Hi I am new to this forum and wondering if any of you could give me some advice! I use he peristeen system on my 4 year old son (he doesnt have any spinal problems was just born with lots of bowel trouble) and lately I have been having trouble with a whistling noise coming from the bag when I am pumping the water in! which therefore stops enough water going in!!??

Has anyone experienced that or had the same trouble advice needed!!!

I have phoned coloplast about this a few times but they just tell me to "use a new bag and order fresh everything"! not the most helpfull!

I am finding it really annoying as I find the system has been a huge help we use it morning and night on him and I so want it to keep working!

An advice welcome thanks Karen x

Yeah, I have the same problem- had it for a while now actually. It doesn't seem to stop the water for me- slows it a bit yeah, but doesn't stop it. One thing I found that works is if you put your finger over the air holes on the grey bag top as you pump. Do this for two pumps then take your finger away and let the air out, otherwise the bag looks like it might explode! This helps the water go in faster. I eventually got a new kit from Coloplast and the whistling stopped mostly, but as far as I can remember the water flow wasn't affected. One time a faulty catheter wouldn't take up the water and I changed it- the flow went back to normal again. You might have a bad batch of catheters- take one from new box if the problem continues and see what happens. And the advice on ordering everything new is sound- I change my bags every week or so and the blue tube every month or whenever a kink appears from storage. The whole unit, apparently, should be replaced about every six months so if it is old, order a new one.

Good luck.

Hi there
The whistling is air passing through the four holes in the grey lid of the bag which is a preeure relief valve. It is there so that you don't over inflate the bag and pop it. It also means that there is too much back pressure in the bowel stopping the water flowing in.

You should check that the little grey valve on the end of the pick up tube is free (remove and rinse it after each use and blow through it to make sure it is working beofre you put it back in. I have also heard of others putting tape over the little holes but they seem to pop a lot of bags!. You need to make sure all is free flowing against back pressure before you insert the catheter.

I have actuallut done away with the bag completely and made up a fruit juice bottle with all the connections on it. Doesn't have the relief vale, no whistling and I regulate the pressure by pumping slower than recommended. I use 3 pumps which expands the bottle a little which in turn pumps the water in better. Once the bottle has returned to normal I give a few more and so on.

If you wish to keep using the bags, it will keep happening unless you block the holes. If you do, make sure you only do so for short periods as generally it means that there is already too much back pressure in the bowel and if you increase the inwards pressure you run the risk of damage to the walls of the bowel.

Talk to your continence advisor. they are generally very helpful.

Good luck.

Thank you both for your responses, I have tried the fingers over the holes before and it does seem to work although I have not tried the 2 pumps covered one not so will do that with the next whistling bag!

Thanks again and I hope no one minds me posting seeing as its nothing to do with spinal injuries etc but I was desperate for some advice.

Karen x