Gas in the bag

My only advice would be to pay attention to which foods make you more gassy. I know there are certain foods I eat that tend to cause more gas, but I don't mind because I am still at home on medical leave. If I were out and about it would be more of a problem. I've also heard that GasX works really well to reduce gas, but I haven't had much luck with it. Other than that, I just "burp" my bag when it has a lot of gas but not much output.

Also, how far out are you from surgery? I am at three weeks, and I've heard that the first few weeks are the worst for gas, but that it will reduce over time...

It has been two years. Doesn't seem to matter what I eat. I do burp my bag during the night, just empty it during the day. It is just annoying. I hope all is going well with you. It gets better and better with the bag. Hang in there.

i was told to take a pin and poke 2 holes at the top. i did it the day before a bag change so if it didnt work id be changing it soon. it worked great with zero odor. i did find i would have to repoke the holes to keep them open every couple days. also, if your bag smells take a pepto caplet once or twice a day and i swear it completely eliminated the odor.

How do you burp a bag?

Really??? That pin-hole strategy works, and you don't have any leakage? (Even when laying down at night?) If so, I might try it because Selma is right about the gas just being really annoying.

itsnotsherry-

Burping the bag is just when you open it and let the air out but not the waste/output. It's an ostomate's way of farting, LOL. Some people who use two-pieces do it from the top, but I don't trust opening the top because it's hard to get closed and I'm afraid of making a mess, so I just tip the bag back/upside down to get any waste to the top of the bag, take off the clip, and squeeze whatever air there is out of the bag and replace the clip. Be prepared because it will smell, so do it either in the bathroom or when there's no one around who will care. :-)

it never leaked on me, not ever. and seriously guys. try the pepto caplets. i went from dayam that stanks to zero ziltch nada...

I will definitely try the pin hole. I use M9 drops for odor which works well. At night I use a high capacity bag that has the "spout" type opening with a "plug". I do burp it duning the night by just holding the bag up and opening the drain. That works well at night. I keep a washrag by the bed so I can let the air out through it and avoid spillage.

I tried the pin-hole thing. It does kind of work. Sometimes I have to press to get the air to come out, and I do have to re-open the holes once a day or every other day, but it's better than having to open the whole thing up. I tried making the holes slightly bigger this time to see if the air will come out a little more easily, but no leaks so far.

I have noticed a bit of a smell here and there when the air comes out, but I am just now trying the M9 deodorizer drops that came in the mail a couple days ago first. They seem to be working pretty well so far, but if I'm not satisfied maybe I'll try the pepto trick. For me personally, though, it doesn't really matter that much since I am on medical leave (which means home alone all day) and will be until my take-down. So nobody has to smell me but me, and I really don't care! LOL.

when i started adding meat in my diet my bag stunk so bad. the pepto literally eliminated it. i was amazed just how well it worked. has never failed me yet. i use it with my j-pouch now and can use friends bathroom without shame. it went from dear god is that me to i cant even believe i went at all...

Selma-
Have you tried filtered bags? I never have, but I think that's what they are for - letting the air out.

The filters don't work well with an ileostomy, our BM is so liquidy that it clogs the filter.

I must be the only one that has decent luck with coloplast filtered bags. I keep the bag dry and I use the tab over the filter hole when showering. Other than that I don't do anything different and I don't get the balloon effect with those bags

Let me get this right you take to tablets of pepto bismal twice a day by mouth or directly in bag?? Forgive me for sounding stupid but I have excess amount of gas no matter what I eat even more so if I skip a meal. My stools are so liquidy that it blocks the filters and my size only comes with the filters imagine they cost more but size 40 only comes with filter. Anyway let me know I'be been using just a drop in my bag and a drop in toilet before I empty out but that little bottle is pretty costly, but then again all the appliances for ostomies are pricy don't you find?

Over on the ostomy forum of the healingwell forums this topic just came up too and someone posted that they add this after market vent to any bag- it's called the ostoEZvent and, as an ostomate to be, I can't say how quick and easy it is to install, but the poster said it works great; it is unfiltered so of course one needs to be in a non public area when you open the vent:

http://www.kemonline.com/content/home/

For the odor, I am using Cepacol mouthwash that I put on a square of TP (or half of one) and stick it in the bag. It works very well so I do this every time I empty. My home health nurse told me about this and she also told me about *****ing the top of the bag for gas. It does seal itself off so you would have to do it again throughout he day.

It is so helpful to share these little tidbits to make our lives easier. What might work for one might not work for the other but every idea is worth a try.

I swear by Osto-EZ-Vents! I haven't heard of the pin-hole trick before, but I would be too chicken to do it for fear of leaks. The vents I use are very simple to use: attach to outside of bag, poke a hole, then close the top (which is similar to what you'd find on a beach ball. Those vents have saved me on a number of occasions. Before I found them, I had accidents when opening my bag if it was filled with gas and stool. There might be other brands out there with a similar concept. I use the Osto-EZ-Vents covered by my insurance. The filters that come as part of my bags don't do much for me, which I believe is normally the problem with ileostomies. The filters get clogged easily with liquid stool.

Good luck!