Barrier Rings and Hernia Support Belts - Seeking Advice

Hello,

I used to wear a Nu-Hope hernia support belt. But as belt pressure pushed the wafer down on my stoma, the hole I cut in the wafer had its edges dig into my skin. So I stopped using the belt.

Well... my stoma really sticks out. A combination of peristomal hernia and about an inch and a half of prolapsed stoma. Walking to the beach this evening, my wife said "whoa, that really sticks out." I am.... for lack of kinder words..... pissed. I notice people staring at it. My plan: I ordered Adapt slim moldable barrier rings from Amazon. I should have them soon. Next change out, I will cut a large hole in a new wafer, well clear of skin at my stoma base. Then stretch and fit the barrier ring on my stoma. Then put wafer on top. Then I should be able to wear the hernia support belt without damaging my peristomal skin. Is this how barriers work?

Thunderbirds at HB airshow

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Sunset in HB tonight
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Hello Beachboy. Thanks for your post describing your hernia and prolapsed stoma. Your description could fit mine precisely. However, I have adopted a different solution to a protruding stoma. Basically, I have decide to 'protect' it with a DIY device made from a skin moisturising container with a rounded lid. the screw part of the container is fixed to my baseplate(also DIY), and the lid screws onto it, both protecting it and with the insertion of some toilet paper, catches the small amount of output I may have during the day. 
I must admit that people staring or even commenting on what I wear or what I look like does not phase me at all. This is because, if their comments are empathetic , I express gratitude, and if they are critical, I go into a sort of 'bully-exposure' mode, and explain to them exactly what their comments and behaviour actually mean in 'real' terms.
What I have found is that Bullies are often reluctant to admit that this is what they are doing because they will likely be perceived negatively.
So far, I have had almost 100percent apologetic responses to my bully-exposure repartee. However, I am fully aware that there will be one or two who may take exception and increase their bullying to the physical level. On one such occasion (when threatened physically), this escalation was dissipated by my calmly stating (truthfully) that "The last time someone attacked me physically, I put them in hospital for 28 days, are you willing to take your chances on that score?." The potential attacker stared at me for a few moments and decided that they had something better to do. (Please note: I probably would not try this in the US as it seems that potential attackers/bullies are just as likely to pull out a gun and shoot you.)
Of course, what my potential assailant did not know, was that the hospitalisation of that attacker was the result of a Mental Health Act assessment, rather than a physical retaliation.  It's all about 'how' you say things, as well as what you say!
Best wishes

Bill

Hi BB, the routine you describe is the same as I do. My problem is to get the ring as close to size as my stoma so as to not have any gaps exposing skin to output.

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Ahhh yes, the old hernia belt - feels great at first but then my stoma begins to look like a gigantic pimple and I finally must get “shed” of it. What helps me in this dilemma is tight stretch pants or skinny jeans.

However, you might attract more comments or stares in them than you are currently. I am not familiar with men's underwear but it seems to me you might be able to find something similar.

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Hey, where did you find that picture of me? Ok, maybe 40 years ago.

Thanks for your replies. As always.... An Ostomy is a work in progress.

I hesitate to get the peristomal hernia fixed. That surgery has a poor success rate, with frequent recurrence. And I might end up with an uneven skin surface, giving me new problems.

It's funny, I was happy to lose 64 pounds in the hospital due to illness. My wife yells at me every time I mention it. She bellows "you almost died!" My retort: "At least I would have been skinny."

So now I'm skinny.... with a big bulge.... the wrong kind.

I put the barrier ring around the hole I cut and then put everything on at once.

Hi Beachboy, I feel your pain. I was pretty happy to lose 40 lbs after my medical nightmare, but now my new hernia makes everything very noticeable, and my stoma bigger! The wound nurse told me to cut the hole bigger and instead of putting the barrier ring on the wafer, put it directly around my stoma - then put the wafer on. Just as you described. So far it has worked better for me. Let me know how you like the Adapt barrier rings - I've just been using Hollister. And I tried wearing the generic hernia belt for 3 days - I just couldn't do it anymore... too uncomfortable. My new "real" one has arrived so I see the wound nurse Monday to get it cut and fitted. Hopefully it's better than the one I was using for those few days!

Just home from my 405 freeway bumper car commute. I tried a couple of generic support belts. And like DexieB mentioned....uncomfortable. So I bought a couple of Nu-Hope hernia belts. They are very comfortable. And have widths from 3 inches to over 8 inches. Great for me because I'm a small guy. One of the belts had a "prolapse strap." This strap goes over your bag gently pushing the stoma down. Was great for diminishing the bulge, but caused pancaking. To be fair, I didn't use a lubricating deodorizer. I will next time. Since the prolapse strap was attached on one side of the belt and connected to velcro on the other side of the bag, there was a bias pushing my stoma toward my navel. I cut off the strap. Then sewed velcro on the cut off side of the belt and strap. This way I could put the strap on gently without sideways bias. Worked great, except for the pancaking.

As I mentioned, skin at my stoma base is getting beat up by the edges of the wafer hole due to support belt pressure. When my hernia was smaller, no problem. But now it's more prominent, so increased belt pressure is required to push it back in. Hope the barrier rings work. I'll put it on the stoma first, wafer on after. Then Nu-Hope belt, and finally, modified prolapse belt. It's almost like we're dressing for battle.

On my drive home today
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Seems to me if your skin is getting that beat up, maybe all your apparatuses are too tight. 🤔🤷‍♂️

Hi Alex,

You are correct. I'm trying to push in a parastomal hernia a bit. My hernia will flatten out under belt pressure. I'm limited on belt length, so I can't experiment with trying a looser fit.

I need a belt that's 3 to 4 inches wide. The longest size Nu-Hope makes for those widths is large. I'm a pretty small guy. I thought large would be perfect. Nope. I can barely connect the Velcro together. I'm going to sew on a Velcro extension and see what happens with a looser fit.

I've been trying Convatec barrier rings. Not much difference from the Hollister rings.

Using a support belt: I put enough pressure to push the hernia down a bit. But that pressure caused the wafer to beat up the skin around my stoma. My idea was to cut a large wafer hole with about 1/4 clearance around the stoma, then use a barrier ring for sealing. This does work. My skin is much better. But belt pressure makes my stoma stick out more and occasionally swell in size, defeating the purpose of the support belt, which was to decrease my stoma's prominence.

Alas, I'm resigned to living with the bulge. I'll still use barrier rings, for convenience. Makes my wafer changeout faster, fascinating, and fun. OK... I was dropped as a child, and forevermore infused with a silly sense of humor.