Dealing with Excessive Gas After Colostomy: Is It Normal?

It's been almost a year since I've had my colostomy. And since I've been back to work, I've noticed that I have lots more gas. Is it normal to have that much gas? And my goodness, is it loud. Anyone else have this going on also?

Hi there,

Certain foods will cause you to have a lot of gas. And don't worry, we all pass gas. Lol. When I have ice cream, oohhh boy, my ileo goes crazy. You can hear it across a room, lol. Figure out what foods are giving you gas, and if you feel uncomfortable in public or think someone hears it, crack a joke.

Yeah, for the most part, my coworker's just look at me funny or they laugh with me. I just tell them that Frankie wanted to give her 2 cents also.

The one that surprised me this summer was watermelon, which I eat a lot of. It sounded like a war zone in my house sometimes. It makes me extra special glad I am retired and I can pick and choose when to be around other people! :-)

Daniel

My gas isn't too loud. My wife is still getting used to it. Maybe some enterprising medical manufacturer will come up with a device, kinda like a small harmonica, that is affixed to your stoma. That way you provide informal tunes at inappropriate times. Toot...

Loud gas is the last frontier to control. My stomach can be really loud...and I work in very quiet offices. I keep a muffler, aka a sweater, nearby to muffle the sounds. And save the ice cream, pizza...and major gas-producing food for the weekend. I drink peppermint tea during the day and have a light lunch...sometimes I still get loud gas, which is normal...but it would be far worse if I was eating ice cream.

I don't have much gas but when I do and I'm at work I just say I have a filter. 😁 Most at work know what I have.

Lol, especially when it comes out of nowhere. Lol, or plays a little song for you.

How about we all get together after we train our stoma to make a certain note. Mine makes "a few different notes." We could form our own orchestra, "The Stoma Philharmonic Orchestra" or "The Philha Bag Orchestra." Start tuning up, rehearsals start in 2 weeks. Regards, IGGIE

We would be one awesome band 😁

Hello Ostomy4life_22.
Thank you for this post which is timely for me as my stoma has recently changed from having no sound whatsoever, to  recurrent loud farting noises.
My logic tells me that there is only one probable explanation for the noise which is:

The noise from gas emanates from the entrance to the stoma, which is fairly tightly squashed together: as the gas passes through the entrance it makes the stoma surfaces flap together which is the sound we hear as a fart (a bit like a deflating balloon when we stretch the entrance). The reason mine has reverted back to making a noise is that I have been using stoma plugs for years, which held the entrance to the stoma open. These plugs are porous, so let the gas through without the edges of the stoma meeting each other - hence, no noise. Recently, I have had a stoma prolapse and have had to stop using the plugs. the noise began immediately afterwards.
A simple (mechanical) solution to stopping the noise, would therefore seem to be to use stoma plugs. BUT! (there's nearly always a 'butt'!) the bad news is that I have been reliably informed (by Coloplast) that they are discontinuing the manufacture of stoma plugs and I am not aware of anyone else that manufactures them.
The relatively good news is that I have (long-ago) experimented with making such a device for myself (as the manufactured ones were not entirely perfect).
These devices are not very different to women's 'Tampons' and they have been used successfully for decades. All that is needed is a device to stop them disappearing into the stoma without the means to pull them back out.
I devised a 'plastic plug', (made from a Vicks nasal inhaler) which did the job but sometimes got blocked with output. So, I drilled some tiny holes in the sides to let the gas out. (THIS WAS A BIG MISTAKE!) What happened was the walls of the stoma acted like the limbs of an octopus and squeezed through the tiny holes. It took me ages to think of a solution to free it up without ripping the stoma walls apart. I therefore don't recommend that route.
However, Tampons did work if  I tied the string to my baseplate so that it did not get sucked into the stoma, but the material was not as effective as that used in the stoma plugs. So, I feel that a solution to the problem would be a plastic plug (like the Vicks nasal inhaler) with a porous plastic plug material in the end to let the gas through but prevent the stoma walls from entering. 
Unfortunately, I have not the time to devote to this sort of mechanical experimentation at present, as I am midway through the second volume of my next book -entitled 'WHEXT'2. However, your post has motivated me to pen a rhyme about the subject, so, you can expect that to appear as a post in the next few days.
Best wishes

Bill

I'm a chemical dependency counselor who gives lectures and has groups. I have not returned to work yet and I'm terrified due to the gas and how loud it is. I will not be able to do my job effectively anymore. I don't feel! I'm going crazy over this.

Well... it is after all.... a natural process. It's only bothersome if you let it be that way. I go to meetings at work all the time. When my stoma begins to toot.... I point at the engineer next to me.... Everyone chuckles. It's well known I have an Ostomy. My coworkers are impressed I'm back on the job, and not sitting at home on disability. After all, its just a little digestive gas noise.

Yes, I have this problem! I woke up with a colostomy after emergency surgery, and no one warned me about gas. I guess I didn't even know what a colostomy was at the time, so it didn't dawn on me that it would make noise. It scared me half to death the first time I heard it - everyone at the hospital was like YAY, that means it's working! When my sister came to visit, it made her jump from across the room - I forgot to tell her it may happen. I also scared a nurse who was bending over me taking my vitals - so embarrassing. Once, a plane was flying over the hospital and I asked the nurse OMG was that me? I was on some good drugs LOL. But it gave me some scares that first week!

Going back to work in a quiet office has been difficult - I try to keep a plastic bag within reach on my desk, so I can crinkle it to try and disguise my noises....but often it just happens suddenly and there's no time. I try to muffle it with my hand over my stoma. Most of my coworkers know about it and they laugh it off, but there are times I'm in meetings with people who don't know, or out in public at stores and if the store is quiet enough it can be a little embarrassing. Seems to happen at the worst time too. At home I find it hilarious - other times, not so much! I just live with it and try not to eat things that trigger too much gas while I'm working.

Here is a link to a site I found for gas in colostomies

https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-to-prevent-embarrassment-from-colostomy-gas-796578

I like the band idea! No judgments if anyone is out of tune...

STOMA NOISE-FART FILTERS.

Most stoma bags have filters in
but they are nowhere near our skin.
Their function is to stop the smell
and some of them can do that well.

But what about that farting noise
which, when it’s very loud, annoys
both us and people all around,
or at least, that’s what I’ve found.

How do we make that noise abate
before it’s out, when it’s too late?
How do we muffle out that sound
coming from our stoma mound.

Our bags, our hands, and clothes won’t do
because the sound will still come through
to cause us horrid harassment
and plenty of embarrassment.

The problem seems to be displayed
in the way that farts are made,
which comes directly from the spout
that lets the flowing gasses out.

I believe that this noise happens
like balloons and whoopie cushions,
where the air is pressurised
and wobbly sides are mobilised.

Thus, if something is wedged inside
our stoma, gas can better slide
to the outside world without
vibrating the sides of the spout.

Stoma plugs will do the trick
because the gasses do not stick.
This method lets the farts flow free
of noise, and yet they still will be.

 

STOMA NOISE-FART FILTERS. (continued)
--
But now I feel I must forewarn
folk that plugs have been withdrawn,
so, we must try to find a way
to replace stoma-plugs someday.

Already, I’ve used DIY,
designing devices to try
to replicate what plugs have done
to control gasses from my tum.

Some have worked and some have not,
some simply fill up with the grot,
yet,  there has been some small success
in slowing down that gas excess.

The tampon, as a stoma plug
acts more like a great big slug,
which quickly coats itself in slime
becoming useless in quick time. 

I’ve used a nasal inhaler 
as a stoma impaler,
but the end bit soon gets blocked
and acts a bit like a stopcock.

I think the next thing I can do
to help the gas flow freely through
is to insert a porous sponge
in plastic tube, then take the plunge.

I see no reason why this should
not be a device that is good
to channel gas within it so
it has no other place to go.

This would hold the stoma wall
as if it was a finger stall,
so stop the flapping and the sound 
for which our stomas are renowned.

But irrigation is the key
so output doesn’t bother me.
                                                B.Withers 2023

Nothing better than a good fart poem above! Gas is either air that you swallow or food that you eat. Post nasal drip is a big gas producer. If it is food, there are a lot of things that may help from diet modification, Lactaid, Beano, simethicone etc.

I cannot resist saying beans beans the musical fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot.

If you have a cell phone farting ring tone like I do, you can say you have a phone call.

Good day everyone, if mine farts or rumbles, I just say, "I have an ileostomy and it speaks for itself, but if you laugh, I'll blame it on you." Regards, Iggy

Hey GentleJohn,

It could also be an old fart calling you.

Thanks, GentleJohn. Now I have this song stuck in my head! :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO8iZIVZmsU

 

Good day, Daniel. Can you turn the sound up, please? I have bees in my ears.

I'm scheduled for surgery in December and I'm a high school choir teacher... Now you've got me thinking!!!

OK, don't get me started... I'd be preaching to the choir.

Everyone farts; we just have an excuse to do it whenever the hell we want, enjoy the privilege, and smile.

I just say excuse me like I did when farts came out unexpectedly from my tush. Life goes on and no one pays that much attention to bodily functions.