With men, this can be more of an issue than with women, who have more choices, what with skirts and dresses. Thank you, dresses! Only if men could wear dresses too, that would solve the problem 🤔🤷♂️🤦. (But that's another discussion.) I would just say be creative.
I have a few pet peeves, one of which is I need to have something tucked in. My colostomy is above my belt line.
The very first thing I did when I got home was modify a few new tank tops. I marked where my flange lines up and I cut out a hole. Now I can wear a tank top tucked in without having to tuck the bag in. My surgeon chuckled and said he had never seen that. I thought everyone would do it naturally. Huh.
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I must be missing something here. I wear a T-shirt under a button-down shirt tucked in and suspenders. My stoma is at belt level. Do you guys wear the bag over or under your pants? There is no way I could have the bag over my pants because of the normal belt line. All the ads for Stealth Belt show the guy with a belt below the stoma, but I don't have enough ass for that trick.
In the very beginning time of my stoma "what to do" days, I didn't know better.
I wore two shirts.
A tee-shirt with a hole cut in it for the bag to hang out.
This tee could be tucked in. No issues there. The bag, yes exposed, hanging...
The 2nd shirt, a longer tee or button-down shirt, hid everything untucked.
They make untucked shirts. A bit expensive but dressy and casual. This worked until I got a system allowing me to turn the bag 45 degrees. So the bag goes sideways. With a mounting belt and a wrap-around support.
Never looked back.
Tuckable never looked so good.
Changing from a 1-piece to a 2-piece solved all tucking issues.
Where is your belt (and buckle) in relation to your stoma? I have a Hollister 2-piece, so the bag can go anyplace. When I used a Stealth Belt that way, it caused disastrous pancaking. Too much material in front of the stoma for me, even with suspenders.
My pants belt is about 1-2 inches below my stoma. It's close, yeah, but my belt always goes under the stoma. I wear fat or wide belts for pants. The buckle is dead center as normally worn pre-stoma days. That should not change.
Never had a problem.
Those stealth belts just don't do it right for me.
So, I stay with the mounting plate belt to help prevent leaks. And a wrap like a tube top cut with an open end for a clasp.
Very sweaty in summer, but I got support. I feel confident there are no leaks.
Those 2-piece systems are a game changer.
Hello wef.
Thanks for this interesting interjection.
I asked for my stoma to be placed just below the belt line so that I could wear a belt without interfering with the stoma.
However, as fashion changes, the waistbands of trousers seem to have got lower and my stoma is now directly in line with the beltline.
My adaptation for this dilemma was to design a hard/plastic screw cap to go inside the bag (I use my own baseplates which this is attached to). This allows output without pancaking and also lets me wear a belt directly over the stoma. My belt is basically a seatbelt for wheelchair users with a big clip-in buckle; just to the left of the buckle I have adapted a metal screw top from a jar, this is fixed to the belt and goes over the stoma device and the clothing. This stops the belt from sliding off the desired line and gives a very comfortable 'fit'. For me, it has the added advantage of acting as a perisomal hernia belt.
By using such a distinct and somewhat protruding, visible (distracting)buckle with a wide belt, the stoma becomes almost invisible, despite having a hard protruding cover.
After designing this, my attention has been drawn to the design of big (fancy) buckles in the shops, some of which might be appropriate for my purposes. However, the one I'm using is both functional and in common use for many other purposes so, it does not look out of place as a belt buckle.
I just thought I'd share this in the context of your post and the spirit of experimentation
Best wishes
Bill
It's understandable to miss the simplicity of tucking in a shirt, especially with the unique challenges ostomates face. While women may have more clothing options, men can still get creative. Maybe experimenting with different styles of shirts or finding tops with adjustable lengths could help. On another note, I recently came across some services for custom embroidery, like Mato & Hash. Personalizing clothing can add a unique touch and boost confidence. If you're ever looking to add a personal flair to your wardrobe, custom embroidery might be worth considering. Check out their options here: https://matohash.com/pages/custom-embroidery
Hi Iggie,
Can you please explain to me more about how this Iggie clip works? And what it does?
Thank you.
G-Day ClaraD, the clip is so you can fold the bottom of the bag over and make it shorter if you wish. It also secures the bag so it doesn't open by accident. I also glued a small but strong earth magnet to it so it doesn't
come undone by accident. See photo. Regards, IGGIE
Hello Kevin here. I am new to the world of ostomies, January 2024. I have a urostomy and, like you, I grew up tucking in my shirt. My brother-in-law buys shirts not made to be tucked in, even though he has no ostomy. They are online products, but they run around $100 per shirt.
I had a gentleman tell me to use two pairs of socks rolled up, one on each side of the bag under my belt line. This allowed me to tighten my belt and keep my jeans on. It also allowed the bag to drain and not sit in the top half of the bag. My bag is a one-piece, which works best for me as my waistline (bend line) is just below the flange, and it pops the two-piece bags apart! My stoma is on the right side near my belly button, and my belt runs normally right under the flange. I have bought shirts, especially pullover shirts that run long, and it hides my bag most of the time. If I am just out and about running errands, I am too old to care what people think; they need to learn something new, I feel. However, going out to eat, I am sure people would appreciate not seeing urine. I am also like some others on here; I would like to wear a suit for weddings, etc., and want to tuck in my shirt. So, I am going to try the socks idea with that. They are a little bulky but flatten with the belt being cinched up. Perhaps someone would make, say, a smaller roll of some type of breathable cloth with a clip to hold them in place on your pants. Perhaps an idea for one of the belt-selling companies. Good luck.
