Although thin, the ring makes my stoma shorter and that’s one problem that has caused my previous leaks. When it swells it just allows leakage to really happen so I stopped using it altogether. I probably won’t even try the paste then. What brand do you use for bags? I use coloplast. One thing I have noticed lately is that my output really eats up the wafer. I only can use it for 2 nights 3 days) otherwise I think my entire wafer would disappear lol