Lots of adhesive remover, ziplock bags to put the used bag in.  And, patience and fortitude!!  This isn't for the weak, this surgery and such!!!!!!

Thanks, Nora. What adhesive remover do you recommend? I have a bottle of Goo B Gone somewhere but I suppose that's not quite for body use. What about something to put down on the bed?

On the bed I lay on an old sheet and some of the hospital type blue pads.  Those have saved me from washing bedding constantly!  I use the sting free adhesive removers I get from Byram Medical Supply and my insurance covers them!!!  I also tried sitting on a soft flatter pillow on the fork lift, couldn't care less what people thought, and that helped.  i have super sensitive skin so I have to really careful with any product.  I had to change bags because I got blisters from the tape and seals!  I still get a rash, but thankfully no blisters with the new bags!  But the adhesive remover is a must to remove the bag!!!  The tape and seal can rip your skin!!!  I'm looking forward to the pouch as I loathe the bag with every fiber of my being!!!!

As far as ostomy supplies they will take care of the initial order at the hospital.  Something else to have lots of are disposable gloves and wipes.  My son used them by the case.  Wash cloths, gauze, bed pads, and a strong stomach.  Also having someone to help you is also a huge help.  I took care of my son's ostomy for the first three months.  He has a his second ostomy and has been doing an excellent job taking care of it himself.  Good luck, fast healing, and just have lots of patience!

 

Thank you for the suggestions. I have help from my folks but will mainly be dealing with this on my own. I want to be as prepared as possible!

Honey, trust me, you will never be prepared!  This is life altering, but you will manage just fine!  Good luck to you !

Actually, I loved having the external bag once I figured out which products worked best for me and my skin.  Finally, I could eat and drink whatever I wanted!  I had full control and I felt healthy!  I chose to keep my external bag for a full year and I had a hard time giving it up!  So.......it is a matter of trial and error figuring out what products work best for you.  The ET nurse/staff at your hospital can help you choose the best products for you.  I took advantage of whatever staff was available while in the hospital to help me become as independent as possible in changing/emptying the baggie by asking them to watch me do these things and make suggestions for how I could become better at doing so.  When I went home from the hospital I had a visiting ET nurse come to my house and help me figure things out giving the parameters of my personal bathroom, etc.  It all paid off!  It has been about 12 years since I've been "reconnected" and I'd have no problem going back to having an ileostomy if I had to do so!  It's an adventure, for sure.....but......there are almost always answers which work for each of us!  Best wishes!

Thank you for the suggestion to seek out a nurse for a home visit, CeeeeCeeee. If it's covered by my insurance, why not? I was going through my insurance policy to see what ostomy products are covered, and saw that comfort would be of no consideration, so I may not have a lot of options when it comes to products. Hopefully the ones they give me will work fine.

I got all of my tips from the nurses at the hospital before I left, and had scripts of course for all the stoma care products.

Used skin prep (makes a protective layer on the skin), plus stomahesive paste around the flange "hole," the piece that attaches to you first. Be sure if using a 2 part system (flange and bag) that you get a good "Tupperware seal" between them; once, early on, I didn't and in a public bathroom, my bag just fell off in the stall when I went to empty it, and stool went EVERYWHERE. Luckily, as I sat there crying, my mom was with me, and we were in a large department store, so she bought me new stuff pretty quickly and I was able to change. But just a tip!

Having not seen an actual bag in person, it's all very mysterious. I have my initial meeting with the surgeon Friday and am hoping to leave with some sense of how the supplies work. Or, more likely, that will happen as you said, in the hospital post surgery.

Although I've never had an ostomy, I was similarly mystified (and a little frightened) when I thought I was heading that way. The ostomy nurse at the hospital was kind enough to meet with me and demystify the equipment and the process. I was much more comfortable after that. Perhaps you could arrange some time to learn about what's coming.