This topic is all about how often people change their drainable ostomy bags and the factors that influence this routine. If you're navigating life with an ostomy, you might find these insights and tips helpful:

- The person sharing their experience uses a two-piece system and typically changes their drainable pouch every 3 to 4 days. Their routine involves removing the bag after about three days, taking a shower, cleaning the flange, and then applying a new pouch.

- In hot weather, like in Ohio, the wear time of the wafer can be shorter. They change the wafer every 4 to 6 days, often prompted by itching or concerns about skin irritation.

- They try to limit the overall wear time to 5 days but remove the pouch on day 3 to shower and rinse the wafer, which helps reduce odor.

- A handy tip they discovered is that dropping a few Tic Tacs into the pouch can help control odor.

- They found out that Medicare covers ostomy supplies, allowing for 20 drainable or 60 closed pouches per month.

Here are some additional pieces of advice and insights from others:

1. Wear time can vary greatly from person to person. Key factors include:
- The consistency of the output, with liquid output often reducing wear time to 24 to 48 hours.
- Heat, humidity, and sweating can affect adhesive strength, especially during outdoor work or in summer, potentially reducing wear time by several days.
- Signs that it might be time to change include redness, itching, seepage under the wafer, odor, a saturated filter, or pressure spots.

2. Typical change intervals shared by others:
- Daily to every other day for very liquid output.
- Every 3 to 5 days for many users.
- 7 to 10 days, and occasionally up to 14 days, when a good seal is achieved, even in hot climates.

3. Two-piece wafers, like the ConvaTec Natura series, often stay adhered roughly twice as long as comparable one-piece systems.

4. Taking care of your skin is more important than trying to stretch wear time, as long wear can risk infections such as impetigo under the tape.

5. Product experiences and recommendations:
- ConvaTec Sur-Fit Natura Moldable Durahesive Skin Barrier, 2-piece, is reported to have a 10-day wear time and is good for sensitive skin and liquid ileostomy output. Rinsing the pouch at every emptying helps with longevity.
- ConvaTec Nutra Stomahesive wafer with a drainable pouch averages 7-day wear in 100°F Oklahoma heat, with odor being an early warning of an impending leak.
- Some users have tried other brands like Hollister but switched to ConvaTec due to adhesive allergies or better wear time.

6. Supply coverage:
- The current U.S. Medicare guideline allows for 20 drainable pouches or 60 closed pouches per month at 100% coverage, though this is subject to future policy changes.

7. Cost-saving and convenience options:
- Disposable liner bags for closed pouches, such as those from Colo-Majic Enterprises, allow for quick cleanup without needing to replace the whole pouch. You can contact them at 604-904-0494 or toll-free at 1-866-611-6028.