How to order ostomy supplies
Learning how to order ostomy supplies is crucial for living with an ostomy. Ostomy supplies are ordered through distributors, not through the actual product manufacturers. This is handy, because many people use products from a number of different manufacturers but only have to place their order through one company.
How much of a product your order is up to you. Your doctor will write a prescription for a total number of ostomy pouches you can order each month or quarterly. If you find that you’re needing to use more than the prescribed amount of pouches, contact your doctor and explain the situation to ask them to increase the prescription. If you use ostomy appliance accessories (like seals, paste, adhesive removers, etc), sometimes the insurance company will have to call the doctor to get a prescription for those too. If you run into any pushback as you learn how to order ostomy supplies, don’t be discouraged, advocate for what you need!
Storing your Ostomy Supplies
Once your supplies arrive in the mail, you’ll have to store them until you use them up. It’s best to store them in temperature controlled space that doesn’t get too hot or too cold. Some of the supplies can be compromised when exposed to extreme heats or cold, particularly for a long period of time.
You can be creative with how you store your ostomy supplies, the sky is the limit. If you want an inspirational starting point, here are three styles of ostomy supply storage that you could consider implementing.
It’s best not to let your stash get too low in case your distributor is on backorder, the mail gets lost, there’s a storm and mail can’t be delivered, or some other incident prevents your ostomy supplies from being delivered in a timely manner.
Occasionally you receive faulty products. Just like all other manufacturers, sometimes there’s a bad batch. If you do receive a faulty product, call the manufacturer and let them know. They might ask for the lot number for their records, but they’ll often send you replacements for the faulty products.
The UOAA has an informational page about ostomy suppliers/distributors that might be handy to read when you’re getting ready to choose a distributor.
