Organising my stoma supplies | by Maryrose
When I first had my stoma bag, naturally, it took me ages to change my bag. I had anxiety every time I knew I had to change it and I needed a lot of space and room to be able to do a bag change.
So I started off buying a big bathroom unit to store all my products which had a flat surface on top that was wide for me to lay out all my supplies to change. This worked out really well as I could see everything I needed and I just felt better knowing that everything was at hands reach and I was well prepared and organised.
I then down graded to a smaller unit as I got more confident and to free up some space in my bathroom, but after a matter of time I noticed this also wasn’t working for me as I would always be reaching in and out of the drawers and this wasn’t ideal when I was bag-less as there was a few accidents with output; so my advice would be, especially at the beginning, to have a unit or an area that can hold your products and that has a larger flat surface to lay your products out on.
As time has went on, and bag changes have now become second nature to me, I use my wash bag provided by Respond to store my products for the week/month. I then store any over stock away in my cupboard in a dry area at room temperature and I restock my wash bag as and when needed.
For me it’s finding what works at different stages of your journey and also what you prefer. Some people like the idea of all their products laid out on a large surface, whilst others work from smaller units or wash bags; it’s just about finding what works for you.