output is usually too thick to just pour it out and I really hate having to squeeze the bag like a giant toothpaste tube to get the poo out. This makes emptying very quick and easy and also gets rid of any pancaking around Wee Willie.

If I can feel a clump forming I can usually "herd" it down the bag through my clothes. This just looks like I'm smoothing my shirt or top down so don't worry about others knowing what you are doing.

Finally, there are sprays that you can buy from your ostomy supplier to help keep the bag lubricated but apparently Pam (the spray oil used in cooking) works just as well or even baby lotion. Just spray inside your bag before you put it on or add a squirt of baby oil through the tail when you've emptied. I don't bother using either as I find that swishing and lycra underwear works fine for me.

The other thing that springs to mind is diet. If I've eaten a lot of carbs (bread, oats, potatoes, pasta etc) then this will make my poo very sticky which is what causes the pancaking. If I include fresh fruit and veg and salad then it's not so pastey and will drop down into the bag fairly easily.

Hopefully one of these ideas will help.

Take care.

Shell

I have the same problem with my loop ileo sometimes. It feels like a little mountain forming out of your stoma area and I hate the feel of it. I just "herd" it down like Shell does. I find that I'm always putting my hand over my stoma area throughout the day and if I feel one forming and I can take care of discreetly then I will, otherwise I'll go in the ladies room or around the corner and push it down.

I also find that diet plays a big part in it. One of the worst culprits for me ever was applesauce. I had an extra helping or two (it's so yummy with cinnamon!) and it made for super-thick, annoying output and constant "mountains". I won't do that again! Just watch loading up on the carbs, etc., and try to even it out with juice and other thinners.

Good luck!
Erin