Experiences with ConvaTec Natura Moldable Skin Barrier Wafer

Does anyone use the ConvaTec Natura Moldable Skin Barrier wafer? I requested samples of it from their website. I am always on the lookout for something that will make my life easier. Here is what I have to say about it... The hole is a lot smaller, and you don't cut it, you mold it around your stoma. I just tried it this morning when I changed my bag. I have a thought that it is stopping my stoma from fully outputting. From 6:40 am when I put it on to 5 pm at night, my stoma only outputted 200cc. His normal average by 5 is 1,200cc. I looked at my stoma and it is still rosy red so it isn't being suffocated, but I am not sure why it is only putting out a little. I have been eating like normal all day. Usually 2 to 3 hours after I eat there is output. The other comments I have about this product is that the part you attach the bag to, I find, hard to attach the bag onto because it is smaller than I am used to and the snap into place is more rigid. The wafer and bag I normally use has a larger and more flexible piece you attach the bag to. My final comment on this bag has to do with the opening where you let the output out at the bottom of the bag. My ones I normally use have a firmer piece of plastic all the way around the opening. It is easy to pop it open and get all the output out. This Natura one has a firm piece of plastic going half the way around and flimsy plastic on the other side. It is hard to get it open and when I went to empty it the plastic kind of burped and poop sprayed all over. I also found that I could not get all of the bag emptied out. I am not promoting or not promoting this versus Hollister products but I have found my Hollister products more suitable for me. I was just wondering what other people use and what they like. What features do you look for when choosing the right bag/wafer for you? Do others here try out other bags just to see if they work better or do you stick to what you know?

Lee

Hello Lee.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
 I have always tried to experiment with as many different devices as I can, so that if and when I settle down to one particular one I will feel confident that there are no others available that I might have been missing out on. 
Of late, I have been in direct contact with the Coloplast people because I have very specific needs with regard to fitting their devices to my own baseplates(and to satisfying other criteria). They were very helpful, and after much discussion we found some devices to suit my present needs. 
I would like to add that my own choices from their catalogue were not the ones that I ended up with, so their advice on the matter was invaluable. 
Best wishes

Bill 

Maybe put a product number the name Natura under Convatec covers a lot of products. I have been using Convatec Natura products for 25 years with amazing success and hope they don't change a thing, especially the clips  (in case anyone from Convatec reads this).

I pretty much stick to what I know. I tried a couple of other bags when I first got my sidekick but have always gone back to what I started with. I believe confidence in what a person uses is huge. The negative, for me, with moldables is that my stoma varies greatly in size and how much it sticks out, so if the moldable is good for how my stoma is when I first put my fresh bag on, does it continue to conform to my stoma as it changes throughout the time I use it? 🤷‍♂️

Hi Lee. I tried the moldable wafer previously and found that the moisture from the stoma and stool output softens and relaxes the wafer tight fit within a day or so. I used the Feather Lite 3 piece vinyl appliance from the former United Surgical for 45+ years with karaya paste filling the variable size of my stoma. The 3 piece gave me 7 to 10 days wear between changes. Ten years ago I started using the Natura Sur-fit drainable pouch at the suggestion of a friend. The matching 1.5-inch diameter Stomahesive Wafer works great -- but my wear time between changes was only about 3 days because of my stoma varying in diameter from 7/8" to 1.5". I soon began to place a bead of Stomahesive paste around the inner edge surface of the wafer immediately before applying the completely assembled appliance to my skin. This resulted in increased wearing time of one week between changes. While pressing the appliance to the skin, the paste is squeezed against the stoma and continues to flow somewhat towards the skin at the base of my stoma because of the expansion from the absorption of moisture over subsequent days. I did try applying the disc only to the skin first and then inserting the paste into the skin gap before finishing with the pouch attachment -- but that was messy and did not last as long because 100% of the paste was exposed to the moisture and disappeared more rapidly.

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Since I have been wearing this device, I have noticed my stoma doesn't put out hardly anything all day and then kind of bursts forth in the evening. Maybe it molded too tightly around my stoma? Since yesterday morning, my stoma has changed its output drastically. I don't know if I should be concerned or not. My mom said I can always take it off and put on the one I am used to, but I just have one more day till I change again (I change every 3 days) that I thought I would just wait till changing day and then go back to my old device. I had another spattering incident today and also I noticed it is hard for me to clean out the mouth of the pouch after emptying. The soft plastic side folds inward and it is hard to get it clean. This device I use says it is Natura Sur-Fit 7/8" to 1 1/4". I don't know, for me I think the grass is not greener on the other bag.

Lee

I know this post is about a year old, but I got a sample of their one-piece with a moldable opening, and I loved it. I'm trying the second one now, and I'm hoping to have the same success. I've been using Coloplast and dealing with some light irritation that just wouldn't go away after a leak—using the Convatec greatly improved the look of my skin.

That said, my size was from 30-40mm—my stoma measures around 30.5-31mm, so there isn't much “pushed back” material to “turtleneck” around my stoma, just barely any.

I have asked for some samples of two-piece products with the same moldable connection, and I will see if it continues to work well for me.

I did pre-pleat my bag opening (thanks, MaO!) and haven't had any trouble with emptying—you kinda have to squeeze near the top of the lower plastic and the bottom of the higher plastic, and it opens—although it has been marginally messier than the Coloplast openings—just a little messy—it's far more comfortable wearing with their end. It makes the Coloplast feel like it has a clip on it almost; it's thick and bulky and hard compared to the Convatec.

When people say your bag is practically invisible unless it's full—that is how the Convatec fits me (although the fact that it is a one-piece contributes). The Coloplast (specifically the Flex adhesive coupling two-piece) sits out from my body weird and obvious; I have to hide it with a cover of some kind under my clothes.

Thanks for the feedback. I too just ordered some samples from Convatec and am interested in trying them.