Exploring the Best Ostomy Supplies: Personal Experiences

Good afternoon. Ileostomate here. 2.5 months from surgery and I am going to try to see which ostomy supplier I am going to go with. Came out of the hospital with Coloplast 2 piece soft convex. Hollister 7805 barrier ring. But thinking with all the free samples out there, I would start trying others.

Here is what I have found. Coloplast has a really nice bag; the Velcro drain works really well and cleans up really well. The fabric is nice and dries quickly. The wafer sticks like glue on my skin. But it tends to dig into my belly at the bottom under my belt and gets sore. 3-day wear time; 4 is pushing it. Ordered up a bunch of different bags; 1 piece flat seems really flexible, so I ordered up all 3 barrier rings including convex if I need them. They also replace belts for free.

Convatec convex wafer has a really nice moldable wafer where there is no cutting, but roll up the wafer to the stoma size. I really like this because it's easy and fast. Ran 2 bags 3 days each with no leaks. Didn't try longer. The drain is really bad and messy. Didn't like that at all, especially when burping the bag at night.

Hollister, just trying now with a flat 2 piece wafer. 7805 barrier ring. The drain is good, but not as good as Coloplast. Was outside working last night and the base opened up and I had to go clean everything up. Don't know why. I am ordering more Hollister products on Monday. I also really like the wafer material as it doesn't cut into my skin.

What ostomy products do you guys like and don't like? Would be nice to hear some feedback. Thanks

You’ll get a bunch of different answers as it’s a very individual choice. 

The best ostomy supplies are the ones that work for you with a predictable wear time and that protect your peristomal skin. As AlexT said, what works for each person is different. Keep trying the samples and see what you like.

Ditto what others have said.  Try as many products and combinations of different brands as possible, because finding the one that works best for you can be a game changer, and it's worth the hassle.   I have an ileo and go a week comfortably between changes and can push it to eight days, but it was a lot of trial and error that got me here.  Because you are in Canada, you have access to Salts brand (from the U.K.) and I highly recommend that you try them too.  They have barrier rings that are superior to others (in my opinion) because they are thinner, aloe infused and have excellent adhesion.  They also have also infused flanges and flange extenders.   Good luck!

Terry

Thanks for the tip on Salts. I have literally been reading for the last 2 months and trying to learn as much as I can. For example, I just found out that Coloplast has a moldable ring and a barrier ring, and they are made of different materials. The barrier rings are supposed to last longer.

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I have tried most rings and found Salts rings the best, the ones with aloe.

My local stoma nurse gave me some advice when I first started .. don't overthink it, just try a few and settle on one or a combo that you are comfortable with and she was right.

You will have to make the choice. Everyone is different. Whatever is comfortable and doesn't leak.......

Me too!

Thanks for the reply. My wife keeps telling me to keep it simple and just go with what I am using, but I just have to learn and try everything to find out what works best for me. I also find it "fun," and I use that term a bit loosely because I wish I didn't have this problem. But it is very informative to hear what works for everyone else.

I am definitely going to give Salts a call on Monday and see about getting some of their supplies and barrier rings.

Even if I can find a combination of products that can get me to 4 days and comfortable, that would be a game changer as I would be able to change the bag once on Sunday when I don't have to get up so early.

Salts rings 👍