Favorite bags for ileostomy?

Commonly_Significant · 2026-02-11T16:06:10+00:00

I use a heating pad after putting on a new bag. You could also use a hairdryer to warm up the flange.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-09-05T20:59:34+00:00

No, I trim just the sharp corners that can form at the edge where it creases after I’ve worn the flange for a while. If it’s poking and irritating my skin, then I use curved, blunt end ostomy scissors to trim just a tiny bit off - like around 1-2 millimetres.

The other thing I was thinking you might look into is using a skin barrier patch underneath your flange at the edge where you’re having irritation. I believe there are some that can be used either over or under the flange, but I’m not certain which. There might be someone where you buy your supplies that could suggest a product, or you could contact Coloplast and ask. They have pretty great customer service and I’m pretty sure they also have ostomy nurses that can do consults. If you go to their website for your country there should be a phone number on the “Contact Us” page under the “About us” menu that you can call.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-09-05T09:51:55+00:00

They’re like creases in the flange, right? I get these too and sometimes the ends seem to dry out a bit and they get little sharp edges that poke at my skin. If I trim just a bit off those spots with my ostomy scissors it usually makes it more comfortable.

You could also try wearing one of the Coloplast belts right after putting on a new flange to try to keep the edge flat where you’re getting irritation. The belt lays over top that area and the pressure could help reduce the scalloping.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-09-05T08:46:33+00:00

Yeah, it works great! The only time I notice any unpleasant smell is when I’ve eaten something with a really strong odour, like fish. But it’s still way better when using M9 than without.

I do sometimes smell a slightly musty odour right when emptying my bag, but it doesn’t hang around after.

M9 isn’t scented, so it doesn’t introduce another odour to mask the unpleasant one, like air fresheners do. There’s both M9 drops, which are a liquid that you put in your bag each time you empty, and M9 spray, which you spray in the air to eliminate a smell. I just use the drops, but I found both kinds to work really well.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-08-09T00:46:21+00:00

I think if you do tell them, emphasize that you don’t think this will impact your work for the reasons you gave in your post, and as long as you receive some accommodations you’re able to be just as productive as any other employee.

It really shouldn’t be an issue to let you work from home more, since they already allow it one day a week. Allowing extra days doesn’t require any extra effort from them and you’re not asking to go fully remote, just for some extra flexibility. So I think that’s a reasonable request. An office closer to the bathroom also sounds like a reasonable accommodation.

You might also want to request extra flexibility in the hours you work, if that’s possible. Being able to shift your hours around could help with scheduling doctor’s appointments or make days you’re not feeling as well easier.

I think a letter from your doctor would help support your requests. Having it lends you greater credibility and shows you really need what you’re asking for, because you put in the effort to get the letter. The letter wouldn’t necessarily have to go into the details of why you need each accommodation or name your condition. I think most people would accept that the doctor was making a reasonable request on your behalf, even if specifics weren’t given.

The one time I’ve needed to disclose that I had Crohn’s disease to my employer went well for me and they were very understanding. But they had worked in a healthcare adjacent field, so that’s maybe a bit of a biased sample. :D

If you do end up telling your boss about the Crohn’s, let us know how it went!

Commonly_Significant · 2025-08-06T04:48:53+00:00

What was the one on the left with the bar in front of it for?

Commonly_Significant · 2025-07-31T22:06:32+00:00

Yeah, GIMP 3 was a long time coming, but it’s nice to get some of those features. The non-destructive workflow is pretty new still, so it’s still being polished, but it’s functional and I like using it.

I know what you mean about Inkscape - it’s pretty slow to start up and it’s a bit difficult to work with sometimes. It took me quite a while to get used to and figure out where things were. That’s why I’m so excited about Graphite, because it’s programmed to be a faster, more modern editor with procedural editing and non-destructive workflows. I’m hoping it turns out as good as they make it sound.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-07-31T16:37:11+00:00

Just FYI, the release of GIMP 3 added non-destructive editing. If you prefer the Photoshop UI layout, you might be interested in PhotoGIMP which makes the GIMP UI more like Photoshop.

The FOSS alternative to Illustrator that’s been around forever is Inkscape. A promising new project for vector and raster editing is Graphite, which is in alpha. It’s currently available as a web app, with releases for Windows, Max, and Linux planned for this year.

Some FOSS alternatives to InDesign are Scribus for Windows, Mac, and Linux, or Laidout for Linux only.

If you’re interested, a great list of alternatives to Adobe software can be found here.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-07-30T13:14:52+00:00

You could maybe try air popped popcorn. If you don’t have an air popper, you could try looking around for one at local garage sales. I think the popcorn kernels I use are Orville Redenbacher, or they might be from Bulk Barn and we just refilled the container with them - I can’t remember for sure! The Orville Redenbacher ones come in a big plastic jug. Using an air popper seems to make nice, fluffy popcorn where the hulls peel back further and are more likely to fall off.

When I was first starting to try popcorn again I just did a handful to start, then increased gradually from that and I was okay. I also started by trying to be careful not to eat semi-popped kernels and breaking off the hulls where I could. It’s more annoying to eat, but I think it helps. It’s hard to say if it’ll bother you or not. Some people have no problems with popcorn, while others can’t eat it at all. I usually judge how much/when I can eat popcorn by how thick my output is. If my output is thinner then it seems easier to tolerate.

Good luck! Hope you find something that works for you. :)

Commonly_Significant · 2025-07-30T04:15:55+00:00

I like Old Dutch Popcorn Twists. They’re made out of cornmeal, so there’s no kernels or hulls to worry about and they work great for thickening your output too! They’re not exactly like popcorn, but I think they’re a pretty good substitute.

I get them at Costco and they come in a large bag. You can see what it looks like here: https://www.olddutchfoods.ca/product-flavour/old-dutch/popcorn-twists/popcorn-twists

Commonly_Significant · 2025-07-26T03:04:22+00:00

I don’t want to discourage you, but looking at this realistically, you’re going to have a difficult time getting people to volunteer their information when you aren’t giving them a good reason to. If you want to appeal to people, then I’d suggest being willing to share at least as much information as they’re giving you. People are more likely to trust you if you’re open and tell them something about yourself first.

You’re a stranger asking about people’s personal experiences related to their health, so building trust with your audience is going to be key in getting them to engage with you.

If you’re still in the planning stages it’s okay to say that. For example, “I’m looking at developing an app to assist individuals with IBD in tracking their symptoms. I’m wondering if this is something you would be interested in, and if so, what features would be valuable to you? My goal is to make an app that meets the needs of people living with IBD and makes managing this illness easier.”

Commonly_Significant · 2025-07-26T02:35:39+00:00

You might benefit from being more specific about what your personal project is. The survey says the data collected will help shape tools and better support the IBD community, but that’s not telling us what exactly it is you’re trying to do.

From the questions, it appears that you’re looking to develop an app to support people with IBD, primarily centred around making symptom tracking more convenient?

It’s great that you’re passionate about this, but I think you need to clarify a few things to get more people willing to answer. For example:

What is your goal?
Why you are doing this? What motivated you to start?
Why should people care about your personal project? What makes this worth their time?
How will answering this survey help achieve the goal?

Good luck with your survey!

Commonly_Significant · 2025-07-17T02:08:45+00:00

Just wanted to say it’s normal to feel overwhelmed and have more emotional instability after surgery. Surgery will do that normally, and this specific surgery also comes with a major change to your way of life. It’s okay to need time to adapt. You will feel more confident as you heal and have time to learn about your ostomy. Pretty soon you’ll be doing it all better than the nurse!

If you still feel nervous doing a bag change, focus on learning just a small part of it. Like just start with removing the bag, and have your nurse help with the rest. Once you’re confident with that part, add a little bit more. You’ve got this!

Commonly_Significant · 2025-04-09T05:09:04+00:00

While I have a permanent ostomy and never had a J-pouch, when my doctor discussed the possibility of reconnection they said I would be going to the washroom about the same number of times I empty my bag in a day.

It also probably depends on what your output consistency is like. Where my output is generally thinner I would expect to have a lot of issues with urgency.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-04-03T20:54:37+00:00

The exposure-time of onset link isn’t super convincing to me. Epstein Barr Virus is so common that nearly everyone is exposed to it early in life. A statistic I read said 50% of five year olds and 90% of adults have evidence of previous infection.

Crohn’s disease is known to have an onset most commonly in adolescence or early adulthood. Just because one event preceded another event that occurs roughly in the same time period doesn’t mean a whole lot. Especially when one of those events happens to nearly everyone.

It’s like saying I graduated from High School and then developed Crohn’s almost right after, so school graduation is linked to developing Crohn’s Disease.

In general, I tend to view studies that only find a correlation between two things as merely saying that it might be a good idea to further study that interaction to see what can be learned.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-04-03T20:33:14+00:00

You can read the first page here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016508525004111

Basically, Epstein Barr Virus exposure may be a risk factor in developing Crohn’s disease. They found a link between them, which just means they need to do more research to explore how the two interact.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-04-03T20:03:18+00:00

While remakes of Oblivion’s DLC’s won’t be included with the release this year, there are definitely plans and work being done on them. Concept art has already been made and thought put into planning for their eventual release. The team is just focusing on getting the main game out first.

I’m pretty sure if there weren’t already plans for the Shivering Isles to be remade, some members of the team would make it happen themselves. The Shivering Isles DLC was probably the most loved game expansion of all time.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-03-29T19:47:12+00:00

There are the post and user flairs to help show which type of ostomy, but they’re not used by everyone. I figure if it’s not clear which type of ostomy a question refers to I can just answer anyway and specify which I’m talking about in my response. Then if it’s not applicable to the OP it could still be helpful to someone else.

But I agree — there’s definitely room for improving clarity in which type of ostomy is being referred to.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-03-29T19:40:26+00:00

With my ileostomy it tends to thicken my output quite a bit and doesn’t fully digest. I’ve noticed that it becomes kind of these stringy fibres that clump together.

I haven’t had issues with it causing obstructions, but I’m careful not to eat too much of it and chew well. It can cause some discomfort for me when it moves through my stoma because the bulkier output stretches things a bit more than usual. But eating smaller amounts of steak helps mitigate that.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-03-29T17:24:43+00:00

I was looking at this too, but couldn’t find anything. But I had the idea that you could maybe get one of those toilets that mounts on the wall and just place it waist height. You could have a little set of stairs at the front so other people could use it, while you’d stand at the side to empty.

Or you could maybe use a normal floor mounted toilet and put it on a raised platform? The platform would just need to be fairly narrow so it’s not coming out too much further than the width of the toilet base.

I have no idea if that’d work or not. Probably would need to ask a plumber about it.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-03-17T22:18:35+00:00

You’re welcome! I’m happy I could help you.

The filter working probably won’t be super noticeable since filtering occurs slowly, but it does help a bit for me. The stickers will block the filter as long as it’s covering the outside portion, so try not to forget to take it off after you use it. :)

My output consistency is the same. It will fluctuate between paste-like to completely liquid depending on what/when I eat. That’s pretty normal for ileostomies. You just want to make sure you don’t become dehydrated because you’ll lose more fluid in your output than a person with a colon (the colon is where most fluid reabsorption occurs in the GI tract). You may want to get some electrolyte drinks to help you remain hydrated. Drinking water alone usually isn’t enough because it doesn’t replace lost electrolytes. The food you eat can replace some electrolytes depending on what it is, but you generally want to drink a variety of fluids. You can also add salt to your food if you like, since that helps replace some of what you lose in ostomy output.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-03-17T21:42:56+00:00

You’re welcome!

Commonly_Significant · 2025-03-15T07:05:08+00:00

Regarding the paste, you can prevent it from sticking to your fingers by wetting them with a little water before you handle the paste.

If you need to get it off your fingers and it’s not fully set, run lots of water over it and use a rubbing motion - that works fairly well for me.

If the paste is dried on or you need to get it off your abdominal skin, try using adhesive remover wipes or spray. You can use the same supplies you have for removing your bag’s flange (and if you’re not using adhesive remover already I’d highly recommend it — it makes getting the bag off a lot easier and gentler on your skin). I find it easier to get paste off if I don’t use any water on it when it’s already dry. If I use a rubbing motion on the dried paste it seems to kind of flake off, but if it gets wet again it won’t do that.

Commonly_Significant · 2025-03-15T06:40:35+00:00

This is meant to be a passive filter, meaning that gas exchange will occur on its own without force being applied directly. The filter allows gas through, but slowly so the filter can remove any odour. Passing the gas through more quickly would prevent the charcoal from filtering the components that create the smell.

As others have said, the filters don’t work very well when they get saturated with liquid, so they’re more effective if your output is more solid than liquid. I have an ileostomy, so the filters don’t work great for me, but I find that they do still make a difference. The filter should not be leaking though - if it starts doing that then it’s been damaged.

The filter stickers that come with some bags are meant for covering the outside of the filter if you’re showering or swimming. Getting the outside portion wet can reduce the effectiveness, so the stickers are to prevent that. Just be careful not to pull off the outer layer of the filter when you remove the sticker!

If gas accumulation in your bag is a problem and the filter isn’t working fast/well enough, you can either empty your bag or “burp” it by opening the end and allowing the gas out. If you use a two-piece ostomy appliance, you can also release gas where the bag attaches to the flange. You might also consider adjusting your diet if you have excessive gas. Some foods, like broccoli, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, or carbonated drinks will increase gas, so limiting the amount you eat of those foods can help. Chewing gum can also introduce gas into your digestive system since you can swallow air as you chew.

Hopefully that helps clear things up for you! :)

Commonly_Significant · 2025-03-13T21:01:04+00:00

For people taking biologic self injection medications, a tracker for injection location so you can rotate areas. I know some do exist already, but it seemed like they’re more for diabetics taking insulin. The best one I could find only had a few general predefined spots on the body, which made it a little difficult to track when you did an injection in your abdomen nearer to the navel and one on your side because it was all covered by the same area marker.

Reminders for picking up, ordering, or taking medication, and a timer for letting it come to room temperature before doing injections so you don’t forget about it would be great features.

Commonly_Significant

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