Ostomy Bag and Gas

JanJan63

I've had my illeostomy for just over 5 years now. I've never had a problem with gas or noises. I've had the odd time where it's made a noise or filled with gas but it's been few and far between. Suddenly, in the past two weeks it's really noisy and makes some very clear fart noises several times a day. And gurgling noises a number of times a day. I'm having to empty it way more often than usual because it puffs up with air very quickly and sticks out. I'm not eating differently, I'm not on any new meds other than the magnesium IVs, I'm careful not to suck in air when I take a bite of food, I don't see any reason for this.

Eventually it's going to make a noise publicly and I'm going to be terribly embarassed. Right now I still wear a winter coat so it muffles it a bit but the combination of being right at the front and a plastic bag seems to give it a very clear flatulence noise. Sometimes it even goes on for several seconds. My husband has to ask me if it was me or one of the dogs.

Could this be caused by the magnesium IVs? I know it can cause diarrhea. 

Any ideas or suggestions? I'm not easily embarassed but this is beyond the pale.

Thanks!

Jan

Trubrit

It very well could be...

the magnesium.  If its the only thing you are doing differently, then it ups the chance. 

I know you will talk to your Doctor about it. 

Tru

Annabelle41415

Gas

Although mine is reversed, it always filled up with gas and made the loudest noises.  Being in church was always so scary for me so I'd hold my hand over it so the sound would be muffled.  The buldging and noises continued the whole time.  Sorry I'm not able to give you any advice.

Kim

Kazenmax

Noisy beggar

I never know when I will be making noises. It is embarrassing! I have not found any way to control it. Luckily we too have a dog and it all gets blamed on her. LOL! But I can’t take her everywhere! Would that I could!

if you hear any solutions, I would also be interested. Ithe mean time.... damn dog!

k

Trubrit

Kazenmax said:

Noisy beggar

I never know when I will be making noises. It is embarrassing! I have not found any way to control it. Luckily we too have a dog and it all gets blamed on her. LOL! But I can’t take her everywhere! Would that I could!

if you hear any solutions, I would also be interested. Ithe mean time.... damn dog!

k

Service Dog

Have your dog qualify as a Service Dog - Don't know how you go about that - That way you can take him/her everywhere with you. 

Tru

Kazenmax

Trubrit said:

Service Dog

Have your dog qualify as a Service Dog - Don't know how you go about that - That way you can take him/her everywhere with you. 

Tru

Good idea

Pippa is a mini-schnauze. I could easily take her anywhere....she‘s very protective and barks at any stranger. LOL. That alone would cover up the noises.

i have also on occasion used my grandchildren but they become too indignant and call me out on it. Ha! My oldest is becoming a teenager next month and although he will do anything for me, that is too much.

k

JanJan63

Oh, you guys gave me my first

Oh, you guys gave me my first good laugh of the day! Our gasiest dog would work as a noise suppression service dog as he lets loose the longest, squeekiest noises of the three. The littlest one, a cocker spaniel, is the best behaved publicly but he never has gas.

Well, maybe this will go away without explanation like some of the other things I have does. The terrible and constant nausea I had for months is gone and they don't know why I had it. The incontinance I've been dealing with for a couple of months seems to be improving and they don't know why I have that, either. Hopefully this will go away as well. It's sometimes shockingly loud. And, of course, I don't know when it will happen, it's a surprise every time.

Jan

Trubrit

Shout out!

So, you're in public, and you have the noisiest bag burp ever. Shout Out 'Don't worry folks, it's just my Colostomy Bag' while laughing, and pointing at your tummy.  - I know you have an ileostomy, but people don't know about that one too much, whereas they probaby have heard of a colostomy-    Just a thought 

I try to handle everything with humour.    This ones for you   Jan Jan beating off Cancer

Tru

JanJan63

Trubrit said:

Shout out!

So, you're in public, and you have the noisiest bag burp ever. Shout Out 'Don't worry folks, it's just my Colostomy Bag' while laughing, and pointing at your tummy.  - I know you have an ileostomy, but people don't know about that one too much, whereas they probaby have heard of a colostomy-    Just a thought 

I try to handle everything with humour.    This ones for you   Jan Jan beating off Cancer

Tru

Thanks Tru! I do have a sense

Thanks Tru! I do have a sense of humour about my cancer so that might very well work. I'm planning to come up with a design for a bag cover this week. Then if anyone is curious it won't be so ugly. Generally it's not bad to look at but last week I had to use a clear emergency bag I got at the hospital and it's see through. Very ugly indeed. I have no qualms about letting people know I have a bag. It is what it is. I hope that if I talk about it in a normal way then other people who have one won't be seen as different from anyone else by the people I've told about mine. It needs to be something that's just a non issue. 

I want to normalize the whole cancer thing for people. The side effects, the fact of it, all of that. Half of us will get it. People need to not see it as the boogie man any more.

Jan

beaumontdave

Trubrit said:

Shout out!

So, you're in public, and you have the noisiest bag burp ever. Shout Out 'Don't worry folks, it's just my Colostomy Bag' while laughing, and pointing at your tummy.  - I know you have an ileostomy, but people don't know about that one too much, whereas they probaby have heard of a colostomy-    Just a thought 

I try to handle everything with humour.    This ones for you   Jan Jan beating off Cancer

Tru

Wait a minute, that's what I

Wait a minute, that's what I thought the service dog was for? The bag makes any noise when out and about, and you look a the dog and shake your head. The pup might get a little confused, but I've never seen one worry about making noise. English Bulldogs are made for this role, lol......................................................................Dave

JanJan63

I'm going to start a company

I'm going to start a company that provides service dogs for people with this issue, what do you guys think? Ha ha! I guess I need to start with bulldogs?

Honestly, I'm turning into my mom and doing all the things I used to laugh at her for. Tripping on nothing, forgetting things, passing wind and making a noise with it. It was funny then but not so funny now that it's me. My poor mom one time was at a mall waiting in a long line to use a debit machine in a bank. It was finally her turn and she started towards the machine and then dropped something halfway there. When she bent over to pick it up she noisily let one go. She was horrified and very embarassed. But when she told me I laughed my butt off. Immature, I know, but still funny.

Jan

Nazareth

I just tell folks it's my jet

I just tell folks it's my jet propulsion system- Jan, are you sure you're not eating somethign different? I try to eat pretty bland, (Caveman diet- mostly meat- a few veggies once in awhile, potatoes- and really that's about it) but when i deviate from what i normally eat- it wreaks havok- The magnesium could be causign it- can you try not taking it for a few days? If gas subsides, You'll know that's what's causing it- but i never had trouble with gas with mag oral- Try eating real bland for a few days- easy to digest foods- chicken, eggs maybe, toast- rice- see if that makes a difference (Tip- I drink a little peptol immediately after eatign smell producing foods like eggs- and put several drops of 'Stop Odor' in pouch- helps to cut down on odor in pouch- it binds with sulfer-like stuff that causes the smell and deoderizes it) Yuo could try taking Simethicone- supposed to break up gas bubbles- sposed to help- never did much for me-

Could be just an upset stomach- which will pass- but coudl be your system suddenly not handling somethign you've always tolerated well too- which is why a bland diet for a few days might help discover if that is what it is- Having ostomy is a life long learnign experience by trial and error- ugggh-

JanJan63

Nazareth said:

I just tell folks it's my jet

I just tell folks it's my jet propulsion system- Jan, are you sure you're not eating somethign different? I try to eat pretty bland, (Caveman diet- mostly meat- a few veggies once in awhile, potatoes- and really that's about it) but when i deviate from what i normally eat- it wreaks havok- The magnesium could be causign it- can you try not taking it for a few days? If gas subsides, You'll know that's what's causing it- but i never had trouble with gas with mag oral- Try eating real bland for a few days- easy to digest foods- chicken, eggs maybe, toast- rice- see if that makes a difference (Tip- I drink a little peptol immediately after eatign smell producing foods like eggs- and put several drops of 'Stop Odor' in pouch- helps to cut down on odor in pouch- it binds with sulfer-like stuff that causes the smell and deoderizes it) Yuo could try taking Simethicone- supposed to break up gas bubbles- sposed to help- never did much for me-

Could be just an upset stomach- which will pass- but coudl be your system suddenly not handling somethign you've always tolerated well too- which is why a bland diet for a few days might help discover if that is what it is- Having ostomy is a life long learnign experience by trial and error- ugggh-

Thank you for your reply! I'm

Thank you for your reply! I'm thinking it is the magnesium. It hasn't happened for two days now and I haven't had a magnesium IV since Friday. I hope it's gone, the volume was shocking. 

That's hilarious about the jet propulsion! My horse will often very loudly pass wind when first being ridden if he takes off fast. We call it his jet propulsion, ha ha!

Thanks!

Jan

Nazareth

Good- soundsl ike maybe it

Good- soundsl ike maybe it wwas the mag then- hopefully that's sorted out- talk to the doc about the issues when on the mag- maybe they can adjust dosage to help with it if you need the mag IV-

JanJan63

Nazareth said:

Good- soundsl ike maybe it

Good- soundsl ike maybe it wwas the mag then- hopefully that's sorted out- talk to the doc about the issues when on the mag- maybe they can adjust dosage to help with it if you need the mag IV-

Oddly, nobody has called me

Oddly, nobody has called me about going back on it. Neither my family doctor or the onc. I'm good with that, I'm sick to death if IVs. I'm such a hard start and I hate getting poked over and over. It hurts, it's not a 'little pinch' like they say. I feel fine and my side effects from chemo are almost totally gone. The horrible, itchy dry skin, the rash, the infections on my fingers, the lower magnesium, all that crap. I'm getting stronger and stronger every day, too. I'm going to pretend to be cancer free for a few months until I have to go back on the maintenance chemo. Just live my life and hopefully have a good summer. I've been hoping for that for a few years now but things have gone south every year.

Jan

Nazareth

i know hwta you mean Jan- I

i know hwta you mean Jan- I always always always get soem person who is 'practicing' and get stabbed over and over again- I used to be strong and healthy and had really large veins, and nurses could put an iv in blindfolded- but I got sick again, and now nurses have a hard time with IV's- and my skin for soem reason is really tough and even had a needle bend when a nurse was trying to put an IV in- I try my best not to let them know it's killing my arm- but sometimes it's just too much, and i have to ask for soemone else to give it a try- 

Well, hopefully you will be strong enough this summer to get out and about more- I do photography, and loved walking in woods, up streams, mountains, but the cancer and treatment really knocked me for a loop- I didn't  get out hardly at all last summer (it was so humid andm iserable last summer that even healthy people were dragged down by it- so that left me in the house nearly the whole summer- uggh)- But i did get out one beautiful day, into a river, and found a log to just sit and enjoy the scenery on- sun was warm, slight breeze- just a perfect day- it really helped boost my mood abotu hte whole situation-  I will try to give it a go this summer htough- miss being out in woods- I hope you get to as well- it really does help lift the spirits- Keep the faith- I nkow it stinks beign too weak to enjoy life, but we can find little ways to still enjoy it though- even if it exhausts us lol-

JanJan63

It sure makes little things

It sure makes little things matter more, doesn't it Nazareth. A good day is worth so much more now because you never know when it will end. I enjoy life so much more now. Every night when I say my prayers the first thing I say is 'thank you for today'. 

My veins have always been small and they roll and are weak and have lots of valves. Lots of times they think they have it in but there's an issue. They never use a trainee for me, it's always someone that knows what they're doing but they still often have to have someone else try it. I'm a hard start but I say I'm a terrible start. They use hot towels, I hang my arm down, they slap the skin, all kinds of tricks. And I have trouble with dehydration so that makes if even more fun.

Anyway, thanks for your replies!

Jan

Nazareth

Yup, through it all, God is

Yup, through it all, God is good- The bad helps draw me closer to Him- Seemsl iek it wouldn't, but it does- and yep- the little things make the bad issues easier to take-

Well, again, hope you get enough strength back to get out and enjoy life soem more to recharge a bit- take care-