UOAA Discussion Board

I am a new ostomate, had emergency surgery in February that resulted in a colostomy. It has been an ordeal finding the right appliance as I was constantly having issues with pancaking causing leakage.
I am currently using a Hollister cut to fit convex wafer with a filtered closed pouch. The pancaking and leakage are better but now the issue is the front and back of the pouch get stuck together which doesn’t allow the stool to properly slide down the pouch even with lubricants.
I tried blowing air into the pouch, doesn’t work. I tried putting rolled up toilet tissue in the pouch, doesn’t work.
Any other suggestions?

Thank you for joining our Discussion Board. We welcome new members. Although I do not have a colostomy, & the ostomy I have expels much more fluid contents, I use a drainable pouch which I flush out after each emptying with clear water.
You may consider contacting your manufacturer, Hollister, for any suggestions they may have. In the meantime, please continue to post.

Good Morning KLs;

I am a colostomate like you. I would suggest that you get a Drainable pouch. I use the Hollister New Image two piece system, it will allow you to actually rinse out the pouch while is it still attached, and allow burping by just loosening one of the tabs.

Since you are a colostomate you might want to research "irrigation" which basically eliminates stool in the pouch, which solves the problem of pancaking etc. I have bee3n irrigating since 2005 and find it to be a good solution. With the Hollister New Image system I wear the mini pouch which is very low profile.

Read about irrigation in the irrigation forum on this discussion board, Also on facebook I particularly like a site called Colostomy_Irrigationers.

Jim

Try to drink fluids more than you have been doing. A looser bowel movement might solve the problem.

Do I remove the pouch to rinse it? I had emergency surgery at the end of May and am new to this process.

Seated on the toilet, I simply fill a plastic cup with approx. 6 ounces of tap water, (my sink is within reach). Open & empty the pouch as usual. And pour the clean water from the cup into the opening allowing the water to swish around a bit before emptying it into the toilet bowl. It may take more than the original cup of water to satisfactorily clean out the pouch. And the process may take a little practice.
I use the plastic cup, although others have had success with a plastic bottle which you may find more convenient. I also use a sheet of toilet tissue to clean/dry the inside of the pouch (spout) rim before securing it.
I hope this is of some help.