How to find a doctor to order you enough ostomy supplies?

Hello Nadine. If you are going through 20 bags a month, that is 5 a week. Can you please tell me why are you going through so many?

Because honestly I poop about 10 times at least a day very liquidity

I get all I need with Medicare and my UHC supplementary insurance.
I get the disposal bags, one time use. They do have bags you can empty.
Just go on line to by a doctor that does colonoscopy exams. All hospitals can give you a referral. What about the Doctor that operated on you?

Try a product called skin tac which available on Amazon. My stoma incision , which was done in emergency surgery. is not smooth and near my belly button which makes getting a good seal on the bag very difficult. Skin tac is a skin barrier and adhesive combined and has limited my leaks to about 1 a month.

Hollister and coloplast will send sample bags which can help you determine if you have the best bag, I need a bag with a convex opening because my stoma is very flat and recedes at times which creates leaks. Holloplast makes a bag that the opening swells when it gets wet which helps with my leaks. They will talk with you on the telephone to help you try different products

Medicare and probably other medical insurance cover ostomy supplies. However, there is a limit to what you will be reimbursed for. However, the limit is usually enough. Talk to a representative in colonoscopy office or even perhaps your GP, who will then issue a prescription to a firm such as Handi Medical Supply, who have a convient method for reordering the ostomy supplies. The perscriber may require you to make an annual appointment, which is not a bad thing.

Hi Nadine,

Seeing an Ostomy Nurse would be a good first step. They can help you figure out what products would work best for you, and then place the prescription with a supply company. Insurance will cover supplies up to a certain amount.

You could call the surgeon who did your surgery to get the information on where to go to see an Ostomy nurse. If you can't contact the surgeon who did your surgery, calling another one should work as well.

Good luck! I hope this helps.

I had a urostomy as part of a larger cancer surgery and due to complications ended up staying at a rehab facility for 4 months. The ostomy leaked almost daily during the night(little did I know, it was positional caused) and after discharge I got an appointment with an ostomy nurse at Mayo in Phoenix who taught me the right way to change the ostomy. It turns out that the nurses at the rehab facility were placing the bag and the ring in the incorrect order! Since I learned the proper change procedure I have not had any leaks. A resource I value is a monthly newsletter from the Phoenix Ostomy Support Groups at https://phoenixostomy.org/ They are a resource for people to donate ostomy supplies they can't use and a resource for people to obtain more supplies. Their newsletter always has something useful to learn and makes me feel like I am not the only person in the world dealing with ostomy challenges. Life with an ostomy is more complicated but it beats the alternative. Remember, you are not alone in this - you just have to find the right support and for sure you need an ostomy nurse to teach you the best way to do the ostomy changes.

Also a good idea is to experiment with different product designs and materials inorder to find the one most suited to your condition and body type.

Have you checked locally to see if there is ostomy group in your area? I am signed up through my doctor for ostomy supplies, but I am on Medicare (which you might not be). Otherwise check with the National Ostomy Website and see if there is any help there.
I am so sorry that you are having problems. I can't imagine only having 20 bags for a month.
Best wishes to you.

Hi @nadinebobo, how are you doing? Have you been able to find access to more supplies?