Ostomy Bag Filters - Clogging After Bowel Movements - Normal or Am I Missing Something?

I am a newbie to posting. I have been reading with interest. Quick personal history: Diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer last summer. Chemo/radiation, then full rectal resection surgery. I have a permanent colostomy and undergoing the post-surgery hell - FOLFOX 6 regimen.
Have been trying different ostomy products and I have noticed one thing with all the ones with filters: the filters work great until you have a bowel movement, then they clog up. Is this just the nature of the beast, or am I missing something?

Hi, I'm afraid most of the pouches with filters tend to block up when bowel movement happens. I have yet to find one that continues to work well with a filter. I'm still on the lookout for something that's reliable in that context. If I come across something, I will post it here... Good luck in your findings... Ambies...

I find that the filters just never seem to work regardless of how you use them.

X_

http://www.kemonline.com/content/administration/howtoattach
Yep, they all get clogged up, so I am awaiting a sample of the Osto-EZ-Vent. They seem like a good idea if you are in a convenient place to "let a little steam off" so to speak. I will be posting a forum after giving them a trial. DD

Nope, you are right. The filters are generally crap and only work when in contact with air only. They are a waste of money.

Living with Your Ostomy | Hollister

Hi folks, I use the Osto-Ez-Vent all the time. They work great and allow you to get rid of the gas that always makes our pouch grow. Be sure to put them on 24 hours before you use them. I usually do a box at a time and then I don't run out. I live in B.C. Canada and they are a little pricey. There are 10 in a bag and I pay $30.00, but the B.C. Pharma Care will pay for them. I place them just to the right of the filter, running the same way as the filter. If you apply them the other way, they tend to stick into you. I really recommend them. Since I have started to use them, I have not had as many blowouts from the pressure of the gas. Good luck with them.

I have a bag that I have used for many years (colostomy 6 yrs. ago) that has a filter that I don't think has ever worked well. I use M9 and refill the smaller spray container with the larger one for odor control; works very well.

OK, time to fart. Ahhhh, that feels better. (I'm still wondering if "fart" is allowed here but I know it's God's way of telling me that he loves me).

OK, now back to the filter business. None of 'em work after ANYTHING in the bag touches the inner layer. Sometimes a bag's filter will last in MY hands (hands?) for up to four hours. That's only if I haven't eaten anything in the previous several hours, eh?

But I have actually found a "solution" to the problem. I am not suggesting that it is a GOOD solution, only that it works pretty well.

I saw a couple of ostomy bag LINERS at a recent ostomy club meeting and they made me curious. I had HEARD about them before but though they were a really stupid idea. Why would ANYONE go through all the trouble of taking a bag liner out, disposing of it and putting a new bag liner in when just dumping the stuff into the toilet, flushing and cleaning up is so quick and easy? Well, after seeing a couple and being pretty curious I called or emailed the two companies that had them when I Googled "ostomy bag liner". One company is in British Columbia (in Canada, eh) and the other I think is in South Carolina in the USA. I tried the samples and found one great thing that I had never considered. They keep the stool from getting out of the liner and touching the inside of the filter. So the filter lasts forever. Hey, I don't have to change the darned bag till it's time to change the wafer.

You DO need to use a two piece system and it has to have a tupperware like flange NOT the adhesive type. But it has worked great for me.

There are a few caveats though. They are not really biodegradeable (they are just real thin plastic after all) but they are a lot less plastic than the plastic bags that I (we?) wrap our products in before we throw them in the trash. And the other thing is that even though they are flushable they are NOT compatible with septic tank systems. So just flushing them down the toilet may be a problem for some (I have not had one plug up a toilet YET). But I love the way they let the gas out.

NT

It's also His way of telling us not to get inflated with self-importance. Farting is a great equalizer. No doubt, God has a magnificent sense of humor.

Sadly, I agree with all of the above. The bags with the vents meant I had a line of smell around the vent where it leaked. Plus, my underwear had a circle of ick. The puncture vent ones were even worse. I bought the 10 for whatever, and they just leaked crap everywhere. Go with closed.

Yep ... filters are great in theory until they clog. After that, I'd "burp" em. I had the low-profile adhesive coupling bags (Coloplast), until I started irrigating earlier this year. Now, I use a stoma cap (Convatec) with a filter. I still pass gas now and then, but the filter does a great job. No need to burp, the gas flows out pretty easily, with only minor smell.

Good morning, Badger. Just a thought... If you're irrigating with success, you should really try the Ampatch by Austin Medical Supplies. They are awesome! They are a little patch that has a cloth feel with a filter lining. Very discreet and you have no worries of it inflating or any smell whatsoever! They have been a lifesaver for me... I think they are the best thing since sliced bread... lol... Just wanted to share this with all! These patches have helped me tremendously!

Filter is a fancy way of saying hole.

No, it is not a hole... It is material that is inside the patch... It is like no other you have ever seen, I promise you that!!

Hello, I also had stage 3 rectal cancer and went through the same thing you did. I also have noticed that the filters in the pouch only work until poop blocks it. And poop doesn't always navigate to the bottom of the bag where it's supposed to go. It often pancakes and gets stuck at the top where the filter is. I had an embarrassing moment at a Christmas party I went to the other night. I was sitting down next to a bunch of kids when one of them said something smells like rotten eggs. I was hoping that one of the kids passed gas. I didn't want to think it was me. But I went into the bathroom to check my pouch, and sure enough, the top of my pouch was filled with poo and my flange was hanging halfway off my skin. Luckily, nothing leaked out but the gases.

I have used Osto-Ez-Vent for a little over a year. They work very well.

I am sorely disappointed with the vented Hollister bags with charcoal for odor control. HAA! NOT! When the vent isn't plugged, it seems to frequently and randomly let out that unique stoma smell, you know, halfway between stomach acid and the normal poo smell, MUCH to the consternation of anyone within range. Yuk. I am seriously considering scrapping the vented bags. Since this system has a Tupperware seal, I have started to just get to a bathroom and slip my thumbnail between the seal at the top, pull it apart a bit, to vent it myself. That way I can control when the smell comes out and where! I guess I'll see for myself if I end up with a huge blimp on my belly most of the time. If so, I'll try to be a bit more cognizant about gas-producing foods. (Or swallow way more activated charcoal for gas and smell!) I usually don't have output waiting to gush out the top and have only had some get on the seal once. I was able to clean it up so it wouldn't smell. The diarrhea I had for the duration of my radiation and for a week or two after is so far under control with Imodium. I did have "pancaking" then but not anymore since I started squirting some vegetable oil or Pam inside the bag.

I too get the blimp on my belly from the gas. They have drops to help with smell. It does help to lube the stoma so there is no pancaking. I hope this helps! Oh, and feel lucky, I have no sense of smell, so if I stink I have to wait to be told!

Hi, my friends! What do you use for that wonderful sticky stuff? I ever and can't stand it, lol. Help, what do you use? Thank you so much!! Hope you're doing good!! NewlifeVictoria