Help my stoma has sucked itself back inside 😱

[MyStar86]

Hi, I’m really worried my stoma has sucked itself back inside so now it’s flat to my skin no dongle bit 😭 I don’t know why this happened I was in a lot of pain last night and naturally it’s sore but I changed it after my bath yesterday and it was fine but now today I changed it and it’s now not protruding anymore. I don’t understand what’s happening and I’m really worried…..I’m guessing this will now leave me open to leaks and things it still works fine but I’m really scared and confused why this has happened. I’ve contacted my stoma team but they take forever to reply and could be days so I wanted to reach out for help thank you Helen

[Chocolatespice]

Hi Helen

Oh dear! You need to see your stoma team asap as you may need some help getting it to protrude again. I'm assuming it is an active stoma from your post so having it flush against your skin is going to cause a lot of grief. You will get leaks and extremely sore skin, possibly ulcers or abscesses. Stoma nurses may be able to pull it back out but they may advise you to see your consultant if they can't do it. I'm sorry I can't be more help. As long as it is working that is positive. Have you got any convex bags? They can push it out a bit so it isn't as close to your skin. Worth a try. Good luck chicken xx

[MyStar86 in reply to Chocolatespice]

Thank you and yes it is my working ileostomy I’ve had it for a year next week 😱 it was a bit of a shock this morning. I do use convexed bags and have barrier rings as it is I’ve contacted my stoma team but they are rubbish at getting back to me so I haven’t had a reply today 😭. I had lots of replies from the IA association which has helped calm me down and thankfully I’m waiting for surgery in a couple of weeks to have to whole colon removed and to turn my loop ileostomy into an end one so I’ll get a new proper stoma again soon thankfully otherwise I would be really gutted but at least I have that to focus on. Thank you so much for the reply I’ll see if my stoma team get back to me or not xx