The Mail Pouch Ostomy Support Group EV/AZ October 2014 ET Advisors Our Next Meeting is We want to thank our WOC nurses for all they have done for us. They come to every meeting and help us with any problems we may have. Sunday, October19, 2014 2:00 PM First PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 161 N. Mesa Drive Mesa, AZ. 85201 Meeting in Fellowship Hall Banner Desert Medical Center (Dobson Road) Contact # 480 412-3449 Janet Schmidbauer, RN, BSN, CWOCN Elaine Fox, RN, BSN, CWOCN Angela Hukill, BSN, COCN, CWCN Jenny Bishman BSN, COCN, CWCN Banner Baywood Medical Center (Power Road) Contact # 480 321-4642 Karol Friend, BSN, RN, COCN, CWCN Today’s program will be presented by our fabulous WOC nurses. They are always informative and entertaining. This is one program you don’t want to miss! Independent Nurses Sandy Lane BSN, RN, COCN, CWCN Miriam Jensen BSN, RN, COCN, CWCN Support Group Meeting Dates through December 2014. All meetings begin at 2:00 PM UOAA: For information for ostomates and to view upcoming conferences and events, go to www.ostomy.org. You can join the discussion board and read the monthly Update letter. Click the “advocacy” tab to reach your elected officials and send a suggested message BE SURE TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.ostomysupportarizona.org at Mesa First Presbyterian Church October 19, 2014 November 16, 2014 December 7, 2014 Board Meeting Date: All meetings begin at 9:30 AM at Mesa First Presbyterian Church November 01, 2014 The Mail Pouch 1 Note from Your President Officers and Directors President: Darlene Kosman 480.812.0324 [email protected] Vice President/Program: Vella Owens 480.657.6464 [email protected] Secretary/ Sunshine: Marilyn Justice 480.982.4862 [email protected] Treasurer/Membership: Paula Nelson 480.276.3436 [email protected] Director: Bob Owens 480.657.6464 Director: Maureen Hymel 480.730.5765 Director/Webmaster: Robert Miller 480.984.1195 [email protected] Director of Projects: Gretchen Rodriquez 480.734-0427 [email protected] Visitors: Open Visitation: Bobby King 480.392.4352 [email protected] Greeters/Sign In: Dan Jacobson 602.758.1500 Newsletter Editor: Angelica Ontiveros 602.272.9415 [email protected] Newsletter Circulation: Sandy Clark 480.835.1338 Refreshments: Florence Park 480.964.8953 Ostomy Supplies: Kathy Scoles 480.668.1462 [email protected] Well, what a meeting we had in Sept Twelve new Visitors! So happy to have you all. I'll look forward to meeting and talking to each one of you. Thanks to the "Smith" family for sharing your family's life with us. We hope you will continue to be apart of "our" Ostomy family. Your story touched every heart in the room! "Our" nurses will be our program for October. Never know what they have planned for us. I do know you will something So... let's see who reads the Newsletter!!! Best Halloween Costume will receive a "spooky" surprise. See Ya Soon, Darlene __________________________________ Important Contacts for Ostomates Coloplast___www.us.coloplast.com___1-877-726-7872 ConvaTec__www.convatec.com______1-800-422-8811 Hollister___www.hollister.com_______1-888-740-8999 UOAA____www.ostomy.org_________1-800-826-0826 ______________________________________________  The Mail Pouch 2 Refreshments You have always been very generous brining refreshments. We have no sign ups, so if you any of you would like to bring something, it would greatly appreciated. *************************************** Suggestions box We would like to start a suggestion box column in N/A our newsletter. Many of you have special little things you do that help you and work for living with an ostomy. It is amazing how little inconsequential ideas can bring great comfort and answers to frustrating happenings. Please share your tidbits. Send your suggestions to Ostomy Support Group EV/AZ, P.O. Box 1681, Mesa, Az., 85211, or email [email protected], or call 480-812-0324 We look forward to making this column a winner! ********************************************* 50/50 Raffle: Lincoln Smith ************************************************ VISITATION Report: 1 colostomy Contacted by Lee Lucas ***************************************** Sunshine Report: THE UNITED OSTOMY ASSOCIATIONS OF AMERICA (UOAA) is declaring that on October 4, 2014, UOAA is acknowledging ostomy and continent diversion surgery. The day will be recognized as Ostomy Awareness Day 2014 – Live, Learn, Share. Our mission by celebrating this special day is an effort to help patients LIVE a normal life following surgery, to help the medical community LEARN about the needs of ostomy patients, and to SHARE our stories to raise awareness about ostomies throughout the United States. **************************************** Midwest Regional Ostomy Education Conference • Sympathy cards were sent to: John Cowgur - Sympathy to Family John Burns - Sympathy to Family Juanita Frankenstein - Sympathy to Family Nov 8, 2014 • Arlington Heights IL *********************************** **************************************** New Visitors: Joice Wayne Sheila Joe & Trish JoEllen Carla Ken Kathy Sandy David Paul Fifth UOAA National Conference • Sept 1-6, 2015 • St Louis MO The Mail Pouch 3 Hello Dear Ostomy Member: Ostomy Support Group EV/AZ It is time for our yearly dues for the 2014/2015. Hope everyone had a great summer and look forward to seeing everyone at our meetings. Important News In our continuing effort to reduce costs and keeping up with “go green”, newsletters to members will discontinue effective November 2014. $25.00 a year for a member. $12.50 for an associate member which is a spouse of a member or if you have also joined and paid dues to another group. Those of you who want a newsletter sent by mail must contact Sandra Clark at: 480-835-1338. Use our website to attain our news and other valuable articles about our ostomy club at You can mail it to my address 6712 E. Des Moines St. Mesa, Arizona 85205 Or to our P.O. Box or pay at our meetings on the 3rd Sunday of the month www.ostomysupportarizona.org Thank you Paula Nelson The Mail Pouch 4 DRUG THERAPY FOR THE OSTOMATE John J. Wroblewsky; Rph, Via: Ostomy Management and Ostomy Assn. of Greater Orlando The most well-adjusted ostomate can run into trouble when he or she starts taking medication. The potential of side effects or adverse reaction increases as the number of medications the patient is taking goes up. Compounding the risk is that consumers today are turning to over-the-counter medication and are prescribing for themselves to offset rocketing health- care costs. A few basic principles of drug use are, therefore, important to keep in mind. A drug can’t do any good unless it gets to its target organ. This simple idea is all that’s behind the concept of bio-availability. In almost every case, a drug must be absorbed into the systemic circulation before it can exert a therapeutic effect. Since drugs are absorbed primarily through the intestines, ostomates can be at a particular disadvantage. Many factors influence the absorption of drugs. These factors include the chemical nature of the drug, the dosage from in which it is introduced into the system, and the condition of the patient who is taking the drug. Iron for instance, and vitamin B12 are absorbed only in the upper ileum. While the chemical nature of most drugs allows absorption along a significant length of the intestinal tract, the shorter the functional intestine, the less will be absorbed. Only a very few drugs, such as alcohol, can be absorbed to any great extent through the stomach. Another chemical factor involved in bio- availability is the intrinsic solubility of the drug. Some drugs are rather insoluble in the digestive juices and absorption into the bloodstream will vary greatly, even in patients with an intact bowel. Clearly, a patient with a shortened ileum is at risk for mal-absorption of any poorly absorbed drug. The dosage form, too, is a major factor in bioavailability. As a general rule, the smaller the particle size provided to the GI tract, the easier it is absorbed. True solutions have the best bio-availability by the oral route and suspensions are almost as good. Chewable tablets have a pretty good record if they are chewed well; in most cases they are better than capsules or compressed tablets. Ostomates who have had a significant portion of their intestine removed may achieve better absorption by emptying the contents of a capsule into applesauce, or crushing a compressed tablet and adding the powder to food. A word of caution though– not all tablets can safely be crushed, and not all capsules should be emptied. Generally speaking, timed release tablets should not be crushed, nor should time released capsules be emptied. The result could be 12 to 24 hours’ worth of medication being released all at once. Certain drugs can react chemically with foods. Tetracycline is notorious for combining with heavy metals and with ions such as calcium, which is present in milk, yogurt, ice cream and other dairy products. Enteric-coated tablets should never be crushed. The reason those tablets are coated is to prevent acid degration in the stomach or to protect the mucosa from irritation. Enteric-coated tablets are a poor choice for ostomates. Entire tablets have been recovered intact in an ostomy bag. A patient’s diet can affect the drug absorption too, either by absorption of the medication onto the food, chemical interaction, or by delaying gastric emptying time. Since many drugs are affected by acid, prolonged exposure to stomach acid may decompose the medication. Physicians, pharmacists and especially enterostomal therapists have an important role in educating ostomy patients so they’ll know what to expect and avoid in drug therapy. Ostomates owe it to themselves to be informed and alert, to minimize risks and to ask when there remains but the slightest doubt. The Mail Pouch 5 Inspirational Story: Why Your Group Matters Simple Yet Profound Words From a Five Year Old Submitted to UOAA Office (used with permission) UOAA Update 08/2014 By Kathy Ward, Admin. Asst.-UOAA UOAA Update 08/2014 The following letter was received at the office and is a great example of why your ASG makes a difference, by accepting supply donations and sharing them with others in need. Hello! My name is Tiffany. I'm contacting you because my fiancé has a lot of colostomy supplies that he no longer needs, by the grace of God, and we would like to find someone or somewhere to donate them to due to the blessings we-mostly he-has received and keep the blessings going. This is my fiancé's story. His name is Dan, and in December 2013 he was walking from his house to a friend's and only made it two houses So many of myhe friends had to google whe away before was attacked. His “ostomy” lung collapsed, he lost a lot of blood, and his arm suffered nerve damage but it helped save his life. Along with this he had damage to his intestine. After surgery he woke up to having a colostomy. We are now 8 months later and he had a colostomy reversal, which went well until a small hole started to leak and he went into emergency surgery. But once again our prayers were answered and they were able to drain it and let it heal on its own. So far the draining is stopping, meaning the intestine is healing and that hole gets smaller and smaller. I've never been so happy to hear someone pass gas and have a regular bowel movement in my life, and he was very happy as well. So, if you can help in any way to lead us to anyone who needs colostomy supplies near our town, we would like to bless someone else with a little help. When my granddaughter was five, she had many problems with her digestive system. Her surgeon placed a stoma over her stomach so that a feeding tube could be inserted. One day, she looked at me and said, "Grandma, did you name your stoma?" I replied, "Yes, I did. I call it Rose, because it looks like a flower to me. Did you name yours?" "Yes," she said. "But I named mine Jack." Thinking this was an odd name for a little girl to name her stoma, I had to ask, "Why did you name it Jack?" Her response, "Because Jack is the name of the lifeguard at the beach and my stoma saved my life." ***************************************** If You Have Internet Access . . . Our website has been up and running. We have all kinds of information plus links to the national UOAA and Phoenix Magazine. Our current Mail Pouch is on the website in addition to archived ones. Our website address is: www.ostomysupportarizona.org If you have any questions or suggestions about the website, send an email to: [email protected] Useful websites: www.uoaa.org www.bcan.org www.nih.gov Thank you, from Tiffany and Dan. The Mail Pouch 6 www.cancer.org www.ccfa.org www.ccalliance.org Please support our advertisers. The advertising helps to defray the cost of printing and mailing your monthly Newsletter The Mail Pouch 7 The Mail Pouch 8 The Mail Pouch 9 Ostomy Support Group EV/AZ P.O. Box 1681 Mesa, AZ 85201-1681 NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID MESA, AZ PERMIT NO. 653 APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP Membership is open to all persons interested in ostomy rehabilitation. MEMBERSHIP in the Ostomy Support Group EV/AZ includes a subscription to the chapter’s monthly newsletter. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP in the Ostomy Support Group EV/AZ is open to the spouse of a regular member or a member of another chapter who lives out of state, and includes a subscription to the newsletter. Full Membership Dues are $25.00 per year. Associate Membership Dues are $12.50 per year. I wish to make an additional contribution of $_________ to support chapter programs. NAME: _______________________________________________________________________________________ Spouse’s Name: ___________________________________________ Phone: ( ) ___________________ ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________________________________ CITY: __________________________________________________ STATE: __________ E-MAIL ADDRESS: _____________________________________ BIRTHDAY MONTH & DAY: ____________ PLEASE CIRCLE ALL THAT APPLY: Continent Urostomy Colostomy No Ostomy Ileostomy ZIP: ___________ Urostomy/Ileo Conduit Other (please specify) ______________________________ Date & Location of initial surgery: _______________________________________________________________ Complete this form and bring it to the next meeting or mail it with your check to: Ostomy Support Group EV/AZ, c/o Paula Nelson, 6712 Des Moines St., Mesa, AZ 85205-6827 BE SURE TO VISIT OUT WEBSITE: www.ostomysupportarizona.org The Mail Pouch 10