PLUGS

Hey, I'm looking into plugs and I would like to try them (I have a colostomy). Does anyone know where I can order some from? Or have any comments about them? Any information would be much appreciated. Thanks so much!

Hello Lily22. I use a coloplast plug (Conseal plug 1445)which has a depth of 45mm. They do a smaller plug but it would not stay in properly. I change mine every day as I irrigate every night. I find that they work quite well for months on end but every now and then the peristalsis (which in my case is very strong) will push the plug out and it is later to be found compressed on the outside of the stoma. This has not been a great problem as the wafer still holds. The only thing is that it can become a little uncomfortable at times when this happens. As with many things to do with stomas -- the advantages far outweigh the disadvntages!!I have experimented with plugs I have mede for myself, which do not get pushed out but are not to be recommended as they do pose potential dangers that the Coloplast ones do not.I am sure that Coloplast will send you samples if you ask - they are good like that. Best wishesBill

Thank you for this question. I've never heard of a plug, but I believe I now get the idea and want to try one. Question... what about passing wind?

Hello patri. The plugs are made of a sort of foam material so passing wind is really no more of a problem than if I had no plug in at all.One great advantage is that passing wind never makes a noise; the plugs also have a charcoal filter so there is no smell either; they fit skin-tight so there are no bulges and I can wear tight belts if I so please. ( I do this anyway as it assists with the hernia!)Over the years there have been one or two isolated incidents/irritations but these are not faults with the device so much as being in too much of a hurry to finish the irrigation process.Best wishes Bill

Super duper, thanks! I think (think as in maybe) I'm basically (basically as in kinda-sorta) using a cotton swab as a plug without insertion, just pressing it flat and then bandaging it with a 2 x 4. I say basically loosely and just mean that I thought I'd noticed but wondered if I was imagining that when the stoma is pressed flat, passing wind is noiseless it seems. Does that seem about accurate? I shall try this new thing and laugh at what happens when we try to hurry the irrigation process. I too have learned not to, just in case; it is not worth the fuss. Again, thank you for the question, lilly22, and Bill for the chat!

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

WHAT IS A PLUG

Coloplast allowed their FDA approval to expire in the United States due to low sales. How I would like to see the Conseal plug or a suitable substitute be available to me. Wouldn't it be nice if irrigation were more widely taught and encouraged in my country? The feeling of ostomy living is so lightened and normalized by the virtual potty training of an otherwise involuntary bodily function. I am so appreciative of the internet crossing national and social boundaries and supplying such game-changing information to me. I know that that which creates and sustains me is already moving to further improve my day-to-day by eliminating gas sounds via US-available plugs or some safe and user-friendly alternative to me and those like me. I appreciate this thread mightily. It gives me information and a goal and therefore a journey to enjoy as life blesses me with what I have been shown to want for me. I appreciate this community where conversation of these things is par for the course and opportunities feel blasé and even happy about my ostomy.

Hello Patri. Yes! I share your view of this community offering an opportunity to talk about the things that others do not appreciate.

Hello Frenchie1931. A PLUG is probably best appreciated either as a sample or in picture form as it is not so easy to describe in words. Basically it is a cylindrical, foam-type substance attached to a wafer(a bit like a tampon with a wafer where the string would normally be attached.) I hope this helps.

I did use PLUG too many years ago. I stopped using them because I was feeling dizzy, and my belly became inflamed due to obstruction. I have to say that my stoma is ascendant. There is no noise with plugs.