What and when should I order bag supplies:)

So I'm on Tuesday I am having my pre-op meeting with a nurse, my ileostomy surgery is scheduled for Aug 1st.  My question is about supplies.  I'm sure the hospital will send me home with some stuff, but where do I buy it after that.  Do pharmacys sell it or do I have to order it through the mail?  Should I do that now so I have ednoguh supplies in time, or should I wait until after the surgery so I know exactly what to order?

Thanks y'all

I got my loop ileostomy last July. The hospital sent me home with Hollister products, but I ended up having to change brands because I was allergic to them. The most common brands are Hollister, Convatec and Coloplast. So, if one doesn't work for you then the ET nurse will have you try one of these other brands. The hospital will probably give you a catalog. It gives you an idea of what's available. Not that you have to order from that company.

Check with your insurance company. Last year I had Aetna Insurance. The insurance companies sometimes have preferred providers they'll want you to use. Such as Sterling Medical, Edgepark, etc. With Aetna, they covered 100% of my supplies. This year my husband and I went with my insurance company which is Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Once I met my $250 deductible, my supplies were covered 100%. They have no preferred providers, so I can order from whoever I want. I stuck with Sterling Medical since I was already established with them and I can call them and ask if they'll pull up my history because I don't always have the order codes on me. It's very convenient. I also order a couple of supplies from Edgepark Medical that Sterling can't get.

The first six months or so I was ordering like crazy because I was allergic to so many of the products or something didn't work right for me. But, that has slowed down quite a bit. It's just that it was all so new. you'll get into the hang of it in a few months.

The best piece of advice I can share is to always have your supplies in order and ready for your change. I always do mine over the bathroom sink. Everything is laid out including plenty of paper towels. I rip them into about 8 pieces so I can just dab the stoma if it runs.

Good Luck!

what my husband did was, friday before i got home he ordered me a small amount of what the nurse suggested, so it would be there when i got there monday, they ship them super fast!
they will send you some home from the hospital but not many.

P4H-you might want to check with your ET nurses, at my dr's office, they will take partial boxes of wafers/pouches and any equipment that I don't/can't use anymore. There is a volunteer that has a list of people who don't have insurance or cannot afford supplies for what ever reason and matches them up with the supplies. If you have full unopened boxes, you could try to return them. My supplier (Edgepark) has done that for me, too.