Designer Bags

Back in January when I was gearing up for the prospect of life with an ostomy bag, my mom said she found a drawer full of old ostomy supplies dating all the way back to my first ileostomy in 1990. She gave them to me saying they looked brand-new. They do look perfect in their little sealed packing, but I wonder if they are good enough to use since they have an expiration date printed all over them? All I can do is try them out and see. It's not like food that obviously goes bad.

What is amazing to me is how ostomy bags have improved since 1995 when I last went shopping for designer bags. The stoma nurse showed me a new two-piece system that no longer has a plastic ring that snaps the bag to the wafer. It's this thin adhesive that sticks together. I don't know if I could trust that adhesive to hold on my bag—it looks flimsy and prone to unsticking itself at the wrong time. Apparently other ostomates doubt its ability to withstand a full bag as she said it isn't very popular. It is very thin and flat and is better at concealing itself underneath clothing.

But ever better than that is that there are new Velcro closures at the tail of the bag. Normally an ostomate uses either a closed bag or an open-ended bag, and if you use an open-ended bag you close it up with a tail-piece. Think of a twist-tie holding a bag closed, only it's a lot better than a twist-tie. The tail-piece is a hard piece of plastic that is not easily concealed underneath clothing and is prone to catching on clothing. A Velcro closure makes everything nice and smooth and is totally reliable for holding itself together. I've had a few tail-pieces worm their way loose. Not pleasant. And the tail-piece can become "dirtied". The Velcro system appears to be immune to soiling when you empty the bag. Thus, high-technology has found its way to ostomy appliances!

I'll probably still buy a tail-piece because I have a bunch of bags from that old stash of supplies my mom found. The only thing is, stomas have different sizes and whether or not I can use the old stuff will depend upon the size my stoma decides to settle on. Initially it will be swollen and then it gradually reduces down to its final shape. That takes about a month.

Buying ostomy supplies and appliances is like shopping for underwear or bras. You'd think that all appliances are alike and that totally isn't the case. I hate one-piece systems and will only use ConvaTec products. When I had my first stoma there was a type of wafer I enjoyed using but found it didn't work at all for me with the second stoma so I switched to a different style of wafer for the second one. Now with my third I'll have to try out different wafers for that perfect fit. It's comparable to liking binki underwear then hating it and then moving onto briefs.

Ostomy appliances cost more than underwear. About $30-$70 a box for the wafers (for a box of 10) and about $25 for a box of 10 bags. Paste, powder, deodorant, adhesive removers, tape, and miscellaneous is extra. If I use a long-term wafer I can go up to two weeks without changing the set-up granted I get a good seal on it. Typically I would change it every 7-10 days just to feel "fresh".