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Evansville Ostomy News

 
Contents:

HOW CAN OSTOMY SURGERY AFFECT YOU?
COMMON OSTOMY PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
STOP A KILLER IN ITS TRACKS
PRODUCE PUZZLE: LOCALLY-GROWN OR ORGANIC
FREEZE IT!
WONDERS OF MILK OF MAGNESIA
HOT OR COLD COMFORT
UROSTOMATES & FLUIDS
HER MOTTO: “GO FOR IT"

Volume 34, Number 6  March, 2007

HOW CAN OSTOMY SURGERY AFFECT YOU?
By: Robert H. Phillips, Ph.D., Via: Springfield MA, OAGS Newsnotes & S. Brevard Fl, Ostomy Newsletter
Each person is unique and deals with the circumstances surrounding ostomy surgery in a different way. You need to analyze your situation to determine how to best live with your illness. Because having ostomy surgery affects different people in a number of ways, you may experience some or many of the following concerns: Interference with daily activities; Interference with physical functioning; Changes in lifestyle and/or personality; Emotional reactions such as depression, anger, anxiety, helplessness, or guilt; Changes in relationships with family members; Alteration in your social life; Interference with your sleep; Feeling that you have less control
What can you do? Your ultimate goal is to take charge and live a happier life, despite having an ostomy. Here are a few strategies that can help you better handle your ostomy and improve your overall health, happiness and productivity.
1. Be a person– not a patient. Make this the foundation of your thinking. You are a person who has had ostomy surgery, not an ill person. The only time you are a patient is when you are in the doctor’s office or the hospital. The way you see yourself living with an ostomy is an essential part of coping successfully.
2. Understanding the unique way that your ostomy affects you and your life. Identify the ways that your ostomy causes problems for you. Are you experiencing any problems with the pouch system, leaking, odor, skin breakdown? How does having an ostomy affect others around you? Does it limit your activities? There are many other factors that may affect you. You’ll want to identify them and determine how you’re going to deal with them.
3. Set overall goals for improving your life. You’ll find that your efforts can include many of the following: Improving your ability to cope with a situation; Setting reasonable, realistic and achievable goals; Aiming to control your life; Improving day-to-day functioning; Improving your perspective on any problems you may be facing; Being more assertive and taking an active part in your healthcare (including dealing with medical personnel); Accepting and improving your ability to deal with the emotional consequences of your ostomy; Increasing your ability to handle negative emotions; Focusing more on your strengths and diminishing the impact of weaknesses or limitations of having an ostomy; Doing things that you like and spending less time on things you dislike; Enhancing positive relationships; Improving participation in your social network; Improving your life satisfaction and quality of life.
4. Pinpoint what you need to help improve your life. Think about all the difficulties you have living with an ostomy. Write these down on the left side of a folded piece of paper. On the right side, next to each item, write down things you can do to improve each one. Note as many alternatives that you can. Ask others for additional ideas, especially if you are not sure what to do about certain things. Keep adding to your list and plan how you will use these ideas to improve your life.
5. Anticipate the negative. There are negative things that can happen during life with an ostomy, but some of these things could happen if you didn’t have an ostomy! The more you anticipate and prepare, the better you will cope. Isn’t this true of us all—ostomy or not?

COMMON OSTOMY PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Excerpted from an article in the Huntsville, Alabama “Re-Route”
Food blockages. Symptoms may include no output from the stoma for more than 4 hours, cramping in the abdomen, nausea or vomiting and high watery output. Solution: Drink hot tea and increase your fluid input. Take a warm bath or shower and massage your abdomen. Have a glass of wine. This will help relax your abdominal muscles. Get down on all fours with your backside in the air. An undignified position, but it does help some people move a blockage. If the blockage persists for more than a few hours, seek medical advice from your nearest hospital.
Mucous and bleeding from the rectum. Solution: This is completely normal if your rectum is still intact, although annoying, since the mucosal lining of the rectum is still working. Try wearing a sanitary napkin to save soiling your underwear. If the bleeding is profuse, see your doctor.
Odor. Solution: Simple solutions that work for some ostomates are to place mint tic tacs or mint mouthwash into your bag. Deodorants, either taken orally or placed in your bag, are available from your ostomy supplier. DO NOT place aspirin in your bag in an attempt to eliminate odor—doing so can cause damage to your stoma.
Bleeding. Solution: First, determine if the bleeding is coming from the surface of the stoma or from internally. If it is internally, then it’s wise to seek medical advice. If the bleeding is from the surface of the stoma, it should stop quite quickly. Stomas are made from the same type of skin as the inside of your cheeks and you know how easily they bleed. Even the slightest little nick can cause it to bleed. If bleeding is profuse or doesn’t stop quickly, seek medical help. Cuts to the stoma can also be caused by the wafer riding off center. Try “picture framing” the wafer with some tape to stop it from moving.
Phantom rectal pain, ie., you get the urge to go to the toilet in the “old way”, even though you know you can’t. Solution: This pain is because your body needs time to adjust to it’s new plumbing and still thinks it needs to go to the toilet in the old way. Try going and sitting on the toilet anyway, even though you know it’s pointless. A lot of people find this alleviates the pain. The good news is that over time, phantom rectal pains become less frequent and eventually disappear altogether.
Stoma is placed on or above the beltline. Solution: This is more common in men than women for some reason. DO NOT let them site your stoma on or above the beltline if at all possible. Belts will stop the stool from flowing into the pouch so try wearing trousers a size bigger than you would normally wear and wear braces or suspenders to keep them up rather than a belt.
Seatbelt of cars ride right over the stoma site and are uncomfortable. Solution: Try using a clothes peg at the top of the seatbelt where it slides into the door. This will enable you to wear the seatbelt looser than normal but still protect you in case of an accident. Use a small cushion or pillow between you and the seatbelt. Remember, a broken stoma is much easier to put back together than a whole person!
Stoma shows through a tight dress. Solution: Try wearing bike pants or similar lycra pants under your outfit that will smooth out the line of the bag. Empty frequently.

STOP A KILLER IN ITS TRACKS
By: Jean Carper, Authority on food and medicine, from USA WEEKEND Magazine, March 17, 2002, Via: Spacecoast Ostomy Association
Improving your diet can help prevent 75% of colon cancers.
Get lots of Folic Acid. Dried beans, green leafy vegetables, orange juice and fortified cereals are rich in this cancer fighter. Recent Louisiana State University research showed that getting 250 micrograms of folic acid daily slashed colon cancer odds by 60% in men. In a Harvard study, women who took multi-vitamins containing folic acid for 15 years cut colon cancer risk by 75%. Probable reason: Folic acid blocks DNA damage that leads to cancer.
Choose olive oil. Though fat is a suspected colon cancer villain, a new British study of diet and cancer in 28 countries, including the USA, concludes that high consumers of olive oil have a lower rate of colon cancer. That jibes with animal research showing olive oil suppresses colon tumor growth. Corn oil and animal fat increase colon cancer in animals; fish oil doesn’t. Also harmful: trans fatty acids (the partially hydrogenated fats in some margarines, baked goods and processed foods). University of Utah researchers report that a diet high in trans fats double older women’s risk of colon cancer.
Watch what you drink. Alcohol boosts colon cancer risk, perhaps by neutralizing folic acid. Wipe out this hazard by taking 600meg of folic acid daily, says Walter Willet, a nutritionist at Harvard. New research funded by the Swedish Cancer Foundation also shows that low fat milk may help guard against colon cancer. And investigators at Michigan State University say orange juice (high in folic acid) and anti-cancer chemicals called limonoids) suppresses colon cancer in animals. Coffee has no influence on colon cancer, Swedish researchers say.
Go for fruits and vegetables. Much research finds it’s hazardous to skimp on produce. A recent study by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that Swedish women who ate only 1/2 a daily serving of fruit and vegetables were 65% more likely to develop colon cancer than those who ate 1 & 1/2 servings. You may cut your risk in half by pigging out on vegetables, finds another National Cancer Institute analysis.. Curb bad carbohydrates. Surprising new research suggests foods that drive up blood sugar and trigger releases of insulin (“high glycemic index” foods) may stimulate colon cancer. Those foods include refined sugar and flour, white rice, potatoes and processed cereals. In a recent Italian study, eating foods with the highest glycemic index, compared with the lowest glycemic index, raised colon cancer odds 70%.
Restrict red meat. Especially when fried or well done, red meat instigates colon cancer, experts say. One reason: High-heat cooking spurs the formation of carcinogens called heterocyclic anines (HCAs). In new research at the University of Southern California, colon cancer risk tripled in people who ate red meat well-done and doubled in those who often fried, grilled or broiled it. Most dangerous for colon: bacon, ham and other meats cured with nitrates.
Don’t neglect fiber. Many experts insist a high-fiber diet discourages colon cancer, and they’re supported by about 20 studies. Most recent: A study of 406,323 Europeans reported that a high-fiber diet cut colon cancer odds by 40%. But in two recent U.S. studies, eating a diet high in fiber (35g daily) or taking a wheat bran fiber supplement (13.5g daily) failed to prevent the recurrence of precancerous colon polyps. So the jury is still out, said study author, Arthur Schtzkin at the National Cancer Institute. He suggests that the three-to-four-year test was too brief to show suppression of polyps. Recommended: 24g fiber daily.
Lose weight. A combination of over-eating and under-exercising is the strongest link to colon cancer, says Harvard’s Willett. Research by the American Cancer Society finds obese men are nearly twice as likely to die of colon cancer as normal weight men. And fatness promotes polyp growth, recent Norwegian research finds. So cut calories and add exercise.

FREEZE IT!
By: M. Chavis, Nebraska, Via: Metro MD, Coos Bay “Beacon” & North Wind News, Anchorage, Alaska
When changing a urostomy appliance, remove the pouch from the faceplate and then wrap the faceplate, the gasket, and stomahesive in a piece of wax paper, or plastic, and place in the freezer. The next day, insert a dull knife blade (regular table knife) between the plate and the gasket, and they will pop right apart. Use fingernail polish remover and cotton balls to clean the gunk from the plate. It comes clean in just a few minutes, and then can be washed in lukewarm water and soap. After trying different things, I find this works beautifully for me. I hope it will be helpful to someone else. Footnote: Acetone is the removing agent in fingernail polish remover.

WONDERS OF MILK OF MAGNESIA
Via: “It’s in The Bag & S. Nevada’s TOWN KARAYA
Because of its alkaline properties, Milk of Magnesia (MM) is beneficial to skin which has been burned by hydrochloric acids and enzymes from intestinal secretions. Hygienic care of the skin for all types of ostomies is very important. Use alcohol to remove all soap film after washing the adhesive solvent off. Also, it will kill any latent intestinal bacteria which can multiply under the faceplate. It is possible for enzymes to penetrate so deeply into the skin that neither soap nor alcohol can remove them, but MM will neutralize them. Rub it gently into the skin. If the enzymes are there, MM will curdle like cottage cheese. In that case, rinse it off with warm water, pat the skin dry and apply a new film of MM. Let this dry completely and apply Skin Prep, Tincture of Benzoin Plain, Karaya Powder or whatever you use and proceed as usual. Products like Digel, Amphogel and similar products can be used instead of MM. A paste made of MM and Karaya Powder is healing to the skin. After the paste is dry, the faceplate can be applied.

HOT OR COLD COMFORT
Via: Southern Maryland Counties Chapter, Clinton, MD
It’s all in knowing which one you need. A hot water bottle is the purpose of life, a physical therapist says, unless you need an ice treatment instead. In general, active people find more relief with ice and less active people find more relief with heat. Always put a cloth between your skin and water bottle or ice pack. USE HOT FOR: tense, tired shoulders; back of the neck during a headache; chronic low back pain; kink in the neck; joints stiff in the morning with osteoarthritis, to improve circulation. USE COLD FOR: inflammation indicated by warmth, swelling, pain and/or redness; injury to joint or muscle, especially during the first three days of recovery; forehead during a headache; joints swollen with osteoarthritis. For an ordinary headache, use either hot or cold wherever it helps.

UROSTOMATES & FLUIDS
By: Juliana Eldridge, RNET Via: The Green Bay Ostomy News Review
People with urinary diversions no longer have a storage area, a bladder, for urine. Therefore urine should flow from the stoma as fast as the kidneys can make it. In fact, if your urinary stoma has no drainage for even an hour, it is time for serious concern. The distance from the stoma to the kidney is markedly reduced after urinary diversion surgery. Any external bacteria have a short route to the kidneys. Since kidney infection can occur rapidly and be devastating, prevention is essential. Wearing clean appliances and frequent emptying are vital. Equally important is adequate fluid intake, particularly fluids which acidify the urine and decrease problems of odor. In warm weather, with increased activity, or with a fever, fluids should be increased to make up for body losses due to perspiration and increased metabolism. It is important that you be aware of the symptoms of a kidney infection:
* Elevated temperature
* Chills
* Low back pain
* Cloudy, bloody urine
* Decreased urine output
All ileal conduits normally produce mucus threads in the urine which give it a cloudy appearance. Bloody urine is a danger signal. Thirst is a great index of fluid needs. If you are thirsty, drink up. Also develop the habit of sampling every time you pass a drinking fountain. Important...if urine is collected for urinalysis, called C&S, sterile specimen, checking urine for infection; etc., be sure your doctor and nurse know a sterile specimen must be taken directly from your stoma and not from the pouch. Bacteria builds up in the pouch immediately. It will give false test results. If they are not sure how to do this, do the following:
* Remove your pouch
* Clean the stoma
* Bend over
* Catch the urine in a sterile cup
If there is a slow flow of urine being expelled, drink a glass or two of water...the kidneys will work. Urostomates who do not use a night drain are running a big risk of puddling and the backing up of urine into the conduit up to the kidneys. This may cause not only irritation but serious infection.

HER MOTTO: “GO FOR IT"
Via: ConvaTec Better Together Newsletter & Northeast Iowa Chapter
When Cynthia Garrett was born with spina bifida 40-some years ago, no one expected her to be able to work, let alone support herself. But, boy, has she proved them wrong….several times over! “I was blessed with a family who never wanted me treated differently than my brothers”, this San Antonio, Texas, native tells us. Even after urostomy surgery at age 12, her dreams were never discouraged. Not that anyone could have! Today, Cynthia has been a licensed occupational therapist for 23 years; she earned a Master’s Degree in allied health services, a neuro-developmental certification to work with adult head injuries, and a hand certification, enabling her to become one of the first certified hand therapists in the country. And if that weren’t enough, she runs a successful hand clinic in San Antonio. Whew! In her spare time, Cynthia is an experienced equestrian who has two horses, three cats, and six dogs! Plus she enjoys antiquing with her supportive and patient husband, Michael. When summing up her life, Cindy quotes poet/author Maya Angelou: “My goal is not merely to survive—but to thrive, with passion, compassion and style.” We’d say she’s succeeding!

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