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Newsletter Serving Members and Friends
of the Triangle Ostomy Community
October 2005
In this Issue
A Great Big Thank You
Tribute to a Past President
President’s Message
Calendar - Meeting Information
Tips from Our Members
Medication Tips for Pelvic Pouch Patients
Minutes from last Meeting
In Brief
Calendar
October 3 Rosh Hashanah Begins
October 4 Ostomy Association Meeting
October 11 Columbus Day
October 31 HalloweenMeeting Information
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, October 4, 2005
SPEAKER: Coloplast Representative
Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM in the Rex Surgical Waiting Room, 4420 Lake Boone Trail, Raleigh, NC. Enter through the Rex Hospital Main Entrance, which is near the Parking Garage.
Reminder: In the event of inclement weather on the day of a scheduled meeting, please contact Rex Healthcare at 919-784-3100.Attention J-Pouchers:
Don’t forget that J-Pouchers are always welcome at our monthly meetings.
Contact Lora Edgars at 919-596-5410 for all the details.Attention WOC Nurses:
As a result of the dissolution of UOA, our WOC Nurses will no longer receive statements for annual membership dues. Our chapter is extending courtesy membership status to these fine professionals in appreciation for their guidance, support, and loyal service.New Schedule for Membership Renewal
If your membership expired Aug 2005, Nov 2005, Feb 2006, please pay your dues of $20.00 now for the year Sept 2005 - Sept 2006. If your membership was renewed in May 2005, it will be extended through Sept 1, 2006, without additional payment. If you have any questions, call Ruth Rhodes at 782-3460.
A Great Big Thank You
One of our members had the idea of sending ostomy supplies to victims
of hurricane Katrina. Many of you brought supplies to the September meeting
for this cause. I wanted to give you an update on our efforts. I contacted
Friends of Ostomates Worldwide (FOW) which distributes ostomy supplies
in the US and around the world.
I talked to Mario Pardo with FOW and inquired about getting supplies to
the hurricane victims. He stated that the Red Cross does NOT want the
supplies, but they want money. He also stated, that FOW is calling all
the WOC nurses and ostomy support groups in the states where Katrina victims
are located. He said they have sent numerous boxes of supplies to these
people. He also said that the supplies WILL be used by someone in need
in the US or around the world. Thank you again for all your donations!!!
- Jennifer Higdon
A
Tribute to a Past President
Dr. Lyle B. Rogers passed away on Thursday, September 1 at age 95. Dr. Rogers,
a urostomate, was an active member of the Raleigh UOA for many years. He served
as President and later as newsletter editor for a number of years. Dr. Rogers
was a faculty member at NCSU, retiring in 1976. He and his wife, Grace, attended
almost every meeting until their health began to fail. Mrs. Rogers died in 1999
and Dr. Rogers moved to Henderson to be closer to his daughter. Those who knew
him will remember his kindness, gentle wisdom and wit.
Message
from the President
Hi Everyone,
thank you for a great September meeting. It was good to see everyone's smiling
faces and hear your good humor. You all are a joy and a pleasure with which
to be associated.
I'd like to thank Jane Fellows and Leann Richbourg for their help with our breakout sessions. I think we all came away with a bit more knowledge of how to manage our particular ostomy. Thank you also to those who brought extra ostomy supplies for the hurricane victims. Your giving and caring for others is also another reason for our groups success.
The Coloplast representative will be the focus of the October meeting. She will be presenting her lineup of products as well as any new items they have developed since she last visited with us. I encourage all of you to attend and see what's new as well as take home some free samples. The vendor meetings are always very informative and educational.
Stephanie won't be with us for this meeting. She is taking a trip with other nurses to Russia. We wish her well in her travels and look forward to hearing about it when she returns.
Also, I hope you liked our newsletter format. We have spent a lot of time and effort in trying to make it more informative and entertaining for you. Please let us have your feedback as to what you think of it. We are still in the early stages of developing a format you will like so let us know what you think.
Well, that's about
it for now. Special thanks again to JoAnn and Bobby for the great refreshments
and we look forward to Jeff B.'s goodies for this next meeting.
Take care and we'll see you on October 4th at 7:30.
Yours in service, Dan
Tips of the month
from www.sgvmedical.com
Remember to allow 1/8" - 1/16" between the edge of the stoma and the opening in the wafer (skin barrier). Too large an opening may expose skin to stool or urine content. Too small an opening may cause lacerations due to rubbing of the pouch or skin barrier.
Lengthy sitting in one place can force the pouch contents upward around the stoma and cause leakage. Getting up occasionally will help.
Put toilet paper in the toilet bowl before emptying your pouch to prevent splashing.
Hints, Suggestions, and Tips from our
Members
The
By-Pass offers us a wonderful vehicle to share our ostomy tricks with the rest
of the community. If you have an idea you’d like to have included, please
contact Jennifer Higdon or Dan Wiley. If you find suggestions posted here helpful,
be sure to tell the person who contributed them.
To keep up with your fluid intake, have an 8 ounce glass of water, juice or soda each time you empty your pouch. This will help you to avoid dehydration. Jane Fellows
If you use a 2 piece pouching system, before snapping the pouch on the flange, apply a little bit of baby oil to the ring of the flange; this will allow the two pieces to snap together with ease. Leanne Richbourg
Keep Charmin wipes, cut in half, to clean out the bottom of the pouch. I travel with a box and keep a box in the bathroom. Bonnie Sessums
Eat Mexican salsa BEFORE 4:00pm.!!!!!!! Frank Ricciutti
If you have an ileostomy, check with your doctor before taking timed release or extended release medications. Since you don't have a large intestine, these meds may not be absorbed fully, and therefore may not take full effect. Jennifer Higdon
We Need Your Contributions! We hope that Member Suggestions will be a regular feature of the By-Pass, but we cannot do it without your input! If you have an idea, a special way of handling your ostomy that others may find helpful as well, please contact us! Call or send email to Dan Wiley or Jennifer Higdon, and we’ll be sure to include your ideas in the next edition.
General Medication Tips
For The Pelvic Pouch Patient
Often I receive inquiries about medication absorption and vitamin use. For people that have had their colons removed, it can take about four hours to digest and eliminate food. So pelvic pouch patients should take certain precautions when adding new medications to their regimen.
- Multivitamins are good for general health and can be taken in a chewable or liquid form, which may enhance absorption. Chewables are available in grocery stores, and liquid vitamins and sublingual sprays are available in many health food stores.
- Any medicines should be the type absorbed in the upper intestine. Discuss with your pharmacist before taking delayed or time-released medications as they may not be as effective.
- Be aware that antacids containing magnesium hydroxide combinations (such as Maalox or Mylanta) may have a laxative action and cause diarrhea. Antacids containing calcium carbonate (Tums,Titralac, Calcium Rolaids) or aluminum hydroxide (Alternagel,Amphojel) may not cause diarrhea.
- Diuretics should be used cautiously in pouch patients because they may increase the risk of dehydration when the colon has been removed.You may need to supplement the sodium and potassium in your diet if you are on diuretics, so check with your physician.
- Do not take large volume laxatives (ex: Golytely, Fleets Phosphosoda), for bowel prep when you have a pouch. Only use a gentle laxative, if needed, for bowel prep for an exam. Bowel prep for pouch patients can often be accomplished with a clear liquid diet the day before the procedure, or a Fleets enema just before an exam.
- Always clarify bowel prep orders with the ordering physician and remind a new doctor or pharmacist that you have no colon.
from the Desk of Miriam M. Preen, B.S.N., R.N, contributing writer of "Pouch-O-Gram" (fall/winter 2004), a publication provided by the Department of Colorectal Surgery at The Cleveland Clinic to help people deal with issues associated with the pelvic pouch..
New
Book
Caught Holding the Bag
by Peter McGinn, Ostomate
What do ostomates do when they aren’t attending their local support meetings? Some are writing novels with humor, flair, and ostomate heroines! Peter McGinn, webmaster of the Portland Maine Ostomy Support Group, has just published “Caught Holding the Bag,” a mystery novel with ostomate lead characters. The book is available in paperback from Book Locker. Visit www.booklocker.com/books/2015.html to read an excerpt and ordering information.
About the Book
Patti Jo Lewis wakes up from ostomy surgery and thinks her life is over. Then she meets Lorraine, a dynamic woman who is thriving after having the same surgery, and who just might be living proof that Patti's life may be just beginning.
Soon the new friends are embroiled in the mystery surrounding the death of Lorraine's ex-husband and his possible connection to a growing scandal involving the high school football team he coached. Patti works to help Lorraine uncover the truth, and in the process she is reunited with her old boyfriend Robb, now a young cop investigating the death.
Helping her friend solve the mystery isn't the only challenge facing Patti. She needs to decide how far she can trust Robb while he is working on the case, perhaps against the interests of her new friend. Patti also tries to close rifts in her own family. There is her father and brother, estranged ever since her brother announced he was gay. There is all of them and her mother, who abandoned them for another man many years before, and who arrives on the scene to complicate an already complex situation. If this weren't enough, another family secret explodes into her life and threatens to tear apart all she has pulled together.
With wit and humor, Caught Holding the Bag tells the moving story of a woman who rises above life-altering surgery and unexpectedly seizes control of her life for the first time.
About the Author
Peter McGinn has always lived in Maine but has never seen a moose. He was stood up on his first date, but he shook it off and married her. Then he went back to college and started writing novels. He wants you to know there are more books coming.
Meeting
Minutes
from the September 6, 2005 Meeting of the Triangle Ostomy Community
Dan Wiley, President, opened the meeting at 7:45 PM and welcomed the 38+ members and guests. He announced that Linda Martin, WOC nurse at Raleigh Community and supporter of the Raleigh Area Chapter of the UOA is retiring. A card of appreciation and congratulations will be mailed to her. Dan also thanked JoAnn and Bobby Qualls for the wonderful refreshments.
Dan introduced Carole King and her husband, Cyrus, and welcomed them as new members. He passed around a form for members to complete with names, emails addresses, and past or present occupations. Dan announced that the program for the meeting would be break out sessions and introduced Jane Fellows, WOC nurse from Duke University Hospital and Leanne Richbourg from Wake Medical as well as Stephanie Yates from Rex HealthCare as leaders of the different ostomy groups. Stephanie will be going to Moscow, Russia with a group of nurses from the "People to People Ambassador Program" and will not attend the October meeting.
Dan then discussed the minimal effects the closing of the UOA would have on our local chapter and announced that we would continue our local efforts as a support group for ostomates. We will have a "new name contest" with the winner being announced at our November meeting.
Dan reported that
the Board met on August 31 and had a good meeting with lots of positive
discussion. He introduced Jennifer Higdon, Vice President, and she stated
she would be passing around slips of paper for members to write down tips,
suggestions, questions, or program requests. These tips/suggestions will
be discussed at a later
meeting and some will be published in our monthly newsletter. Jennifer
also invited any members to attend the Board meetings to offer suggestions
and help with planning our meetings. She also passed around copies of
the new newsletter by our new editor, Anke Gassen and complimented her
new publishing style. All members and Board members are invited to submit
articles for publication in the newsletter each month. Jennifer thanked
Stephanie and Rex HealthCare for the latest copies.
Dan introduced Ruth Rhodes, Treasurer, and Ruth announced the Board recommendation of a new annual membership fee of $20.00. This amounts to a decrease in annual dues from $30.00 since we will no longer be paying UOA dues. Bonnie Sessums moved to accept the $20.00 dues and Frank Ricciuti seconded. Members approved this motion. All dues will be payable to the Raleigh Area Chapter of the UOA (until further notice) and due by September 30, 2005. Ruth will only bill annually and this billing will be done in September. If members have paid their dues since March 2005, they will not be billed until September 1, 2006. All other members should pay their dues by September 30, 2005 and mail to Ruth. If the dues are a hardship for anyone, please contact Ruth or another Board member and discussions will be kept confidential.
Members and guests gathered together by ostomy types for group discussion led by our WOC nurses.
Stephanie announced that a Coloplast representative will be the guest speaker at our October meeting; break out sessions for our November meeting; and a social for the December meeting. She asked for program ideas for 2006 and the following were suggested: Dr. Faust, General Surgeon; a nutritionist; Terry Kuczynski, Family Counselor at Rex Cancer Center; a radiologist; and a dermatologist. Stephanie also announced that Dr. Lyle Rogers, former president of the Raleigh Area Chapter of the UOA and former newsletter editor has passed away. Dr. Rogers was 95 and she said he would be very proud of our group.
Dan thanked members for bringing ostomy supplies for the Katrina victims and thanked Debbie for the suggestion. Jennifer will get these supplies to "Friends of Ostomates Worldwide" for distribution. Sonya Withers announced that new clothing and new toys could be donated to the Wake County Health Department for distribution to the Katrina survivors relocated to Raleigh.
Jeff and Becky Burcham will provide refreshments for the October meeting, Tuesday, October 4. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Sessums