About Us

First, thank you for your interest in Ostomy Pouch Pockets!  We hope you find this site beneficial.

A story leading up to the Ostomy Pouch Pocket (OPP):  In late 2018 I had a series of episodes with an upset stomach.  I went in to see my doctor and made several trips to the ER, but had no luck in finding the cause. A few weeks later I ended up needing emergency surgery and had an Ileostomy put in place. I later found out I had experienced a total colectomy due to complications from Crohn's disease, but of course, at the time I had no idea what was happening.

The next day when I woke up I had a new "appliance".  This is the medical term for the new ostomy pouch I was going to have for the rest of my life (Napoleon and Eisenhower also wore Ostomy bags, which puts me in good company). 

An ostomy bag is not something that one gets used to quickly. It’s somewhat like having a sock of varying weight attached to your abdomen. One of the first things I did after getting home was to look online for some sort of belt/apparel to hold the ostomy pouch. I had an idea of what I wanted, but there was nothing on the web that was even similar.  All of the choices involved wearing the pouch under garments or under a belt.  And either case would prevent the pouch from filling properly (I felt), possibly lead to leaking, and restrict access to the pouch for emptying. 

The next thing I did was to make something I thought would work better - to support the ostomy pouch, allow the pouch to fully expand and provide easy access. So with a considerable amount of help from my wife (luckily for me an RN) I constructed my first Ostomy Pocket made from the pocket of an old shirt. After some trial and error with different sizes, attachment methods, flaps sizes and locations, we came up with several “pockets” that would work for me on a daily basis as I continued the healing process.

We didn't plan to start a business at first, but after after talking with several doctors and nurses who really liked the OPP (and encouraged us to make the OPP available to others), we started to think about it.  After many Pouch Pocket prototypes and test runs we started the business (at least on paper) in 2019.

From the beginning, some people have been surprised at the "outside the pants" OPP approach. This really surprised me at first - maybe it was my experience with pinched hydraulic lines, but to have a system designed for gravity flow restricted by a belt just didn't seem like a good idea!  And, in addition to that, I was already accustomed to wearing T-shirts and untucked dress shirts, so, this, together with the convenience and comfort made wearing the OPP external to my pants a great solution for me.  I wear the OPP every day, at work or at home, and it works well for me.  I hope it works as well for you!

 

About US: I am an engineer working in the Airplane industry and my wife is an neonatal ICU nurse working in a Pacific Northwest hospital.

 

Thanks,

Kurt and Sharon