TWO Months from Today

Where has the time gone. Remember way back in April when this little idea was born. And then it grew and we got soooo excited and everyone tried to figure out how they could swing it. And then we started hearing people from all over the world wanted in and the excitement grew. Then there was the disappointment of those who weren't able to make it happen this year.

Does it remind you of waiting and hoping and praying for lapband surgery. Well this time a bunch of us will not have to suffer pain (although those little pain pills were kind of nice). The B.O.O.B.S are meeting in Chicago in 2 short months. Yes, I said

CHICAGO!

Just two months from today! Bloggers from all over the world will be converging on the windy city for a weekend of fun, laughter and comraderie. Exhausting. But we will get through it. I think we need another weightloss challenge (hint, hint Kristen). I wonder how much weight I can lose so you don't think I am fat! I know you are all thinking the same thing. But it doesn't matter. We get it.

I wish I could meet every single blogger out there but alas this is just our first group hug. I know there will be many more. And no one will be left out. I promise. We will have lots of "face time" with each other and many of us are in the walk or run on the Saturday morning. I'm walking the 5k so I hope there are others who will sign up and keep me company or just be there to give me a sweaty high five at the end.

I have been thinking about how we can just order a couple of appetizers and be happy little campers. We'll let Drazil eat all our leftovers since she will be all buff from her current eating regime. The organizing team is doing an amazing job and we admire your drive to make this happen for complete strangers. Go B.O.O.B. organizers. We heart you.

One more Chicago comment. I hope my roomie (Robin) is getting excited to meet me. She is a trained life saver so we might just need her! Heck, I hope everyone is getting super excited to meet me!

And last but not least today, I started following some newbies. Please go visit them and give them some support. You know the old pay it forward type of support. Here are a few of them:
A to Z
Amaris
DeeDee
I can do this
LJ
Seeing in Colour

TWO MONTHS! Can you feel the excitement!

No More Yakking

I am alive an well and not hovering over a sink. I saw my doc at 3:30 on Wednesday and he removed 0.15 cc from my band, a few drops. I can drink ok and also had chili last night for dinner AND a bowl of frozen yogourt. No pain, no stucks, no yakking (thanks Maria for that term).

Today I have been able to finish a yogourt and am now eating some paté and crackers. So far so good but I am full after about 1 ounce. I think I am still a bit swollen so will stick to soft and mushies for another day. If I still can't eat solids I will call the surgical clinic next week in Mississauga since I will be visiting Hamilton for a few days. We are also planning to take a short trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, the center of wine making and wine tasting in Southern Ontario.

Just wanted to mention, I updated the section on "sliming" from yesterday's post to mention something Tina brought up. You don't have to be "stuck" to slime or PB but it is just as gross. And Caroline left some other great suggestions so please read her comment.

Lastly, I will announce that I am now 174.6 pounds. My DH weighs 173 lbs so I am almost smaller than him. Next month for sure! I also changed my goal weight to 154 which is much more realistic. I think it is a reasonable weight and if I go lower it is just icing on the cake (ok guys, we need a new expression). I will post some pictures and measurements next week after my vacation. I promise.

Sliming, Stuck and PBing, Oh My!

I decided I had to comment on Gilly’s post on Monday. One line stuck out: “I've spent a lot of time on blogs reading about sliming, and PBs and stucks...and I think that most of us seem to think it's the hallmark of being successful with a band. But I'm not sure it is.” -end quote-

As someone who is sliming and PBing and getting stuck, I will categorically state for all those newbies (and everyone else) that it is NOT success to have this happen. In fact I consider it a failure to properly use the band. I have been miserable for a few days now and have an un-fill this afternoon (just an itty bitty bit). When you spend the last two evenings vomiting, that isn’t normal. I don't want to be bulimic. I have no idea how this band got so tight. I was fine for 5 weeks and then on Sunday was barely able to keep anything down. By Tuesday, I could only tolerate liquids and when I started having problems with applesauce, I knew things weren’t right. Let me tell you, it is extremely difficult to have a rousing conversation with your new manager for half an hour when you are in pain and feel like you want to barf all over her shoes!

**Warning**: The following may be too graphic for some readers. Reader discretion is advised. And please don't take this as any sort of medical advice. This is how I see some of the definitions that have become common in the banding community and is just my opinion:

Stuck: you are merrily chewing away and swallowing with no problems. Then wham an ache happens, then a pain and you know that if you take another bite you will vomit. Your first instinct is to “wash it down with a big gulp of water”. Resist the urge. It WILL NOT help. In fact you will feel worse and most likely a projectile of water will come spraying from your mouth. This can go on for hours and is sometimes followed by:

Sliming: At this point the small amount of food you just ate is not passing through the band. But your mouth continues to produce saliva. Lots and lots of saliva. It is like the taps have turned on. It feels like a cup of saliva is being produced every minute, so spit it out. If you keep swallowing the saliva and the food hasn’t passed through the band, you will then enter into the stage called sliming. Basically, whatever is above the band will now just float out of your mouth. Sometimes your stomach will react to this assault and you will heave. Sometimes it is food. Sometimes it is slimy saliva and sometimes it is just foam.

Update with info from Tina to add: Slime can also happen if you over-eat. If you eat one or two bites too much the food takes up all of the space in the pouch and esophagus. The natural saliva that is excreted to work the food through then builds up on top of that food and causes you to slime. See her full comment below. In other words, you don't have to be "stuck" to slime or PB.
If you were stuck, beware. At this point the lining of your stomach is swollen and can possibly be obstructing the inside opening of the band. Some people feel a lump at the back of their throat and sometimes heartburn. DO NOT eat or drink or you will repeat the sliming or move into the next stage:

Power Burping of PB’ing: What actually is a PB. For me it means a burp and food/liquid comes up. You know when you get to enjoy your previous bite of food again. My theory is that the lower stomach has some air in it. When the band is blocked with food, some air escapes and pushes said food up the esophagus. For some there is a great burp. Others just little burps. Sometimes it feels like those Pop Rocks candies that kind of pop in your mouth. I see it as a good sign, that something is passing through the band. By now you are probably praying for relief but for some of us with “sensitive” stomachs we move into:

Vomiting. Oh yes, been there done that lots of times. When I was pregnant I was nauseated and vomited for most of the first 5 months. In my mind it is the worst sensation ever. Which makes me wonder if my stomach is just “sensitive” to any trigger. A full vomit means the entire stomach contracts and stuff comes up. If you have kids you know exactly the type of stuff when they have stomach flu. When I hear that some people never have this problem I am so envious. But vomiting doesn’t always help because by now the band compresses the upper stomach and when it is irritated the stomach lining gets inflamed and swells, blocking the opening even more. There have been times when I wasn’t even able to drink liquids or swallow my spit. Crisis. You are blocked and nothing is going down. If the swelling doesn't abate you will probably need an un-fill. A bit or a lot depending on your doctor.

I would like to pass on some of the things that have worked for me:

1. Chew, chew, chew your food until it is pulp. And then chew some more.

2. Pay attention to every bite of food (I wasn’t thinking when I was scarfing down the applesauce and was stunned when the pain hit). Don't get distracted and swallow before you have completed #1.

3. DO NOT try to eat or drink anything to push the stuck food through the band.

4. After the episode is over, gently drink some liquids (water, tea, coffee, milk, juice). If the stuck/PBing went on for a few hours, you should stick to liquids/purees for at least a day to give the swelling a chance to go down. Try to rehydrate yourself and gradually work your way up to solid foods.

5. If you continue to have pain, wait it out without eating or drinking anything for a few hours (or overnight in my case).

6. If you have heartburn try sucking on a TUMS (although this seems to induce vomiting in me!) or another antacid. Note: if you still can’t swallow your saliva, hold off until you can. If saliva isn’t going through your band, nothing else will.

7. Prop yourself up on multiple pillows. I also find it better to lie on my left side. I think the way my band is placed, the pouch seems to open up a bit and drain. I usually have little burps as fluid passes through.

8. Always carry Ziplock bags, napkins or Kleenex to spit into. I have just found that those Sanitary bags they put in the bathroom are actually waterproof so scarf a few of them to carry with you. During my worst episodes, I stand over the sink and just spit or sit with an opaque glass as a spittoon (gross I know, but I warned you at the beginning).

9. Papaya enzyme has worked for some, but I have had limited success. I found it just created more acid reflux and then vomiting. I have also not had any success with aspirin or Tylenol.

10. Do not watch any food shows, especially Guy’s Big Bite or Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The vast quantities of food will make your stomach feel even worse.

And last but not least:

Know that you won’t die. Come on, most of you got through childbirth. If you don’t feel better after a day or two, call your doctor. Chances are everything is ok, but there are some who have had a slipped band, or erosion (both rare). Most times an un-fill is needed. In some cases they do a complete un-fill to give the band stoma and pouch time to heal but in most cases they only need to take out a little bit of fluid.

What can make the band tight: Who knows. I had a 0.1 cc fill on June 9th. I was gradually losing about half a pound a week and then on July 18th, over 5 weeks later began to have problems. The only thing that changed is that I started working out with my trainer and she had me doing a lot of abdominal crunches—I like to think of these reasons so I don’t have to do crunches. I was enjoying about ½ cup to 1 cup of solid food every four hours and didn’t feel hungry in between. I was truly at my sweet spot. When I noticed I had dropped 5 pounds in 5 days, and could only drink liquids, I knew something wasn’t right and I needed to call for an un-fill.

So getting back to my first statement. It isn’t a right of passage, or a cool thing to have sliming, PBing or stuck episodes. I so envy those that have been free of them and still continue to lose weight. So thanks Gilly for bringing this out in the open (I know she loves being mentioned in posts!). If there was an award for most stucks/PBs/slimes, I would be in contention for winning. But the pain isn’t worth any award. Really.

Right now I have about 4.5 cc in my 10 cc band. I will let you know how I feel after getting 0.1 to 0.2 cc of fluid out. BTW, that is a drop or two.

BYOC Friday!!!!! ♥♪ Bring Your Own Craziness ♥♪

It’s give your brain a break Friday – BYOC! A whole blog entry ready for the taking….just copy and paste the questions into your blog and answer away. It’s our way of getting to know new and old bloggers a little better! Enjoy!

1. What’s the oddest diet you have tried? Or which ones have you tried and were any successful? The oddest was the Cayenne Pepper and Maple Syrup (Jess did that one too). You drank this all day. Got hungry, lasted two days, didn't lose any weight. The only successful weight loss was through the diet drugs in the 90's. But someone had to go and get some incurable problem and they took it off the market. Jeesh. What's death when you can be skinny! (JK)

2. Do you prefer baths or showers? Showers almost daily. I can't remember when I last had a bath in a bathtub.

But we do have a hottub in the backyard and we use it a lot. Especially in the winter when you can lie back and look at the stars. It saved my marriage! Well it helped, because we would go in the hot tub and talk (get your minds out of the gutter please. It was a family hot tub). We couldn't pull out a book, or turn on the TV or be interupted. So we had to talk or just sit and stare at each other. My hubby did fall asleep sometimes. I guess my constant babbling lulled him to sleep. Drazil mentioned how she has a bath with her hubby every night and they talk until the water turns cold. With a hot tub, the water never gets cold so everyone should get one.

3. What is your favorite breakfast food? Two fried eggs, over easy, brown toast, sausages and crispy homefries. With a glass of OJ and coffee. But I also love Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls. You know the pack where you whack it on the counter and it springs open. Love to make them, but can't eat them anymore.

4. What’s your least favorite word? Yes, Dear. In that dismissal tone of "I'm really not listening, so go away".

5. Repeat question…make someone a Superstar for a day! OK, I just highlighted two people above. I caught up on a bunch of blogs last night and tried to comment a lot. I guess one that stuck out this week was Amy. She posted about how different she eats now with the band: tiny little bits of food. Got me realizing how little I actually eat now and how I miss those big bites.

Well folks, have a wonderful weekend. It is hot and hazy around here so some cold drinks are on ice just waiting for the day to end. Gotta get back to work now!

Missing Big Bites

Amy posted that she doesn't gorge anymore. She said: "I'm often amazed by how little I eat. I mean, really, really little amounts of food. And I don't starve to death, despite what I used to think would happen if I didn't gorge at every meal."

I've been thinking the same thing about the big bites of food that I ate pre-band and it makes me a little sad. I thought I would miss food but really I miss taking a big, ol' humongous bite of a burger or submarine sandwich or a hunk of pie or cake. It just can't be done. My last little fill was over a month ago. I'm at ~4.5 cc in my 10 cc band and am tight as all get out. And maybe that's why I am craving those big bites. I don't want the food, just the big bite. It's sort of the same when we were on the pre-op liquids—I wanted that chew.

But then I started wondering if I should just take a great big bite, chew it and then spit it out. But I won't swallow. Because it sure ain't going through the band.

BYOC Friday

BYOC everyone! 5 questions - some funny, some serious - we answer in our blogs to get to know each other better and to ease our fried brains on Fridays!
1. Love or money? High salary or job satisfaction? Love and job satisfaction. But money is kind of nice.

2. What is your favorite time of day? Saturday morning, sipping coffee and reading the paper. Remember I have no little kids at home.

3. Do you have a will? Did you tell anyone your wish to be kept alive or not? Both hubby and I have a will. I want to get them updated and get some Powers of Attorney written in case either of us is incapacitated. I don't want to give the government any extra money or powers if we die intestate (without a will). Our current will has the kids being taken care of by their aunt and uncle until they are 18. Since they've reached that age, it doesn't apply anymore, but when they were little I thought I should let them know that if anything happened to mommy or daddy they would go to live with Aunt K and Uncle B. They didn't ask any questions but a few weeks later one of them asked when they were going to go live with Aunt K and Uncle B. They love these two people and seemed a bit sad that they wouldn't be able to do that unless we both died.

4. Repeat question. Pick one thing for one day you'll do next week that aids in your physical or mental health. I think I will not make goals. But I will go to the gym since I missed my trainer last night.

5. Repeat questions. Make someone a superstar for a moment...whose comment or blog stuck with you this week and why. Today, Stephanie made me cry and can use a lot of support. I hope you go visit her and leave a comment. I was also inspired by Drazil's post about running. I even copied and saved it so I can repeat it often:

…But it doesn’t Matter
Adopt a new mantra –about life. The mantra is to add “but it doesn’t matter” to the end of everything. For running it goes like this. You might say or think “it’s going to rain today” – ADD “but it doesn’t matter.” Or “I didn’t get much sleep last night….but it doesn’t matter.” Or “I don’t think I feel like running today…but it doesn’t matter.” In life you might say “I don’t think life is fair…but it doesn’t matter.” “I don’t think Bob likes me…but it doesn’t matter.” Etc. Etc.

The theory is – life just *is*…but it doesn’t matter….do what you have to do anyway. It really doesn’t matter if it’s raining – you can still run. It really doesn’t matter if life isn’t fair – you can still live like it is. Nothing matters enough to make me quit or to make me stop learning, growing, thriving and loving. It’s basically a way of taking every excuse for every single part of your life and saying “yah, but it doesn’t matter.” – so get up and get going.

Have a great weekend everyone. I'm off to another cottage for my birthday party (yeah, I know, my birthday was in March, but this is the first time we have been able to plan a get together!). I'm down another 2 pounds to 177 and am thrilled to pieces. The wine is chillin' for that feat!

Kids Meals at IKEA

I am working late while a new application is released. New job means making sure everything is hunky dorey. My building is across from IKEA and someone mentioned in their blog about craving an IKEA hotdog. Of course this got me strolling over to the store telling myself "Do NOT try to eat a hotdog!". Food has not been going down so well and I have had a few stuck episodes in the past few days so have been taking things real easy. I wonder if it is the heat. We have been 35C (92F) for the last few days with a humidex taking us over 100F (38C). So glad for air conditioning.

Back to IKEA. I wandered through the store and ended up at the cafeteria. I decided to order the kids plate of meatballs, which is 5 meatballs with tomato sauce and a lovely mound of mashed potatoes. It did say for those under 12 but I guess they thought I had a kid stuffed in a chair in the back. Tasty little bites and now I am stuffed. What a difference from a year ago, when I could have polished off the plate of 20 meatballs and pasta. I'm thanking the band. I have been stuck at 179 for 2 weeks now and am hoping my weight drops tomorrow.

I've also been keeping up with my trainer, although she took it easy on me yesterday since I had a stomach ache from being stuck on Monday night. I didn't tell her about the band. Only that I had a hiatus hernia repair last February. Anything to get out of doing crunches. But we worked hard on arms and shoulders and legs. I even tried the rowing machine and love it.

Hope you all have an enjoyable evening my lovelies.