They say the Dutch are the only people who can make money dealing with the Scots. While I don't think I'm cheap, I am frugal, and while I like spending money, I hate to spend money on useless items or activities. Consequently, I will invite any company that supplies ostomy supplies to send me samples and usually, I will respond to any queries regarding the use of their supplies. (It doesn't cost anything to do so and it'll justify their providing me their products free of charge, including shipping). Still, I hate spending money for bodily functions, although come to think of it, my water and sewer bill is astronomical, which is strange since this country (Canada) has more fresh water than any other country in the world. And not too far from where I live, there are several places where the water just comes out of the ground, is free, and runs continuously. So I am frugal, and hate to spend money on ostomy supplies. I have attempted to reduce the expense, which is considerably higher in this country than in our neighbors' country (in case you didn't know, USA). What I have found is that reuse of the flange is possible. After removing the flange or 1-piece, I clean it as much as possible with a hand shower, then place it in a baggie, fill the baggie with water, and leave it for a day or two, empty the water with the dissolved paste, clean the flange with a hand shower, and hang it to dry. To reuse, I use Coloplast strip paste (half) and Hollister Karaya paste and typically go for 4 to 7 days.
While some of you get your supplies free, I recently read about someone going through a month's supply in a few days, or another person ended up waiting for a delivery which didn't come in time. For those people, it might be a good idea to use this method and store the used flanges/1-piece in a box or bag for emergency use.
Of course, this is of little use for the someone I was told about who is so disgusted by the whole process that she discards everything when changing the flange, including the bag.
Oh, by the way, I am getting my supplies at Shoppers Home Healthcare, and using their Optimum card, they give me a 20% discount, which makes the cost of my supplies almost reasonable.
I wonder if my mother would have bought paper diapers if they were available then – probably not, the norm then was cloth diapers, which would have been considerably cheaper.
Ed

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