Using Loperamide to Manage Stoma Output: Seeking Advice

Adjusting to getting out there with a bag isn't easy! I bring supplies and a change of clothes with me when I'm out. If it's in the car I feel protected in a way. Also difficult is learning how to empty a bag! Depends on the bag itself too, they all come with a different method. I saw someone mention this but I swear by it. Leaving thicker toilet paper, an empty bottle to fill with water, and a small container of my Hollister m9 odor eliminator drops mixed with their adapt lubricant. I first add water to the output and move it around esp around the stoma. Sometimes I need two rinses. Thin toilet paper, one ply, is a nightmare and always gets stuck in my bag! So having some that I can depend on not fighting with is a relief. The m9 drops are amazing and help eliminate most odor so when you empty you don't feel everyone knows. 

I've found it awesome to not need to even sit down to empty. So much faster and easier this way than using my evil conventional bum!!! 

We all have different methods. So taking that to slow your output, esp if suggested, isn't bad. I watch what I'm eating if I am going out and try to make sure it's something that will be thickening. Also when eating I take breaks (that I don't want to!!) so the output isn't crazy while I'm trying to sleep. I personally use a prescription med for cramping when needed called Bentyl and that does slow the output just enough. I have to say I'm only a couple years into this bag life and it's becoming easier to put myself out there. If there's a bulging bag? I simply hold my purse over the area and go empty it. 

Give yourself time and know that you're going to find your perfect formula. I'm STILL figuring out what time to eat dinner so I'm not awake all night emptying. It's a work in progress. Having one another to speak to means so much! 

I have a colostomy. The way I control output is to eat less during the day, and my main meal is dinner. The less I eat, the less output. If I am going out to dinner that evening, I have coffee or tea in the morning, lunch is soup or ramen noodles, then dinner. But still, I do not eat a lot because most foods in restaurants have lots of extra additives that give me loose stools anyway. So my main focus is the conversation with the company I am with. But sometimes, I just want to eat like a pig, eat all the bread, drink tons of wine, and have a big fat piece of chocolate cake!

I have had a colostomy since last April. I do not worry about the output I have when out around town. I do have a bag that is in the vehicle if I need to change. I have doggy poo bags, a half ziplock bag of wood pellets, a container to hold the bag, wet wipes, and toilet paper so I can empty my bag if needed.

I go where I want anytime I want. Don't let a pouch slow you down. I carry a backpack with everything I need in case of an accident. I also empty whenever and wherever I need: McDonald's, Walmart, service stations, anywhere. I carry a Gatorade bottle in my backpack to use for washout. I don't fast and don't recommend that you do. Just go about your business and empty when you need to, wherever you are. This is your new life now. Live it to the fullest.

Morphine slows your output?

My Ostomy Journey: Kimberly | Hollister

Sixty years ago, when I was 13 years old, I didn't eat the night before so I could swim or do another physical activity. In those days, that was the only way to control output. I didn't even have deodorant for inside or outside the pouch. Our pouches weren't disposable, so odor was a concern. Eighteen years later, I had my ileostomy converted to a Koch pouch; then I used a catheter I placed through a very small flat stoma. The surgery has lasted me for 45 years. I'm so grateful. You all should be grateful you have disposable appliances these days. ;o)

Don't understand your statement. “How did your phone change loperamide?”

I checked on the foundation; they wanted me to sign up for a membership in order to apply for a card.

I eat a light breakfast, like a piece of toast or two, so it does not start the domino effect and push last night's output out too early, but hopefully at evening dinner. I use marshmallows too to slow my output as well, or in extreme cases, I use loperamide, and that will bung me up for about 24 hours, which is great for long journeys or flying, which I need to start doing again after 7 years of not doing so for fear of an accident with output, as I'm a double man bagger!! ☹️

Yes.

Typically, they prescribe tincture of opium, but my insurance wouldn't pay for it.