# Colostomy Bags



## Stall Stalker (Mar 4, 1999)

Do any of you or anyone you know have a colostomy bag? I'm so sick of IBS screwing with my life that I'm really think I want to find out more on this subject.The concept sounds like heaven to me. I can eat anything I want and NEVER have to go to the restroom. (With exception of dumping this thing 2-3 times a day, which would take WAY less time than I do in the bathroom)Comments?


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## meckle (Mar 5, 2003)

What if you got a bag and then 6 months later they discovered a miracle cure for IBS ?


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## suki2 (Mar 27, 2003)

I had an ileostomy bag for 6-months. Food entered the bag from the small intestine before entering the colon where it would have been solidified. I was very unhappy with that because I had to empty it so many times a day because of all the liquid. However, I have a friend who has a colostomy bag & is completely happy with it. Sounds like they're much easier to handle than the ileostomy. Can even irrigate it in the morning and often have nothing else enter the bag the rest of the day.


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## boykin4 (Feb 15, 2003)

I thought about the same thing! I even mentioned it to my doctor. He said oh, no you dont mean that. But I feel the same as you, anything to keep this pain away and keep from screwing up my life!He also told me about 50% of the doctors in the US have IBS. Looks like someone could come up with some better meds, huh?


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## Stall Stalker (Mar 4, 1999)

I really don't think there will be any miracle cures any time in the near future. Also, I believe there is one or more methods used where you can have it done temporarily vs. permanently.I guess what I'm wondering is could you eat, drink, and be merry with the bag or is there a certain diet one would need to follow? Where is it located on the body, above the waist line, below? Are there any activities you can't participate in because of having the bag.For those of us with serious IBS, this seems like a no-brainer, that's why I was posting. Just think, I could actually go out and eat with friends and THEN go bowling. This vs. eating and running home or Bowling first then eat then run home.


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## Lynda J (Mar 4, 2003)

My brother has had a colstomy for about 8 years. Not a great way to go. He never knows when he is going to fill the bag. Plus there are times that the adhesive that hold the bag to your skin breaks loose and you **** all over yourself. Plus you have problems with gas. You have to open the bag to let the gas out or the bag will split and leak. So if you think that a colostomy is going to be the easy way out you better think again. Lynda


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:He also told me about 50% of the doctors in the US have IBS.


Made up. IBS in general population is about 9.4% in the US.


> quote:I can eat anything I want and NEVER have to go to the restroom. (With exception of dumping this thing 2-3 times a day, which would take WAY less time than I do in the bathroom)


Why do you think a colostomy bag would do that or even make any difference at all?


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## persian26 (Mar 2, 2003)

I worked with a woman whose son has a c bag...the poor kid was trying to go on a ride at the fair when it tore open and $$$$ was everywhere,,,she was trying to clean him up while everyone looked on...it was very traumatic for both mother & son....


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## Stall Stalker (Mar 4, 1999)

Hi flux, long time since I have been on but I remember you. To answer your question I could actually live my life couldn't I? I would no longer have to sit and cramp in a restroom for 30 minutes, only to get up and need to return 15 minutes later. I wouldn't be scared to ride in a car or be on someone else's schedule.If I understand the bag, your bowels simply dump into it. You dump it when its full and make sure you keep your self cleaned in that area as you would cleaning yourself in another area. The difference being I would never have to sit on a toilet ever again.I'm interested in your comments because that is why I'm posting; I see no drawbacks to this with what little I know about it.


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## KatieCC (Aug 27, 2002)

I had an ileostomy for UC.You don't want an ostomy unless you have to have one. I mean, it's great if it's your only option, have your colon removed or you'll die, but trust me, if you have any choice in the matter, you DO NOT want an ostomy!Yeah, they leak. Picture waking up in the morning, with you and the entire bed covered in sh*t. It WILL happen sometimes, and it's horrible. It makes you afraid to sleep.Or having a leak in public. Or all of the sudden the clip pops off the bottom of your bag, and there's poop running down your leg.Imagine having sex with a stuck to your side... how sexy does that make you feel? You can never be naked ever again, you will always have your bag.Then there's constant skin problems, without as much colon, the bile and stomach acid is not reabsorbed and the poop can burn its way through the bag adhesive, it will burn your skin. Because you're always ripping off bags and sticking new ones one, your skin will get so irritated, and then it just gets worse and worse because you cannot ever go without wearing the bag.You have to empty the bag probably 8 times a day, more if you don't want it to fill up too much and show through your clothes.Trust me you'll still spend plenty of time in the bathroom.And what makes you think a bag will get rid of the cramping? If your cramping is caused by a food intolerence, or stress, or your intestine are very sensitive, how would you know if having a bag would get rid of it? How do you know you won't just get the bag and still have the same problems? It's not like Crohn's or UC where you can see the disease and what parts to remove. And lastly... having an ostomy has such a horrible effect on your self image, your self esteem, everything. When I first got home from the hospital with mine, I had to have my mom change the bag because I couldn't look at my stoma without throwing up. I felt so disgusting. I felt like I was never clean, I always had a bag with poop in it attached to me, I was always touching poop when I changed it, when I would take a shower without the bag on there'd ben poop coming out my stoma and running down the drain.. it's awful. I swear.Have you ever seen a stoma? here are some sites. http://www.beardmorebros.co.uk/website%20pages/uc.htm http://www.ostomates.org/stomapics/ileopics.html and a last little point... I seriously doubt you'll find a surgeon willing to perform such a major surgery on someone without a real medical need for it.Kate


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## Stall Stalker (Mar 4, 1999)

You are right Kate, its not too pretty. GRR. OK, this is my last hope of a question. My cats eat Purina Cat Chow...the hard stuff. This is their entire diet and they have normal bowel movements and I suppose get all the nutrition they need.Question: Does such a product exist for humans? Having IBS, one thinks about just about anything. For example, what do we feed soldiers. I'm sure they can stop every ten minutes to wait on a fellow soldier to have D after eating steak and beer the night before. There must be something blan that contains all our necessary vitamins and minerals while producing nothing but rock solid stool. Surely it exists.


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:If I understand the bag, your bowels simply dump into it.


A colostomy bypasses just the rectum. What if primary site of your problem is not in your rectum but in the rest of the colon, which would remain intact?


> quote:My cats eat Purina Cat Chow..


Vivonex is one. See http://www.novartisnutrition.com/Info/us/vivonex.html. They have apparently found a way to mask the burnt flesh taste, too.


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## suki2 (Mar 27, 2003)

I feel for you Kate. I experienced everything you mentioned & was more than glad to have my ileostomy reversed. I know that some people do choose to have a colostomy (stool is more solid & predictable than ileostomy) because of chronic diarrhea problems & that their surgeons have performed the proceedure. My mother-in-law's neighbor said diarrhea was ruining her social life & career & she chose the colostomy. Says she's very happy that she did


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## Stall Stalker (Mar 4, 1999)

Boy Flux, that does look tasty...NOTMaybe it will come down to that. Geesh. I can say one thing about that stuff, a person shouldn't be overweight eating it.


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