Is there a best place to get ostomy gear?

So I am guessing you are reading this because you are new to the ostomy game.  Or even more interesting would be that you just had a really bad experience with a customer service agent of some company that sells ostomy gear.  Let's face it, it is bound to happen at some point or another and we all get frustrated with one company or someone at a company we have been with for a very long time.  Take a minute to be angry and express your frustrations.  Yep, there are bad apples and sometimes the people and companies we deal with are having a bad day too.  They may be in the complete wrong or they may be in the middle and you may be too.  Just take a minute to breath and evaluate your situation.  There are lots of great places to get your ostomy supplies from.  I said it, there is no one perfect place to get it from. So I want to go over a few options and let you know that it's ok to move on, or maybe just give them another shot.

First and foremost is you can get your ostomy supplies from a pharmacy.  This is  a great place to shop and I highly recommend supporting local companies. Imagine yourself if they were gone and you were in an emergency situation and needed something now! It would sure be sad if they left because no one shopped there and you lost your emergency place to get gear from.  Plus I have found that pharmacists like to get the best gear they can for the best price that people like.  They only sell what sells and it seems to me that most places like to sell the best product they can.  Plus they get to talk to lots of people about their products and can be very knowledgeable. So keep them in mind as a good option.

There are also lots of online retailers that sell gear!  Many of the companies that produce the products themselves have awesome websites and pretty good customer service as well.  So don't be afraid to shop those companies and also give them a call.  The service staff are usually rather helpful, but we have all had a bad apple and don't judge all the books by their cover or one bad apple.  It;s a lesson I learned myself, nobody's perfect! So enjoy your shopping and choose wisely and be kind.

Playing Baseball with an Ostomy

Opening day for baseball is always the most exciting day of the year.  I didn’t feel this way until I started working at a really cool job.  Baseball was not my favorite sport to follow, but it really is a fun one to play.  A new yearly work tradition is to take opening day off and drink whisky and smoke cigars all day and call it a work day.  Wow do I love opening day of baseball now. It has got me and my family back into the spirit of baseball and we are more and more finding ourselves outside playing baseball.  It is indeed a little more difficult due to the fact that I must take my ostomy supplies with me.  Yes, indeed I have a stoma and it does take a little more work to stay safe and not get messy when being outside.

So some differences I have to deal with playing baseball differ from my normal day is that I know I am going to get more sweaty.  This means I need to dress appropriately and wear clothes that breath and wick moisture away.  For this I suggest not getting ostomy supplies that are made with cotton.  Cotton breathes but it does not wick moisture away very well. So I find myself getting really sweaty and staying that way. And if I am getting more sweaty in one area than my ostomy bag prints and everyone knows I have one.  It looks a little strange and it gets super annoying because it sticks to my shirt.  Or I should say my shirt sticks to it more. 

So find yourself a moisture wicking ostomy bag and supplies.  This means find polyester or nylon ostomy gear so you are ready to go outside and play. I cannot stress enough that its important to go outside and be in nature and for me do it with my family.  Being on the sidelines is nothing that a stoma has kept me from doing.  You don’t need to be sitting on the sidelines, instead go out and be active and find the gear and clothing that works for you. 

I don’t wear compression shirts anymore because that would just get in the way and possibly cause some leakage issues. So I wear loose fitting clothes when I am outdoors and honestly I like just fine. So grab a mit and maybe a bat and play ball.

Basketball and a Stoma?

I grew up in the Midwest United States.  Now for some that means I grew up around corn, politeness, and the bible belt. What it means to most of the people in sports is that I grew up in basketball country.  Myself, I come from the Hoosier state and that means everyone plays basketball.  It is a natural sport that everyone knows how to play.  I spent days, weeks, and literally months of my life playing basketball. 

I found it kept me healthy, and gave me many life lessons.  Winning, losing, and working with a team of different people teaches lots of lessons.  Now I find myself playing basketball a little less and with a little more ostomy supplies.  Yes I have a stoma and I still play basketball.  Never for a minute did I think I would stop having fun just because I have to take a bag around with me on my abdomen. So I wanted to share a few tips on things I have noticed help the most when I lace up my basketball shoes and get to hooping.

Make sure you are wearing the right clothing.  So does this mean I need to wear armor when I am on the basketball court? No not at all. Instead just wear loose clothing, like most people do when they play basketball.  I prefer moisture wicking t-shirts and regular elastic basketball shorts.  Now I will try to purchase all my ostomy supplies in materials to match.  If my ostomy bag is not moisture wicking then it will get very sweaty and leave a huge sweat stain on my shirt.  That is just a little weird and people will play the game differently when they are around you.  They won’t guard you as hard and its just annoying and everyone will make a fuss about it. 

Now all my friends would never play me any differently, but new people are new and will always hesitate to guard a guy who may be carrying a bag of poo with him.  Honestly, I don’t blame anyone and I keep my spirits up and most people laughing.  Because hey its, life and why not.  But I still like to avoid that situation and just play ball like normal and lose fitting moisture wicking clothes help a lot.  I also add a belt to my attire. 

No not a dress belt or anything but its basically a body band that goes around my abdomen to keep everything in place.  Find a good one and you will be able to run around just like normal.  Just make sure all your gear attaches well and has great lockups on your stoma. Now go outside and play some basketball!