My Little Rant About Byram

I get my ostomy supplies from Byram. It is the only option I have in my area, and the supplies come out of Texas. I live in Illinois. They are always getting my order wrong. I don't know who thinks it makes sense to send me 20 wafers and no bags, or to send me 20 bags and only 10 wafers. Every single time, I have to call them up after my order and tell them what they got wrong. And then the next time, I can't place the same order because it just includes the things they left out of the last order. So, I have to call them up and go through the whole order again. And then they get it wrong again! I am at my wits' end with these people. How can they be so stupid? What am I going to do with 20 wafers and no bags? That is what I got this time. Grrr... incompetence. How many brains does it take when packing up a box to realize that I need both bags and wafers in matching amounts?

I went through this for 2.5 years. Every month there was a problem that wound up becoming a billing issue, and they sent me to a collection agency as opposed to reading my repeated messages that they were billing the wrong insurance company. I have good insurance, but because I use Holister, there are only two suppliers I can buy from and have insurance cover it, Byram being one of the two. Currently using Edgepark and, while not perfect, much better than Byram based on experience thus far. If we could buy direct as opposed to through a distributor, both cost and complexity would be reduced. The sad part is I too am in Illinois and the warehouse of the manufacturer is less than an hour from my house, but I cannot buy from them.

What brand do you use?

Best of luck.

I have been very fortunate that I have not had any issues with Byram. I've had issues with my Hollister bags, but Hollister took care of that right away. 

Agree with Jro3 wholeheartedly.  I wish we did not have to use specific distributors based on what our insurance company will allow. If we could buy direct, how much easier it would be. I imagine cheaper too. The only reason I use my insurance is so that the cost goes towards my deductible and out of pocket expense.  By the end of the year, I've often met at least my deductible,  so it does end up being less expensive. The cost which Hollister/Byram charges to my insurance company is often higher than if I purchased myself.   

Just another pain point we share, I suppose. 

Hope they make your order right!

Question...

Do all suppliers follow a protocol before sending you your order? Do they

1- check insurance coverage.

2- check with the doctor.

Once done with that, you have to call them back to confirm your order originally placed?

Edge park is notoriously anal about this procedure. If you don't confirm the order, they somewhat threaten you it will be removed, lost, invalid.

And... God help you if you have to add to that order you are confirming because...

1- they check insurance.

2- check with the doctor.

Then you have to call them back again to confirm it.

🤦‍♂️😖

ARE OTHER SUPPLIERS FOLLOWING THIS AS WELL?

I agree with your eval of Edgepark. I started ordering my own supplies in March and Edgepark was first on the list I got from ostomy care. There has not been a single monthly order that I got without at least two, sometimes three or four, to the company to sort out problems that they caused. I want to change but don't see anyone else doing consistently better.

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Hi. Just a thought, but have you ever tried ordering from Amazon? They are way cheaper and if you have an insurance company that would reimburse you would be icing on the cake. Back when I first got going with my ileostomy my company was transitioning to a different insurance. So, I bought supplies from Amazon and got reimbursed. And I found that the supply company I had been using for the exact same supplies before that had been charging my insurance 4x the amount that I paid Amazon! I reported this to the insurance company and they took the supply company to court. I believe they won because I got a small reward for it. Might be worth checking into that way of ordering. Just a thought. I am curious as to why you only have two choices for suppliers? Is that at your insurance company's policy? I am on Medicare now and get my supplies through Comfort Medical and have had good luck with them.

I wanted to ask about the quality of these cheaper products?

Amazon doesn't make these products. They have sellers getting rid of them. Correct?

Even though they are new products, they could be defective.

I assume you had no issues with these bags from Amazon?

A lot of members buying through suppliers are receiving defective bags, for example.

What's your take on quality?

You know the old adage?

You get what you pay for?

Agreed, the suppliers are marking up prices for insurance companies to pay.

Capitalism at its best.

My experience with EdgePark... they are good. It's just that to reconfirm an order I placed? Reconfirm it? What for? And why bother the doctor's office each time I order stuff?

Permanent ileo. 8 years. Nothing is going to change about that. I could see insurance company changes. But I confirmed that on the first damn order form. I have to reconfirm it again? After the doctor approves?

I swear they are ball busters—chop breakers, anal times ten.

My orders come complete. No missing stuff unless back ordered. The invoice will tell you that.

Dozens of people hate them. Dozens like them. It is what it is.

Like many others, I too had issues with Byram that caused me enormous anxiety right when I was undergoing cancer treatment. On the advice of a cousin who has lived with an ileostomy for 45 years and served as an ostomy nurse for 35 years, I tried the free samples but agreed with her that Convatec was the best choice. I use the accordion flanges and really like them.  

I switched to 180 Medical out of Oklahoma City and I could not be more satisfied with the service I've received. They only carry Convatec ostomy products.

So, you can play some music on that accordion while showering? (Sorry, just had to). 🎶Raindrops keep falling on my head...🎵

I use Hollister products mostly: bags and wafers. They give me generic wipes to use that I hate. And they give me tiny bottles of M9 drops, 1 oz ones; they give me 4 of those to last a month. So, I end up only using it on bag changing days. It's very annoying. But this is the company that my surgeon wants to work with, and the one my ostomy nurse set me up with. So, I am kind of stuck. It just sucks that they mess things up all the time.

My insurance is Medicaid so I don't have a deductible fortunately. I couldn't afford to have one. I am lucky Medicaid pays for ostomy supplies otherwise I'd be up a creek.

Byram doesn't work that way. You place your order, they ask you what insurance you have, and if the script is expired, they check with the doctor. However, there is no callback to confirm. They send an email out to say your order has been shipped, and they send an email saying it's time to order supplies. They ask you if you have less than a 10-day supply left and say your insurance will only allow an order if you have less than 10 days' supply left, so I always say I have 7 or 5 days' supply left, even though I have a whole closet full of supplies. But some of my supplies have holes cut too large; now I should weed those ones out and pitch them. But I haven't gotten around to doing that yet. I wish my stoma would just stay one size and stay small or big or something. I have to cut between two circles now, so my cuts aren't perfect. Another hassle of having an ostomy, I suppose.

I can't do that with Medicaid insurance.

Thing is, I am happy with Holister products. They work for me. And if I ever have a problem, they have fixed the problem when I have contacted them directly about an issue with one of their products. So, I do like Holister.

I use Hollister and get them from my local Pharmacy.  I just give them a call with my order and then go in and  pick it up.  Very easy for me.