Stomas - is there some kind of 'disposable' option?

[BoyMeetsWorld]

Please bear with me here... Basically my MIL has had a stoma for some time (she has a colostomy) & she's really unhappy because the bags she's been using, she basically HATES having to dispose of them. I don't want to be crude but she says that she feels like she's a dog with a poop bag :( it makes her really paranoid and if we're out she tries her damnedest to wait until we're near home and our own bins to change, which can end up with leaks from waiting too long, not good. I know very little about this, but at the train station the other day I'm sure I overheard two (quite young) ladies chatting about a flush able stoma pouch?! Obviously I didnt like to go and ask them in case I'd got the wrong end of the stick, but does anybody know anything about this / tried it? If it does exist it sounds like exactly what my MIL could do with...

Did you Google because they seem t be very findable if those are the right thing.

A friend of mine needed a colostomy bag after her Crohn's Disease got out of control...she's only my age (35) :(

I'm sure she gets flushable bags on the NHS...I'll email her now and ask.

One lady I know irrigates every day. She has much more control.

www.colostomyassociation.org.uk/index.php?p=200&pp=3&i=54&page=Irrigation

Perhaps she could look into to that, check it out with her doctor or stoma nurse.

Thank you all, NCfornow - I did have a google but I wasn't so sure if those Freestyle Vie Ones were what I heard the girls talking about... Those can't be completely flushed down a toilet, or can they? Has anybody used them?

Cailleach yes please if you could ask your friend that would be wonderful, thanks so much for your help

DH had a stoma for 3 years and we said goodbye to Ripley last year. He was using the Dansac Maxi pouches which are meant to stay on for approx 3 days but due to his prolapse (12") we had to change it several times a day as the size pushed them off.

This pouch has a clip and a velcro option where you can just empty it into the toilet and iirc you can get deodorising patches to put into the pouch.

How is she getting on with her skin around the site?

Is she using the rings round the flange on the bag? We found they helped hold off the leaks for a bit longer. SecuPlast I think they were called. Fittleworth supplied DH and CliniMed are also helpful.

Right, my friend has come back to me now with an answer... she says and I quote:

"I was told when I had my stoma that I could have flushable bags or non-flushable ones...tried the latter and hated them, so I get flushables now on prescription. However the stoma nurse tells me not every stoma patient can use flushables; I never though to ask her why though so this lady may want to ask her doctor about changing over and whether they'll be suitable in her case."

She goes on to say that hers are made by a company called Welland, and that there are loads of different types of bags, so if the ones your MIL is using right now aren't suitable for her, there are bound to be some that are.

Hope she gets sorted!

Thanks again everybody so much, youve all been really helpful. Seeing MIL this weekend so will pass on info. Notgrownup - haha it's funny hearing about 'Ripley' - MIL's is called Mabel & I thought it was a bit odd at first but clearly naming Stomas is not so unusual! I think with her, although there are things that could be done to help leakage etc (I'm not 100% sure tbh if she's using the extra rings around the flanges - I don't think so), it's more the principle of having to "bag it and bin it"...she really hates it and I'm not sure will ever get used to it, I'd love to be able to help her find something she's happier with. I just had a look about what type of Stomas can use a flushable bag and it seems colostomy only (not ileostomy) so that's fine for MIL. But I still don't really get which bit of the bag gets flushed, it looks more like the lining than the whole bag which presumably means shed still have bits left to wrap up & bin or deal with mess. Will def look into it more though. That Freestyle one keeps cropping up everywhere I look - and Clinimed / Welland seem to be the same thing is that right? It's all a bit confusing. Think MIL has Charter ATM but il give her the info and let her take over looking into it if she thinks it's for her.

Thankfully there are alot of options out there and its trial and error. Yep, a friend of ours has just had a stoma put in and its name is Harry.

Has she asked her stoma nurse about irrigating? This can be a good way of managing a colostomy (see link above).

There are a number of flushable bags.

Is she in contact with the Colostomy Association? it is free and they send a very informative magazine in plain packaging.

How old is she? Is she likely to have a normal life span?

Hi all,
So to follow up...I passed the info onto MIL and she really appreciated it. She hadn't realised there was a possible flush able option. As others on here have rightly suggested, not everyone can have them but it seems her stoma type (colostomy) and the consistency of her output (sorry for TMI) are suitable. Oddly though even though a few people have said there are lots of options, we really can't find them! There was a product called NovoLife (sp?) by Dansac I think but apparently that's discontinued? & I've found one called colimajic but that's a liner not whole flush able bag do that just seems to leave the Welland / Clinimed one here: www.freestylevieflushable.co.uk/ . Does anybody know of any others before we go ahead and start ordering samples? We've booked MIL a stoma nurse appointment too but it's not for a few weeks until we can get to the clinic - guess its not really urgent - and she'd like to start trying some ideally before then. Thanks! Oh and to answer the other q's she's 57 and we very much hope going to have normal life span now, not been told otherwise :s

Thats brilliant! Our neighbour lived with hers for years and was way into her 80's before she passed away (not stoma related) and she had hers for years.

Speak with the Colostomy Association too they're really helpful.

Glad the outcome is looking good!

look at this website - NACC

You may find it helpful.

DH had an ileostomy (reversed 10 years ago) for ulcerative colitis.

It may be easier to talk to someone who already has a colostomy (DH through the Ileostomy Ass) speaks to patients pre and post op.

Freestyle Vie is only flushable one I know about, and yes, there is wrapping to dispose of as I remember. It's important to check that adhesive is suitable for each patient, which is reason I don't use them, but firm will send trial samples on request. I think Clinimed (0800 036 0100 for free sample) is wholesaler.