? leaking valve

Hi Mary,
Everything that you describe, except for the hernia, is perfectly normal...your valve, which is kind of like a 3-5inch canal with the valve at one end and the stoma at the other, can hold about a tbls worth of mucus and other stuff inside and then release it at a later time...usually it is either clear or slightly tinted mucus with some residue of whatever went through it...(seeds, chunks, particles etc...) I intubate my pouch before going into the bath and nothing comes out but when get up and out of the tube, a get a trickle of stuff.
As long as it is only after intubating I am fine with it...intubating 'irritates' the tissue in the valve and stimulates the production of mucus so if you need to pull your tube out a lot to clear it of chunks or blockages or if you need to intubate often for some reason, you may find that you produce more mucus.
I usually keep 1/2 a minipad stuck to the inside of my unddies and add a folded up kleenex directly over the stoma to catch the dampness...that way I only need to change the kleenex and not the minipad.
As for the hernia, if it is midline and does not extend over to the stoma site of close to it, it shouldn't be a problem for the stoma...it is when it gets too close that it can effect the integrity of the valve (the muscle holding it tightly in place can lossen its hold on the valve and cause problems.
Sharon

Thanks that is what I thought. I bear down to expel stuck food instead of pulling out the cath I figured it would be better and less damaging to the valve, that is probably why the hernia re occurred, it was there pre op, from an old stoma site probably need it fixed and need mesh I typically use a bandage to cover my stoma

Mary

You sound like you are doing just fine...so don't worry...it gets easier over time and you will quickly become an expert.
Sharon

What cath do you use? If I use the stiff one I will get stuff that spits up. If I use the softer bullet one it doesn't happen. I think the stiff one is damaging so I only use it if I have to, usually if I decide to irrigate I use that one.

Camy,

You should not bear down to expel food stuck in your cath. By doing this, you can damage the valve. You should pull the catheter out and clean it, and then re-insert. Same holds true if your output is too thick. Again, don't bear down. Take a bulb syringe and irrigate to thin the output.

I get lazy at times, and I too, bear down. But my surgeon has warned me many times that this can damage the valve.

I have to bear down like I am going to the bathroom like a normal person with a colon. I also have to stand up and bend slightly over to get anything to move out since my pouch is weird like that. I was never told it is bad. I push my soma and valve in as I do it so there is no real strain.

I asked my surgeon after my latest revision, when he was with me when the indwelling surgery tube was taken out & while I was putting my normal catheter in to intubate for the first time if it hurt the valve to bear down (grunt) to get the contents out of the pouch & he told me it was okay to do this & it wouldn't cause damage to the valve. I had always wondered about that in the past. I'd be interested in hearing what other Koch pouch users have been told about this, as Bodoni & Vanessa & I have been told different things. - Dixie

Pretty much the only 'no-no' that Dr C told me was to never intubate without lube...other than that I irrigate regularly if the output is thick and I pull out the tube and clear the holes if they are stuffed with stuff...I am a really bad chewer so it happens often and that causes my valve to get damp afterwards...
I know that you should not be to rough with it, don't yank or pull if it gets stuck inside and never force the tube in if it won't go...
Sharon

interesting...I have had to bear down using my abdominal muscles for 34 yrs. My surgeon said no problem. He said it would be the same to the valve doing sit ups or exercise and not to worry. Having the cath inserted protects it anyway.

Unchewed food or pills, etc will often pop out of stoma sometimes days or weeks later. To help gets whats trapped inbetween the valve and stoma as you pull out cath (or if you've had to take cath out and reinsert it), after the final interbation, I take tissue and lightly tap on my stoma unless it's so constricted all seems out. I'll still have mucous, or a bit mixed with tiny poo, but helps.

all normal. great to hear you're doing well!