Will
you get/stay married? Have
babies?
People
with bowel and urinary diver-
sions
date, get engaged, get married,
and
have babies (even twins), all the
time
and everywhere. Your ostomy
will
probably seem bigger and more
important
to you than to anyone else,
including
your boyfriend, girlfriend,
fiancé,
partner, spouse, children or
grandchildren!
Will
you easily bathe, go swim-
ming?
Bend over, participate in
the
exercise and sports you enjoy?
Yes,
yes, yes and yes! With a se-
curely
attached pouching system you
can
shower, take a bath (even a hot
tub),
swim, surf, camp out, climb
mountains,
bike, jog or play golf and
tennis.
People with bowel and urinary
diversions
are office workers, teach-
ers,
salesmen, police and firemen,
carpenters,
marathon runners, box-
ers,
and airline pilots. You name it,
people
with an ostomy can do it.
Want
to live a full life? Go out and do
it,
forgetting that little addition to your
abdomen
that brings order out of a
disorder
that could have ruined your
life
... or ended it. No one need know
about
your ostomy surgery unless
you
tell them. But perhaps if you DID
tell
people about yourself, then
maybe
there would be fewer people
afraid
of this life-saving surgery!
What
is the United Ostomy Associations
of
America or UOAA
The
UOAA is an association of affiliated ostomy
support
groups throughout the United States. It
is
dedicated to the complete rehabilitation of all
people
with an ostomy and those with continent
diversions.
It actively advocates on behalf of all
with
an ostomy, helps in the formation of new
groups,
and provides for the exchange and dis-
semination
of information through its website,
www.ostomy.org,
social
media, its quarterly
magazine
The
Phoenix,
and
its four surgery-
specific
New
Patient Guides.
If
you wish to
support
the activities of UOAA, donations can be
made
at:
http://www.ostomy.org/donation.shtml
“The
services
provided by the local ostomy
support
groups affiliated with UOAA are
most
beneficial in helping ostomy patients
accept
and manage their new urinary or
bowel
diversion.”
Dr.
David E. Beck, M.D. FACS, FASCRS,
Past
President, American Society of
Colon
and Rectal Surgeons
Margaret
T. Goldberg, MSN, RN, CWOCN
Past
President, WOCN Society
LOCAL
SUPPORT GROUP INFORMATION
The
Philadelphia Ostomy Association
P.O.Box
14343
Philadelphia,
PA 19115
Phone:
267-761-6028
SO
YOU
HAVE
- OR
WILL
HAVE
AN
OSTOMY
Don’t
feel like this
Published
by UOAA
P.O.
Box 512
Northfield,
MN 55057
800-826-0826
Away
Go
!
Yes,
you’ve heard that people get
along
just fine with only one of their
eyes,
or one of their lungs, or one of
their
kidneys. But you also know
that
you have only one intestine and
only
one bladder, and that leaves
you
feeling awfully empty, both
physically
and emotionally.
And
you think no other people go
around
minus part of their intestinal
tracts,
or minus their bladders, with
the
ends of their intestines sticking
out
through their abdominal walls.
Well,
you are wrong! There are nearly
three
quarters of a million people in the
US
who have an ostomy; people who
have
had surgery to remove all or part
of
their colons or bladders. There is
even
a national association, the United
Ostomy
Associations of America with
over
350 local affiliated support groups
that
are organized by volunteers who
provide
peer support and counseling.
UOAA
has a toll free telephone num-
ber,
800-826-0826 and an educational,
interactive
website,
www.ostomy.org
Why
haven’t you met any of these
folks
who have an ostomy?
Well,
maybe you have! You just did not
recognize
them because an ostomy
doesn't
show. It can be kept secret if
you
wish. Why, maybe some of your
best
friends, office associates or
neighbors
have an ostomy ... you never
can
tell.
People
facing ostomy surgery have
many
quality-of-life questions like:
Will
you bulge? Smell? Make noises? Will
you
feel waste leaving your body? Will you
be
a captive of the toilet? Will you starve?
Be
a social outcast? Get/stay married?
Have
babies? Easily bathe, go swimming,
bend
over?
OK,
let’s look at what you can expect:
Will
you bulge?
Remember,
without part of the intestine or
bladder,
and its contents, you should have
a
flatter tummy than before. You can
expect
to wear, with little exception, what
you
wore before surgery ... and this in-
cludes
tight clothing and bathing suits.
Will
you smell?
Today,
thanks to modern odor proof
pouching
systems, you can walk into an
ostomy
support group meeting and not
smell
anything that is foul or offensive.
And,
for those with an ileostomy or
colostomy
who are concerned about odor
when
emptying their pouch, there are in-
pouch
deodorants that can be used to
eliminate
any waste odors that may exist.
Will
you make noises?
Everyone
produces gas, especially if they
are
an air-swallower. But intestinal sounds
that
occur from time to time are no differ-
ent
than a gurgling tummy, and quite often
your
clothing will muffle any sounds.
Will
you feel the waste discharges?
For
those with a colostomy or ileostomy
there
might be a slight pressure when
waste
leaves your body, but understand
that
the intestines have no nerve endings,
so
there will be no unpleasant sensations.
Those
with a urostomy will probably be
unaware
of any kidney drainage.
Will
you be a captive of the toilet?
Immediately
post-op you will spend more
time
in the bathroom than you will after
your
body recovers from surgery. Every
person
is different, but on average those
with
an ileostomy or urostomy may empty
their
pouches 4 to 6 times a day; a little
less
if you have a colostomy. The average
wear
time between pouch system
changes
is 3 to 5 days and the changing
process
should take less than 30 minutes.
Will
you starve?
Not
if you follow doctor’s orders at each
stage
of your post-op adjustment. There is
no
such thing as an “ostomy diet”. Some
people
with an ostomy will be able to eat
and
tolerate anything; others may find diffi-
culty
with some foods. Each person is an
individual
and must determine, by trial,
what
is best for them. A good practice for
all
is to drink plenty of water.
Will
you be a social outcast?
Have
you met anyone who has an ostomy
and
is a social outcast? Why should you be
the
first? Only your attitude and self image
will
effect how you are treated. No confi-
dent
person is an outcast.
Phone
