This time around I’ve got a tip for checking the pouch is securely attached to your flange – without the need for nail guns or screwdrivers!

Sometimes, it is possible to unintentionally attach your pouch to your flange insecurely, and when you least expect it you can find the bag having dropped off the flange and trapped in your underwear, or if you wear boxer shorts it can end up dropping down your leg. It’s highly embarrassing, and sometimes the way the companies pouches lock on to the flange can be very fiddly and thus difficult to successfully attach.

However there is one way to make sure that your pouch is properly attached to the flange so that it wont drop off later.  Once you think you have the pouch locked on to the flange simply take the side edges of the pouch in your  hands and give it one or two short, sharp tugs straight outwards. Not upwards, or downwards, just a quick tug or two outwards. If the pouch is not properly connected to the flange you will find it is coming off, and will more than likely actually come off in your hand.

If your pouch is still connected to the flange after this tugging, then it should remain in place safely allowing you to get on with the rest of your day safe in the knowledge that your pouch wont be heading south!

Dont forgot to keep stopping by regularly to see what new top tips I have for you, and you can also find me posting on the Ostomyland Community Forums. Why not pop over and come and say hi! I’d love to see you there, and all our members would too! See you there!
http://www.ostomyland.com/community or http://www.ostomyland.org/ostomyboardipb/
(Both links take you to the same place.)

You can read my other great (in my fuzzy opinion) top tips here:
http://ostomyland.com/mainsite/category/fuzzbutts-top-tips/

This content has been Digiproved © 2012 Ostomyland

Janet Mitchell is posting a blog about her daughter Charlene’s journey through Crohns and her new diverting Ileostomy that was performed on September 11th 2009. To date their blog has featured stories about dealing with the highs such as successful showering; positive appointments with doctors; her first journey on the school bus for many years, and more … But she also talks about the lows too such as nighttime nausea and so on.

12 year old Charlene is an inspiration to us all, but her Mom is equally as important in this story, as the blog also focuses on the trials and tribulations of being a parent to a child with an Ileostomy.

Useful Links:
Janet & Charlene’s Blog
Ostomyland Member Blogs Section
How to create your own blog on the board
NB: You need to be logged into our message board to access the blogs. If you aren’t already a member registration is free and easy.

Writing a blog can be a very good form of support and release for some people. For the writers it gives them a chance to talk through their concerns, and to share their thoughts. It also gives their readers a crucial insight into life with an Ostomy and shows that whilst there could possibly be some bad experiences with a stoma, they also show that there ARE still good times ahead too and life with an ostomy is not a prison sentence as they can often be misconstrued as.

To create your free Ostomyland blogs, check out this helpful post/video. Registration to the message board is free and easy, and there’s a step by step video on how to do that too.

Try as we might here at Ostomyland to be the only Ostomy site you need, we do realise that we dont have all the information for all sections of society or for all countries. And this is what my top tip is about – where to find information/support on the topics you need from other ostomy sites!

If you are looking for information about Ostomies, be it on rarer or specific aspects of an Ostomy lifestlye, or even your common-or-garden topics then you could do far worse than to visit Ostomy Links.

Ostomy Links has just been given a brand new makeover but continues to aim to provide links to as many, if not all, the many various Ostomy websites, MSN/Yahoo Groups, single-pages and full blown Ostomy communities on the net. Whether you are looking for info on rare health conditions that lead to a Stoma in their treatment, or specific less-featured lifestyle aspects of Ostomy support such as Gay and Lesbian Ostomate support groups, or the desire to find a support group in your local area wherever in the world you may be, then you really should give Ostomy Links a visit.

Useful Links:
Ostomy Links – http://www.ostomylinks.co.uk
Ostomyland’s Own Web-Links Page

My Support Organisations in your country forum has a growing list of Non-profit Organisations in your country, which give advice and support to ostomates – including health and health-related issues as well as ostomy groups themselves.

If you want to join a group, why not take a look to see if you can find something in your area? If you’re already part of a group you are welcome to post in that section too, letting others know about it! And if you can’t find anything local to you post a question – someone may be able to help!

Take care everyone, I’ll see you next time with another top tip!

This month, why not visit my Helpful Articles and Resources forum where you’ll find a Collection of Articles giving advice and support relevant to Ostomates. There are articles written by Ostomyland Members as well as external sources.

Take care everyone, I’ll see you next time with another top tip!

This week we heard from Ostomy Angels which is a new website offering free products to people unable to afford them for just the price of shipping and handling, and so they have been added to the posts listings too.

Based in the USA (Austin, Texas) you can make a donation to Ostomy Angels, or find out more details about this service by visiting their website.

Links:
Ostomy Angels: http://ostomyangels.com/
Our Original Post: Fuzzbutt’s Top Tip #5: Help with Ostomy Product Costs

NB: Ostomyland is not responsible for content outside of it’s own ostomyland.com/.org domains, and any services featured on Ostomyland are used at your own risk.

This month, why not visit my Past Ostomy Polls in that section and add your vote? You’ll find a range of ostomy topics – and you can even add your own comments!

Take care everyone, I’ll see you next time with another top tip!

Why not visit my Ostomy Reference Posts and see some of the most popular or unusual topics? You’ll find information and ideas on a range of ostomy topics – and you can even add your own comments!

Take care everyone, I’ll see you next time with another top tip!

Ostomy products are not cheap and its been a long time since spending a penny, actually cost a penny (…or less). Some products can be incredibly expensive, especially the latest or newly launched product ranges.

This expense can be difficult at the best of times, and the current economic climate does not help when costs are soaring, and the economy is freefalling. Everyone is being affected one way or another, and Ostomyland itself is facing a 40% increase in it’s website costs this year because of the plummeting price of the UK Pound against the US Dollar.

Anyways, if you are struggling to afford your products, and are not particularly concerned about what makes or brands you use, then Ebay can be an excellent source of cheaper than usual products. Also, for those in severe financial difficulties you might want to contact your local ostomy support charity for details of any cut-price or even free distribution ostomy product schemes which may be running in your area. On top of this, if you live in the USA then you might like to check out one of the following:

Friends of Ostomates Worldwide-USA, Inc.
Quote from site: “Through Project SHARE (Sending Help and Rehabilitation Everywhere) FOW-USA collects new, surplus ostomy supplies from generous individuals and organizations in the United States and ships them to developing countries where ostomates do not have access to these vital supplies.”
http://www.fowusa.org/newsite/page.php?page=home

Ostogroup
Quote from Site: “Our only requirement continues to be that you do not have any form of insurance reimbursement for your ostomy products. We will ask you to verify this upon entering the program and to re-certify it each time you order from us. We do this to assure that we are serving those who are truly in need and not just those who are looking for savings.”
http://www.ostogroup.org/

If you are having financial problems paying for Ostomy products then you might also want to try contacting the manufacturers of your chosen products directly as some of them (but certainly not all of them) have reimbursement schemes. For example, here is the details of the ConvaTec program in the USA…

ConvaTec Ostomy Supplies (USA)
Call Reimbursement Helpline 1-800-422-8811.
This is where you can get information concerning reimbursement for your ConvaTec ostomy products.

On the reverse side of the coin, if you find yourself with some spare, unwanted ostomy products, and would like to donate them then contact the local Ostomy support charities to see if they want them, or ask if they can recommend somewhere for you to donate them. We also welcome posts on the Ostomyland message board offering people your unwanted products.

Alternatively, if you dont want to donate, you can try selling them on Ebay where I’m sure they will be snapped up for the reasons I’ve discussed above.

Having a stoma can be stressful enough in the early days, without having to worry about where the money to pay for the products is coming from, so I hope that this post has helped ease those worries some way. Dont forget that we always welcome your comments here, so if you have something to say on this subject please feel free to post your messages below. We’d especially love you to leave messages about any schemes in your particular area which offers free or subsidised ostomy products for your area, or even websites offering cut price ostomy products regardless of area.

Take care everyone, I’ll see you next time with another top tip!

Update: 4th June 2009
Ostomy Angels is a service based in Austin, TX, USA which offers free ostomy products to people in need. For more information on the service, or to make a donation, please visit their website.
http://ostomyangels.com/

Please Note: Ostomyland is not responsible for any website content outside of it’s own ostomyland.com or ostomyland.org domains. Ostomyland is not affiliated or connected with any of the companies or schemes featured in this post, and we have not tried or tested their services, therefore their inclusion within is not necessarily a recommendation or endorsement of their service but simply an acknowledgement of their existance. Ostomates use these companies or services at their own risk, and as with all third party products or services featured within our pages we we will not be held responsible in the unlikely situation of any problems arising from their use.

It’s summer time! Hurray! The weather is nice (if you’re lucky and don’t live in the UK!) and the family want to go out for the day to the beach or something. But, what about caring for your ostomy while out? This can be a particularly big hurdle for new Ostomates to overcome as they often fear the pouch coming off and not being able to care for it outside their usual home-based comfort zone. But it needn’t be a huge hassle and mass panic to gather together any of your supplies to take with you, and you need not be so worried about caring for the stoma outside the home.

My top tip is to make up a small pack of supplies which contains one or two days worth of each of the products you normally use, along with tubes of any creams or powders you may use too (sample packs of creams etc are usually ideal for popping into your travel pack!).

It’s also worthwhile putting in some dry wipes or a cloth, and a small squirty bottle of fresh tap water. Placing a clothes peg or clip into the pack can also be a good idea. This can be used to peg up your shirt or top in places where you cannot remove your top, leaving you free to use both hands to clean your stoma.

Finally, If you have this all together and permanently topped up and available, then you are ready to hit the road at a moment’s notice confident of the fact that you have enough stuff to last the day and an ideal holder for all these supplies is a bum bag, as they are called here in the UK. I believe they are called fanny packs in other Countries. With one of these you have a small pack that can be attached around your waist to carry with you at all times without looking too inconspicuous… but it might not win you any fashion awards these days. hehehe. Another alternative is a shoe bag, or something similar.

If you want more information on travelling with an ostomy, check out the travel chapter of the lifestyle guide for lots more info and great tips!

So, ’til next time, have a great holiday season, and don’t forget to send me a postcard!