So, you’ve had your house for years. You raised your children there and, so far, you can’t see any reason to make any changes. But you now have an ostomy, and your house still has those small, low-to-the-floor toilets.

It’s time.  You need to replace those toilets.

Yes, the new toilets have water restrictions, but they’re so much more efficient, and most can handle all the output you can put in them. And you can often get them on sale from Home Depot or Lowe’s. Look for the terms “elongated” and “comfort height”. My favorites are from Kohler or Toto (I have a great video of a Toto toilet I’ll post later). I’m not as fond as the ones from American Standard, but they may work fine for you.

What I look for is a toilet bowl with less slope. That way you can place your toilet paper against the bowl without it falling down before you empty your pouch. The American Standard toilets I’ve used all slope quite a bit, and you have to be careful placing the toilet paper, especially if you’re someplace public. The Toto toilets have some models that are virtually flat. They’re expensive, but work really well. If you do have an American Standard toilet, remember to hold the handle down a couple extra seconds to allow more water to flood in.  Otherwise, you may find yourself having to flush twice.

And have you noticed how much easier it is to empty your pouch in some public restrooms? That’s probably because most of them have open-ended toilet seats. That gives you a couple extra inches of room for your pouch. You can get them for your home toilet, too.  They’re not expensive and can make your life so much easier.