Weirdest Things You've Put in Your Ostomy Bag?

Hey guys! I am just wondering what's the weirdest thing you guys have ever put in your ostomy? Do different objects feel better? Or is it just me? I know it's terrible, my doctor says it's a bad idea but I just can't help myself. My addiction of the month is baby carrot sticks... I stuff them in and let them pop back out. I like feeling them in my bag, three or more is the best! Any other weirdos out there like me... I'd love to chat so we can explore together! ;-*

OMG! Wait, zucchinis were on sale at Giant! Totally took my addiction to a whole new level! A little bit of girth and smooth feel! Oh, and you can use it on both of your front holes! Be careful what order you do this in; you don't want to spread the colostomy cooties to your girl Taco.

Also, don't try the berries; they look cute but they squish, and the color looks too much like blood, which is a bit nerve-racking, especially for the extra access it gets!

Wow... this is really sad to me today for some reason.

I just had my takedown last week (success!) but that stoma kept me alive and healthy until I had healed enough for the surgery. It is something special and sacred that actually deserves respect and not even a joke about self-mutilation. If you aren't joking, go back to your doctor as you might be suffering from OCD or PTSD and could injure yourself. If you are doing the self-deprecation or self-loathing thing, you are spending too much time obsessing about your ostomy. Find a healthy new hobby!

Best of luck!

Jen

Wow... this is really sad to me today for some reason.

I just had my takedown last week (success!) but that stoma kept me alive and healthy until I had healed enough for the surgery. It is something special and sacred that actually deserves respect and not even a joke about self-mutilation. If you aren't joking, go back to your doctor as you might be suffering from OCD or PTSD and could injure yourself. If you are doing the self-deprecation or self-loathing thing, you are spending too much time obsessing about your ostomy. Find a healthy new hobby!

Best of luck!

Jen

Hi "Rose",

Jen gave you very wise advice...

I had my surgery when I was 15 (I'm 69 now) and I was instructed by doctors, then...and all through the years, to "NEVER" put anything into the stoma.

Even when I had a blockage, the doctor palpated my stomach and didn't insert anything (like an enema).

One doctor years ago used his small finger, with a rubber glove, to "just feel inside (to the base of the skin) to see if everything was intact. The stoma can take a beating from the outside (laying on it, falling on it, etc.) and it certainly gets a workout when food pushes "out". But it's not fashioned to have anything "pushed in"! If you check the "surgical technology, the stoma is created by pulling intestine "out", and folding it over on itself, and then stitching it down, attached to the skin of your belly. That can tear...

It's like putting "stuff" up your nose, or in your ear, or in your urethra... Dangerous. If you feel compelled to do that...please seek help. You can seriously hurt yourself, and you wouldn't want to have revision surgery.

Good luck

Marsha

Stories of Living Life to the Fullest from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

I never knew that you could put things in your stoma. I always thought that doing that would cause a serious injury. Recently, I was in the hospital and my urologist came in to see me. He wanted to check my stoma, as I have an ileal conduit urostomy, thinking there might be a blockage caused by stones. He put on a surgical glove, some lubricant, and put his finger into the stoma. I was terrified that it would hurt. Actually, I did not feel any pain at all. Last week, I had a stent placed in my conduit and that was very painful. To anyone putting objects in their stoma, please be careful. Take care.

Bruce

Hello  StomaetaRose69.

Thank you for your post, which may well be different from what we normally expect on this site but nevertheless, still very interesting. I find myself agreeing entirely with what has been said by other contributors in that you should be very careful about what and how you put things in you stoma as it can cause irrepairable damage.  However, having issued the warning, I will try to answer your question about 'other weirdos', so that you do not feel completely alone in putting things in your stoma.

Firstly, I would say that I do not stick things in my stoma out of a sense of compulsion, pleasure  or frivolity. My own insertions have been to try to resolve issues myself, rather than returning to the medics for more unsatisfactory answers to my problems. My first experience of sticking something into my stoma was when the stoma nurse put her finger inside to try to release a blockage. she also told me which way the hole veered to.  After this intial 'shock' I felt that if she could do this, then so could I, which allowed me to explore and 'know' the inside of my stoma as well as the outside. I was glad that I overcame my scruples in this regard because when I had a blockage caused by the peristalisis muscles completely blocking the hole,  I identified exactly what it was and could relate this to the nurses, without further ado.

The suggestion was, that I could have further surgery to put the blockage right. I put forward a counter-suggestion, that I experiment a little before going down the surgical route. What I found was that if I put just enough presure on my finger, for long enough, the muscles relaxed and allowed my finger to pass by the blockage. after a few seconds the muscles would close around the finger and squeeze it ridiculously hard to try to expel it from the stoma. However, if I resisted that pressure, the muscles once again relaxed and I could leave my finger in for quite a while before the cycle began again. This gave me the idea that these muscles might be 'trained' to stay relaxed and allow the flow to proceed without further surgery. Obviously, I could not keep muy finger in there forever, so I experimented with other things (finger sized). The Coloplast plugs worked quite well as they expand once moist, and they are porous enough to let gasses through. Unfortuantely, they are also flexible and could not withstand the tremendous force exerted on them and would be forced out of the stoma  from time to time. It tried all sorts of home-made devices and some of them worked reasonably well. The best of these was the casings from nasal inhalers which are smooth round-ended plastic with a hole drilled in the end and the sides.  I cut the inside away to allow room for any faeces to collect inside the tube and so that I could attach a baseplate to prevent the device from going too far into the stoma. This was held in place by a belt which stopped the device from being pushed out by the muscle pressure. I also use a 'dilator', made from an adapted  aluminium seed dibber,  which helps to open up the hole wider than the width on my finger-devices. All these things have allowed me to continue irrigating for the past 3-4 years and avoid further surgery to rectify what is , in effect, a hernia.

I do not 'recommend' poking things in the stoma but, from personal experience, it can be done without coming to harm, IF and only IF you approach this with extreme care. I do not think I would be doing it if the alternative was not further surgery. The way I figure it is that  'good DIY  botch', can sometimes be better than a complete makeover and it at least puts me in contro;l, rather than someone else whom I might trust much less with my own body.

Sorry if this post is too long, buit I thought it was worth sharing.

Best wishes

Bill      

You're either joking or you have a sick mind. In either case, you are totally disrespectful to those people on this site who are sincere and concerned about themselves and others dealing with an ostomy. The administration should remove you immediately.

X_

Thank you, Xerxes.

Thank you, Xerxes.

I agree with you, Xerxes.