I love trying new things when it comes to my stoma. Why should we always stick to the same products? When we want new clothing we go and buy new clothing, it should be the same for stoma products.
Of course when you first have your surgery you should take your time to understand your stoma and the products you have. The products you get sent home with may actually not be the best products for you in the long term, but you do need to learn and adapt regarding your stoma in the early months. Your stoma in the early months will also change shape and so will your body, so it is really important to take your time and get used to the stoma and your body. It would be very easy in the early days to get carried away and order lots of samples from different companies. This is something you should avoid, because what comes with ordering lots of different samples comes lots of phonecalls.
If you ordered 5 different ostomy bags from 5 different companies that means you are going to get called by all 5 of those companies and they are all going to be asking you questions you may not understand. This can certainly be overwhelming in the early days and you will put yourself under unnecessary stress which will damage your confidence. The first 6 months you should really be focusing on growing your confidence with looking after yourself and your stoma. Once you have become comfortable with your stoma and your products I would recommend trying different products, as I mentioned the bags you are sent home with may not be the best bag for you in the long run. If you are struggling with leaks then it is highly likely you have the wrong bag. You also do not need to stay with the same supplier that you left hospital with. I have changed my supplier 3 times, and since being with Respond I have no desire to change to another company.
Social media is a good place to see other products, many influencers will tell you all about a product and how it works for them. This is what I did in my early years and I found a number of stoma products that have really helped me, from barrier creams to bag extenders. I have reviewed a number of products on my YouTube channel and that has really helped people understand there are so many great products out there. On my channel I always try to fully
demonstrate every product I review, by seeing a full demonstration it will increase your confidence to try it.
Another easy way to find products is check the website of your provider and have a scroll through, again you might find products that will help you. What you do need to be aware of is changing your manufacturer of your bag too regularly may cause you to have skin reactions, your skin can get used to the same bag and if you are changing the bag for a different manufacturer often you will not give your skin time to adapt to the new bag, this may well cause skin irritation which could affect the bag sticking to you. If you are going to change to a different bag, allow the body time to adapt unless you have an instant bad reaction or the bag just does not work for you. For example I recently tried a
different bag just because I liked the look of it. I used them for a good couple of weeks, and it was a decent bag, but it did not offer anything different or perform differently to the bag I was using. When I had the phonecall from the company asking if I would like to continue with the bag I politely declined. Always remember, if you order samples from another company they will always ring you to see how you got on. But do not feel afraid to say the
product does not work for you, because you do not want to end up with a bag that does not work for you.
Another way to check out different products is when you go to the hospital to see your stoma team. Always ask them what they have that is new and see if you can get some samples from your stoma team. Also something to remember is products are always changing and evolving, generally products always get better so stay connected with your supplier to see what is new. That way you will always have the best product to suit your needs.
Get out there and have a look do it today! Enjoy.
