UOAA Discussion Board

Hi all,
As I've posted before, a terrific pal built me a gizmo that helps me to irrigate thru the (M)Ace. I also have a colostomy but use the Ace for irrigation. (Long story short ... anal muscles didn't function in synchronicity which resulted in chronic constipation/pelvic floor syndrome... which led to colostomy.)

Some of YOU gave me tips on speeding up irrigation in the past.

My pal is just that -- a very creative friend -- and can't make these kits in mass but we were wondering how many folks out there could be helped. He built me a kit using intake and outtake tubing which is pressurized by a blood pressure pump (the most costly part of it and which people would have to buy if interested). The tubing fits into a cap of an Arizona Tea w/ Ginseng Bottle (!) and I use almost 3 liters of water/day. My transit time is fast so I need to irrigate daily or almost...depending on input. Benefit of this gizmo is that water goes thru it quite quickly... it now can take me about 30 min whereas before, at least 1 1/2 hrs. There's a lot of tubing that allows you to walk abound w/o leakage and do other things simultaneously.

This could be dicey with a young child or baby who has tender tissue that could get harmed by so much pressure near or thru the MACE (tho the pressure is contained in the catheter...) but my pal is wary of this and probably wouldn't want to offer it to a young 'un.

Unlike some of you, I use plain water and I'm wondering if you have found that your various "cocktails" really do speed the process. (Btw, I have no idea where one child's GoLytely fluid went... I know water does get abosrbed... could it go back up and get released the next day?) I tried Miralax but didn't notice the process went any faster.

Anyway, if you have interest, PM me or post here. It has taken many trials to get this pump to work right but right now, it seems to be doing the trick.

On another note, it doesn't seem that manufacturers regard irrigators as a prime market as few advancements have been made. I still use Convatec irrig sleeves as I like how they close the best -- which knocks out other pouches I may want to use. I wish other companies would develop a low-profile system (adhesive sleeve) that doesn't fall off w/ the rush of irrigated water!

Diane C.

My daughter has a MACE but we find that if the washout goes through too fast it just ends up going around the edges of the poop and not taking it through with it.
She doesn't have a colostomy so the washout has to clear her whole colon. Just saline doesn't go through at all so we do have to use much stronger mixes.These speed it up, in that if we don't use them it doesn't come through at all but all up it's still an hour or more.
I'd love to get it faster but putting it in faster doesn't seem to make the flush go much faster coming out, it just seems to do a less efficient job of taking everything with it.
A few of us have the same issue with the solution going through too fast and cutting around the edges,and having to slow it down. I'm thinking that while the pump might work for some that this is a problem others might have with it.
Any ways of getting it happening faster would be great though, it's a bit of a drag for her having to sit for so long.

Rosemary

Hi,
Wow, those are some issues... I never heard of incomplete clean-out like that... I do have a colostomy but it all comes out --whoosh... I wonder if something else is going on. Have you discussed w/ the doctor?

How old is your daughter? I know my surgeon and my friend who built me the gizmo are concerned that too much pressure could be detrimental to young tissue... tho I honestly can't imagine the catheter bursting.... the water I use stays inside a long catheter... I don't use a pediatric-size catheter.

I wonder if some mix out there would pull everything together for you....?

Diane C