Battle of the leaky valve continues!

Eric,
Sounds more and more like your pouch is down...or twisted which would explain why you are leaking while intubated...(is your output thin enough?)...normally your stoma is in the middle of your pouch, more or less about 1/3 of the way from the top...meaning they sew your pouch to the wall so that it hangs that way (imagine a baloon with liquid in it on its side, as long as the nipple of the baloon is on the up-side of the baloon the liquid can't leak but if rolls and the nipple is lower than the liquid line then it leaks...if your pouch is down off of the wall then it will leak with or without the tube in)...if it is down it can 'pull' down on your valve and force it open so that whatever is inside comes out...the fuller it gets the more it pulls down (it can be just partially off and then it would twist...painful and almost worse)...it will also be effected by the position you are in...if you are sitting or laying down it could push on the pouch and force the valve open too...
keep it as empty as possible for now.
Hugs
Sharon

Have I told you I love you lately? Thanks honey, what you're saying makes so much sense to me, but why do these things always happen when the doctor is on vacation? Lol! He's not back until the 17th, until then I'm keeping my pouch as empty as possible, and keeping my stool loose. I've put the drain back on, and taped think gauze around the exterior of my stoma so if it keeps leaking around the catheter it won't ruin my clothes (actually, I'm using Poise absorbent pads, they tend to absorb liquid much better). The most frustrating part is I'm suppose to return to work this coming Monday, but now I'm not sure what to do. Should I go back, and then have to go through the entire LTD process again, or do I just stay off work until I'm certain I won't require more surgery? I swear it's enough to make a person crazy.......wait.......TOO LATE!!!!!! I was just hoping I'd be fine and back to work by this point, but......hey, uncertainty is part of life, it's just one of life's little frustrations you have zero control over I guess. Not that I'm overly religious, but I thank god every day for this site, and all of you, who've helped me though this journey, I really could not have done it with you, I'd have lost my mind.......actually, not really, how could I loose something I never had to begin with? Stay tuned for more exciting details on my next instalment of "as the pouch leaks", nite nite all,

Eric

So sweet...
Eric,
As far as I know (and I have lived through this one a couple of times) you will have to have it put back up, that means surgery. That is...if that is the real problem and not something else...I know that Dr C does not do laporoscopic surgery but if it is Just the pouch being down, then it can be put back on the wall that way (I had it done here, twice!)...first you need a diagnosis (and it must be just that for laporoscopy and nothing else), then a discussion with Dr C as to what can be done and finally whether or not he is willing to work with a laporosocpic surgeon to put it back up...if for any reason there is another problem as well, with the valve, then all bets are off and it ends up being open surgery (they cannot do the valve through laporosocpy although I am working on it now with my French surgeon)...
Hang in there, extend your LTD if possible because if the pouch is down then you should not be bending, stretching, pushing or pulling heavy things (just like for a hernia)...
Hugs
Sharon

Eric,
try this; buy some good quality nursing pads.I use Lansinoh regularly and have used Medela. I don't know what products you have. Cut a slit from the outer edge to the center and the make a small cross cut for the place for catheter to sit. I recommend the nursing pads because they are more effective than gauze in keeping leakage from getting on your clothes.
If you aren't using it, you will probably have to use paper tape to keep it on.

Just a little P.S. to everyone else's good info...if you cannot afford the nursing pads (I think that they are expensive) then use those feminine panty liners (the biggest format that you can find) cut in half and then the Y slit down to the middle of it...then place the half around your tube...they are also very absorbant and somewhat cheap...
I couldn't get the breast pads at a reasonable cost here so I used those.
Sharon

quote:

Lansinoh

I was using these. I get them on Amazon for a decent price and one usually lasts me a day. But someone said they were being more "green" and went with reusable nursing pads. I tried a few brands and found one that is decent so hopefully these will work. I am so tired of my trash basket piling up.