First 100 years of the Ostomy Part Two!

 Lets back up a bit. Lets start with these photos that I found on the internet. Remember that these items in the archives were ‘modern’ at one time in history. Now they’re no more than antiques, but a lot of time and money, research and development went into them. They were the best you could get way back then. The first pouch similar to today’s plastic bags only appeared after World War II had ended. And, there was no guarantee that these ‘new’ plastic pouches would be odour-proof anyway, so, because these plastic bags looked so flimsy, it took a while before ostomates considered them as alternatives to rubber pouching systems. Plastic would soon be here to stay and become an absolute necessity for ostomates.............
Here are a few of those long-forgotten ostomy appliances. Most of these antiques were very pricey, bulky, heavy and complicated to use. Some were well designed with the ostomate’s well-being in mind. But all the appliances in these photos needed a belt to stay put as Karaya was still in the laboratory!

Lets start with the Rubber Family
We’re going back in time. To the ’30s. Davol was the big name in ostomy appliances, and gum rubber was king.
This first item is a round pouch - how it attached to the flange and what the flange looked like is a mystery. This was made by Davol and was not drainable.

Another Davol product was perhaps the first one-piece drainable pouch that was in common use. Emptying and cleaning the pouch would probably have been a fussy procedure as the flange portion, which was incorporated in the one-piece design, had nooks and crannies that were difficult to clean.

                                                                                                         


Now here’s a deluxe colostomy pouch with comfort as its goal. This was a one-piece non-drainable system. A Rolls-Royce if you will, complete with its own spare tire! As you can see from the photo, it has an inflatable ‘doughnut’ that you can adjust to your comfort level. The only snag was, that if the doughnut deflated, you had to find a gas station or bicycle pump to fix the flat! (Maybe it came with its own mini pump!) Believe it or not, this and other Davol appliances were used even into the 1960s.

This artifact is probably one of the more ‘modern’ pouching systems of the time. A colostomy pouch, consisting of four parts - a nylon ‘frame’, a clear plastic bag fastened to the frame by a ‘gum rubber’ ring and a fabric belt that kept the whole thing from falling off the patient’s abdomen- was in use from the 1950s to 1960s. The size of the opening is so huge that my fist fits through it! One can only imagine the itching and burning of the skin around the stoma.

   


This next device, also from the ’50s and ’60s, is the ‘ABC’ colostomy appliance made by the Canadian company of J.F.Hartz. It was a six piece model! The two photos show the separate pieces. First, there’s of course, the belt and bag. The main piece is a very large and very rigid oval 5 3/4 X 4 1/4 inch nylon flange with a two inch diameter opening in the middle. Then we have a spring wire belt harness twisted to make four loops for attaching a belt. A clear plastic ring with a short spring is used to keep the bag tightly in place (two small screws keep the short spring in place!) Then there’s  another smaller clear ring (also held on by two small screws) between the flange and the outer ring. 

        Irrigation System called “The Bowman Improved Colostomy Apparatus.”

    The simple concept was: fill the stainless steel jug with warm water and hang the jug two feet above the toilet. After sitting on the toilet, attach the irrigation cup over your stoma using the belt provided (a rubber catheter allowed the water to enter the stoma), and irrigate until you start to feel cramps. Allow the bowel to empty back into the cup and down the toilet by way of a large diameter rubber hose attached below the cup.


 
Appliance manufacturers have always been at work developing high quality appliances for the sake of ostomates. Although the horrors of the past have not yet completely gone,  we now live in a ‘plastic society’ that changes by the second. We also live in an age of Spandex, high fashion and form-fitting clothes and we strive for freedom and good physical health, so ostomy appliances have to be lightweight, discreet, and not one-size-fits-all, unlike those from the past. I guess I can thank my luckey stars for people like my grandmother who had to undure these products so that today the I could have a safe and and comfortable !

                                                        Link to article http://www.stomaatje.com/

First 100 years of the ostomy! Part One!

The History of the Ostomy Part One! Let’s go back in time to a period about fifty years ago. My grandmother had to have an ileostomy at the young age of about 22years old due to crohn's colitis disease. She was the youngest lady at the time  in the hospital to have this surgery in our town at the time.  I could never understand when my grandmother would always be changing her ostomy almost 3 to 4 times a day, and what was this belt that she always talked about?  I had my ostomy at the same age of my grandmother was when she had hers ostomy done.  After my surgery my mother seen what the new ostomy products and asked my grandmother to start wearing them! She resisted until they no longer made her ostomy pproducts anymore ....so she gave it a try ....then she began to yell at us because we didn't make her try this sooner! (that was my grandmothers way of saying thank you.) She could finally were the ostomy flange and bag for a  week at a time! I was so happy to see she was no longer chained to the house and to the bathroom!  I remember sneaking a peek when was over at her house. I found some things very usual and a bit scary to me ! There was a whole box of every ostomy product known to man!  The thing I was surprised about the most was the cement that I found. She used  this on her skin to keep the ostomy attached on her! (ouch) I couldn't imagine how uncomfortable these products were to wear! So I thought it might be fun to have a little history lesson about how the ostomy came to be today !!!..........  So you can  Imagine a laboratory filled with  scientist wearing  white lab coats. There’s a distinctive sound of something boiling somewhere in the back ground. There eyes open wide and a  broad grin begins to move across there face. At last! They have found  what they been looking for. After years of searching, Its here it is at last. But do they shout “Eureka!”? No. They shout “Karaya!  A new adhesive. Well, so much for this fantasy. But, how Karaya came to be, is immaterial here. This was the special glue that you may remember as your lifesaver. Karaya was perhaps the first skin-friendly adhesive to be used in ostomy appliances to keep pouches firmly attached to the abdomen. It was the glue that gave us the freedom to wear a pouch without a belt. Sure, the pouches didn’t always behave the way we would like for them to work. Especially during very hot spells or during strenuous activity, the Karaya seal on the pouch would let go. “Accidents” were to be expected. Those who didn’t like these accidents, always wore a belt! Until the 1700's intestinal blockages were almost always fatal to a patient. Doctors didn't have the knowleadge of antibiotics or sterile techniques, bowel surgery carried with it a high risk of infection to the patients. Doctors avoided any surgery that entered the abdomen, the membrane that surounds the abdomen organs, where infections were particularly dangerous. Instead, they prescribed treatments such as consumption of the heavy metal mercury, laxatives, enemas, and horseback riding to help move stool through the digestive system. These did little to help the patient’s suffering as you could imagine.   It was a french doctor that M. Pilore that first attempted ostomy surgery in 1776, after all there treatment failed to work for the patient the doctor attempted surgery to remove the patients blockage as a last resort, with out surgical intervention it would of been fatal to the patients! The doctor made an opening through the patient’s abdominal wall.  He pulled the free end of the bowel through the patient’s abdomen and stitched the bowel to the patient’s skin, creating a stoma where partially digested food could leave the patient’s body. The first colostomy surgery was complete. After the surgery there was the first attempt of the first ostomy appliance: it was a sponge held to the opening with  an elastic bandage to absorb any leakages. Without access to todays appliance, the patient attempted regular enemas to keep the bowels clean. Unfourtually the patient died two weeks later of infection  in the small bowel complicated by mercury poisoning. Preparing supplies in the 1700 Nurse Eloise Fisher is shown here preparing a bandage with a supply cart visible behind her. Frequent dressing changes were part of the nursing care of Doctors colostomy patients, since there were no colostomy bags at the time for in-hospital colostomy care. When  the Doctors made rounds to examine there patients, They required that all dressings be opened.   Over the years the risk of infection continued in the patients abdomen making this surgery extreamly dangerous and was only preformed when there was no other options. Between the years 1716 and 1839 only 27 ostomy surgeries were recorded, But unfourtunally only six of those patients survived the surgery.Ostomy surgery remained a procedure of last resort untill better medical techniques made such surgeries safer. Let’s go back even further in time - when rubber was still the best material available - a time when plastics like nylon and vinyl were considered ‘new discoveries’ and still in their early stages.The first pouch similar to today’s plastic bags only appeared after World War II had ended. And, there was no guarantee that these ‘new’ plastic pouches would be odour-proof anyway, so, because these plastic bags looked so flimsy, it took a while before ostomates considered them as alternatives to rubber pouching systems. Plastic would soon be here to stay and become an absolute necessity for ostomates. The pictures below are a graphical indication of what being a ostomate in the past decades would have been like. Maybe things are bad at the moment for yourself,  but looking back at these pictures you can't help but feel that things are not as bad now as they were then, and could have been today. Today’s modern appliances have excellent adhesives, and only a few of us need a belt for added security. These appliances are waterproof, leak-proof, odour-proof and almost fool-proof. And they stick! No belt required. Technology has certainly come a long way! Continued PART TWO

My Ten Tips for Packing for the Hospital!!

                                                                              
Lately I have spent allot in the hospitals.......but this time is wasn't for me it has been for my fiance and one of my best friends Christine! Last night Christine and I went shopping PJs for her upcoming hospital stay......which gave me an idea to write a list of what to pack when your going into the hospital !
If you know you're being admitted to the hospital, taking some time to plan and prepare can make your stay more comfortable and less stressful. The following checklist can help you decide what you need to bring with you and ensure you haven't left anything out.

1. Documents and paperwork. Ideally, you should bring all the necessary paperwork in one folder, preferably the kind with a tie or snap closure to guarantee that important documents will not be lost.Don't forget insurance cards, a list of all the medications you are currently taking, and a list of telephone numbers of family and friends. If you have a written power of attorney ... bring those along with you too.
2. A small amount of money for newspapers, vending machines, and such. Bringing credit cards or large amounts of cash is not recommended, since theft can occur in hospitals. It is also a good idea to leave all jewelry at home, it is one less thing to worry about losing or being stolen.
3. Clothing. You may want to bring comfortable pajamas or lounging clothes, if you'll be able to wear your own clothing. Bring a supply of loose-fitting underwear and comfortable socks. Nightgowns or nightshirts are better for women than pajama sets with pants, and short-sleeved shirts are best to accommodate any intravenous(IV) lines you may require. A cardigan-style sweater or bed jacket can help ward off the chills. Make sure you have slippers to walk around in the hospital and one pair of regular shoes (in case you're allowed to walk outside, and you'll need them for the trip home anyway).
4. Eyeglasses, if you require them.
5. Writing paper and pen, for making notes or recording questions you want to ask your doctor.
6. A prepaid phone card for calls from your room telephone.
7. Toiletries. You can bring your toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion, deodorant, soap, shampoo, a comb or hair brush, and other toiletries from home, but avoid perfumes and any highly scented products. Lip balm is also a good addition to your toiletries kit.
8. Something to occupy your time - Bring books or magazines to help pass the time. If you enjoy a craft that is fairly portable (like knitting or crochet) that doesn't involve glue, paint, or lots of small pieces, bring those supplies along too.
9. Photos or small personal items. Many people enjoy having a couple of small framed photos or mementos from home to personalize their hospital space.
10. Finally, check the hospital's policy about electronic items before you pack your laptop, portable DVD player, MP-3 or cell phone. In particular, cell phone use is forbidden in many hospitals since it may interfere with electronic patient monitoring equipment. Don't forget that high-end electronic items can also be targets for theft - if you are allowed to bring them, make sure that a relative or friend takes them home or that they can be safely stored when you're sleeping or not in your room.

Thank You all my online friends!!!!!!

Hi My name is Tracy Lynn Ribble and I have crohn's Disease for the last 26 years .Due to the severity of the Crohn's I decided to have a Ileostomy 19 years ago! Growing up When I was diagnosed in 1986 there were no support group or very little people that I knew with an ostomy and that was because It was my family...but we never really talked about it! I found myself very depressed and very sick in 1992 and it lead to downward spiral! This year I found myself spending allot of time in bed and I had chased all my family and friends away...always keeping them at a arms length away! I started to entertain myself with facebook! I couldn't even tell you how I found all these different site about crohn's disease.....soon after I found myself making my own page.....and I soon was helping people with there problems! I started to find that I had an interest in life again which led to to finding other thing and people back into my life again! I may not be cured of depression I still have my day,weeks or monthsLOL! But the point is I'm back into the people that I loves life and trying to love life now!! I started to get board at one point because I really didn't have anyone that was interested in what I was doing? I understand if you dont have the disease its hard to talk to some with the disease about it! So I started meeting wonderful people on the Internet! So I choice Kay a member to share in my creation with me! And thankfully she said yes because it turns out she an old pro at facebook and taught me allot of thing! Its was great to finally have a partner and my friend share this with me!! Over time we have had to add to more wonderful women to the page Peggy and Annette ! Thanks to these woman and there big hearts we have came together to form this awesome web page with over 500 supporters !!! I am so proud to call them my friends!! And I would like to thank each and every member for your support and participating on our page! Without your support I wouldnt beable to do this!! Thank you for respecting the page and most of all I thank you for your honestly! Its not always eazy to open up and tell the stories that are embarrassing!! I promise to make keep making the page interesting if all of you continue to suppoet eachother!!! Thanks Everyone!!!~traci~

                                                                     

Pain

Pain is an unpleasant sensation often associated with damage to the body. It is the feeling common to such experiences as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone" and is caused by activation of specialized pain-signaling nerve fibers or by damage or disease affecting the somatosensory nervous system.


Pain is a common denominator for all of us. We all have experienced some type of pain, whether it was a bee sting as a child, a broken bone,stitches or several knees surgeries from years of football injuries. However it is often another kind of pain in our lives that can be more debilitating and often hidden deep inside; emotional pain. We all experience these times of our life that are so overwhelming; the loss of employment, the death of a loved one, a broken relationship, broken dreams, disappointment, discouragement, depression and being diagnosed with an illness. We live in a world that avoids pain at all costs, yet is in so much pain. We  invent new ways to experience less and less pain to experience more and more comfort, and yet it only masks a deeper pain that does not go away.
I have been wrestling with this lately about pain, because I find myself in pain alot latley. Yet in the midst of this time I have grown more spiritually during theses times. The question that I have continuously been asked by my support group is, How do we deal with pain? How do you deal with a loveones pain?
Did you know that pain is a very common occurrence in our society today. In fact, in the United States alone it is estimated that one in four individuals experience chronic pain for extended periods of time.
A painful condition can affect almost every area of one's life. It affects psychological reactions, social and environmental effects and physical effects. I have experiencing pain and  feelings of:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Sadness
• Loss
• Anger
• Low motivation

There have been many studies that link changes in brain chemistry caused by chronic pain over long periods of time. Pain is both a physical and psychological experience that I know effects me in many differant ways like:

• Enjoyment of life
• Productivity
• Relationships with family and friends
• One's work experience

Individuals dealing with pain often feel misunderstood and alone in their pain experience. Most painful conditions are not physically apparent. When someone has a broken leg with a cast others can see this and express sympathy and understanding due to noticing their problem.
Since many painful conditions are not visible to others, it is not surprising that feelings of depression, sadness and anger happen when a person dealing with pain receives no sympathy or understanding from others.
Pain also affect one's psychological defenses as well as one's level of energy. The experience of continual pain beats on the person to where their sense of control, quality of life and enjoyment of life has turned their life upside down.   There are ways to assist those dealing with chronic pain to better handle and manage the psychological, social and physical aspects of their pain. Most medical providers who treat chronic, painful conditions agree that approaching pain treatment from differant perspectives is the ideal way to help the individuals dealing with chronic pain most effectively.

• A Pain Specialist, often with advanced training in Pain or even having earned a separate "degree" in Pain Medicine usually heads the team.

• A Psychologist, who has studied pain and other chronic conditions, will help the person, his/her family and significant others with whom the individual interacts.

• A Nurse or Physiologist, who helps the patient and the team by assisting with education of the person and family of the treatment options available and to help coordinate their care with the whole team.

• A Physical Therapist, who will work with the person dealing with pain and the team to provide the best physical activities, exercises and treatments to help the person to strengthen, deal with their lack of use of a particular limb or muscle group, and help the patient better deal with activities of daily living.

• A Psychiatrist might be a member of the Multi-disciplinary Team to assist with control and adjustment of the many forms of medication that people dealing with chronic pain need for pain control, depression and anxiety.

Two years ago I was asked by a doctor to attend a pain specialist and  I was finally relieved to know that that my pain was going to be delt with by giving me the combination to a pain free cocktail.What I didnt expect is the clinic dealt with my pain mind, body and soul. In the early stages of my disease , I was experiencing pain and not dealing  with my life.I didnt know how to deal with my pain so therefore I couldn't deal with my life! Once the I realizes that I was part of the solution to my own care and treatment,  my attitude changed, which caused me to recognize with or without my pain I have to  live my  life. Learning to live with my life and managing the pain became my goal. I started using  all the resources for pain treatment from the medical side together with my new attitude and  found that I didn't need so much medication anymore. Chronic pain conditions are common, and technology is available to treat pain. Individuals suffer emotionally, physically, financially and personally. There are new treatments developing every day, around the world to help deal with these conditions. Psychological, social, environmental and physical factors must be treated at the same time. Understanding and careing is the key to treating lives of those who deal with pain, helping them have control over their lives. 

Be true to yourself,and have faith in your beliefs! Steve Jobs inspirational responce

How To Respond To Insults Like Steve Jobs [inspirational]

In this old video made in a conference when Steve Jobs was called back to be Apple's CEO, one of the viewers doesn't agree with Jobs technical ideas and told him that he's completely clueless about the issue... Just watch how Steve Jobs handles the insult and turn it into a very inspirational speech!

What a great video! As you can see, admitting that you are wrong is perfectly fine, as long as you never go out of your success path..........even when life gives you hard deal!! Steve Jobs has a rare cancer,the same rare cancer Ithat my girlfriend has!! Hopefully they will find a cure soon!!! If you would like to Donate to this cause you can do it at Hope for Mom   http://www3.bell.net/pcboulos/

Be true to yourself, and have faith in your beliefs! 

 

Tell us who inspires you???  Please follow us...just click the join us button on the left hand side!! Thanks IBD
 

Welcome to our New Blog Page!!!

 IBD BLOGS....Will contain current information on gastrointestinal research, medications to treat various diseases and disorders, alternative therapies, specific diet and nutrition guidelines, new technology, helpful hints for dealing with bowel difficulties, and explanations of disease processes. If you have any kind of digestive problem, then you'll want this timely, informative publication.

 Our members include a long list of patients, their family and friends, and healthcare professionals as well as business professionals who are interested in the wellness of their workers.This will be another way to deliver & relay up-to-date medical information, in lay terms, to our you!We also are going to document our Journey as Kay , Peggy , Annette and myself  open our hearts and life to you our IBD Family!~traci~

HOPE....

The definition of Hope is the following: “A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen”.

When I read the definition I automatically assume that hope is an optimistic feeling of desire, one would rarely hear someone “hope” for disaster ..... The word hope is also referred to in the bible. “with hope, all things are possible.” This word has a great deal of meaning to me, not just because I am battling cancer. The word is relative to all things possible in life. Joy, happiness, success and love. I do not associate that powerful word to wealth or material goods as I do not believe that hope can be found in tangible things.

The hope that I have for my life in particular is about my children and the lives they embark upon. I hope for goodness in their lives. I see it in their eyes, and feel it in their spirits. I have very little possessions in my life; in fact I own very little. I am ok with this, as I have learned that not one material good will give me the joy that life has to offer. The little things in life that we choose to see and hold on to are what makes hope real. For me there are many small things that remind me what life is truly meant to be. The fact that I love geese so much has very little to do with the bird itself, rather the moments that I happen to see one causes me to stop and wonder why they appear at the very moment I am trying to figure something out. That is a blessing for me. Take for example; this past week I experienced more than one person should have to bare, and while trying to explain my feelings to a friend a flock of geese flew directly over me and it caused me to stop speaking and look up....the crying stopped as I realized right at that moment it was not worth the emotions wasted on negativity. So what did the flock of geese mean? Quite simply it served as a reminder to me that life is about joy and what makes you happy.....

Hope is the whisper that God uses to speak to our hearts not our heads.. Truth. God wants us to be filled with love and compassion for not only others but ourselves. The world we live in can be a source of misery and strife, as there are so many negative behaviours and events that destroy our hope. We must find ways to see the small things that make living enjoyable. God sends us blessing every single day, it is up to us to see them, feel them, appreciate them and share them with others.

                                     

                                                    ~My Friend ~christine m berry boulous~