LittleBill

It's been a wonderful day today at the LittleBill compound. I spent the morning in human interaction. Everything that could go wrong did. The only exercise I got at the gym was walking in from my truck and back out again. That, and complaining about my locker breaking - twice. The good news is, I didn't have to go out in the lobby wrapped in only a towel and a dignified poise. I saw it coming this time and was able to wear clothes. But this afternoon was even more fun. I am working on some outside wiring so I don't have to drag my generator across a hill for 150' in snow and ice when the power goes out. The temperature has been in the high 20s much of the day, with a cheery breeze blowing from 12-25 mph. And I have been outside in my newly modified and not so well insulated body. Add to that my coat is a lot bigger than it used to be - or really, it is the same size. It just seems bigger since I am smaller in diameter now. So the wind blows up to it and up through it, relieving me of what little body heat I have. I can hardly wait until Mrs. LittleBill gets home. For the past 32 plus years, she has treated me like her own thermal pile. I have freezer burns on my back from hands and feet placed there over the years. But now, the tide has turned. Positions have been reversed. She doesn't like it. Not one bit. The first cold night we had, I cuddled up to her in bed. Then, just as she has done to me so many times, I gently placed my corpse like hand on her warm body. I think the neighbors heard her scream. My ears rang for several hours. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?!?!" I believe that is what she said. It is hard to remember. I was in a daze for a little while. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and that goes for cold hands and feet. If no one ever hears from me again, they were probably too cold.

RNY people need to be careful not to stretch their pouches because they do stretch. Sleeves that are properly made do no stretch. The idea that sleeves stretch is a myth that we really need to stomp out in the sleeve community. It is a lie and people keep using it as a crutch for bad food/life choices. It send the wrong message to new sleevers and spreads misinformation. A big part of that is the medical advice we get from the medical professionals at the medical centers where we go to get our surgery. Notice the emphasis on medical. I will return to that in a moment. I happen to agree with you that inaccurate information needs to be corrected. Your choice of words was stomped out. You corrected me on this last week, and I took that instruction from you because you are experienced, and I am still learning. But the overwhelming fact of the matter is, the medical community carries enormous authority with the things they tell us, whether those things are right or wrong. And how many times do we see posts here telling people to consult their surgeon, nutritionist, CRNP, etc? Those posts bolster that authority. in opposition to that authority are relatively anonymous people on the internet. Stay with me now, for the next few sentences. This is not to say you have no credence, nor does it dismiss your information out of hand. Lots of people on lots of forums remain anonymous and are still capable of establishing their own bona fides. In this particular instance, they are fighting the bona fides and the information given to us by the very people who shepherded us through the process of our surgery. So you need to consider that when you come up against anyone who is new, and who is repeating the stuff he or she was taught by their medical contacts. That's part one. Part two is attitude. It is a given that people are going to misunderstand one another from time to time. That happens in real life, and it happens even more on the web between total strangers who are limited to the written word. I make no excuses for anyone, even myself, when it comes to misunderstanding and responding to that. This thread is a fine example of how attitude can adversely affect a thread and personal relationships on both sides. Please note, I am not trying to lecture you, or lay any particular blame at your feet. This is merely a convenient place to make the observation. The veterans on this board are a valuable resource. They are here to help the noobs, by their own report. Writing as someone who has made teaching a significant part of his career for the last 24 years, I can tell you that part of helping new people is patience. New people have wrong ideas. New people make mistakes. And all of us were new people at one time or another - sometimes over and over again. I am an expert in my field. I am highly regarded. I spent years and years participating on forums in that capacity answering the same #$%& questions over and over again, correcting the same mistaken information, etc. It takes patience. And no, it does not require taking abuse. Abuse should not be tolerated, but that goes in both directions. So to come back to your choice of words, stomp out the information, but don't stomp out the person. That is counter to what the veterans say they are here for. People screw up. Tell them so, and then move on. But we're up to how many pages now of driving someone into the dirt because she screwed up? I don't think that is helpful. How many noobs who read this are going to be afraid to ask a question for fear of saying the wrong thing and being vilified for it? Please note, I am not justifying any behavior on either side. Again, I am only making observations. So this is getting long, and is way more serious than I like to be on a regular basis. I can only do serious for short stints. I have to go post a humorous story that happened. But please consider what I have written here - on both sides.

I don't know if it's an issue for me, but I do like to call my body parts by the correct term. Hell, I don't use text talk when I type and I insist on using correct grammar and punctuation in texts, too. Weird standards, I guess. Same here. The only "text talk" I use is K or whatev, and ONLY because it drives my kids nuts.

@@LipstickLady White men don't dance - at least, not very well. It doesn't matter how much beer I have (or anyone else has who watches me) It sort of looks like I am having a seizure.

But would beer be different? Beer has hops, and kangaroos hop, so would that make it a pouch?

LOL! I love reading your posts! Thank you!

I had some more today. I love it already. I bought it for Sunday mornings and getting out the door without having to starve through church. I just hope it lasts that long!

Getting myself back on track... Soda? I'll never miss it. Now beer is a different story. They told me at my program that carbonation was even worse than carbohydrates. I'd swell up and probably explode right there on the spot. You know, sort of like in the video below. But I went through with the surgery anyway. Slimming down was more important that quaffing a cold one on a hot summer afternoon. Now, I am learning some things here that are different than what I learned at the program. And being an old guy, I have a "trust but verify" kind of attitude about it all. So my research will continue on until I am satisfied. And I hope one day to be able to have a beer - not four or five, but a beer on a hot summer afternoon. Once in a while. And I will be sure to burp as often as possible to keep from exploding. As for drama? Wherever there are people, there is going to be drama. The big thing is, are you (and I mean you as in whoever bothers to read this) going to contribute to that drama, or will you be one to defuse it? I wrote some things in this thread I probably should not have, but cleared them up privately. We all can do as we please. We all make mistakes. The only people who don't are liars. It is how we respond to those mistakes that shows our character. And that's nuff said about that.

I have to say, some of the replies here have some good information, but some are... Y'all can decide which is which. I am not guiltless in piling on, but just from my point of view, I think the point has been made.

Haha, I will keep an eye out!

@@genn, Yeah, really! I am in Lehigh, on the edge of Berks.

Another titillating discussion on BP, I see.

No, but you can stack it up a bit and feel uncomfortable for a few minutes. Don't ask me how I know this. Imagine a sink where the water goes in just a little faster than it drains out. If you drink water, or anything else, fast enough, you are going to fill up your new tiny stomach, and then start in on the pipe (otherwise known as your esophagus). Your stomach will be emptying fairly fast, but not so fast as you can put it in.

It is frustrating. But you have answered your own question. Exercise and diet are at least as important, and in the long term more so than surgery. I am in a mini stall right now, and working hard to make sure it isn't longer. But this stuff happens when it happens. We can only keep doing what we know we need to do and wait for it.

I was told I could drive about five days after surgery. The best answer though, is to check with your doc if it is at all possible. Things to consider are how you are healing, whether you are taking narcotics or not, how you feel overall, etc. The 10 lb limit drove me nuts, as I am used to lifting 60-80 lbs with one hand. But I behaved myself. As irritating as it was, it was less so that popping open an incision.

I am in eastern PA. We are in the country, enough so that we have our own little target range, but the larger towns and cities aren't that far. When I was younger, there were several close calls, and a few people were killed in the woods during hunting season. We are about midway between NYC and Philadelphia, so we get all sorts of city people in the woods. I decided it wasn't worth getting shot. And thank you for your kind words on my stories. I enjoy telling them as well as writing them down. This is one of those things that really sucks, but even as it's happening, you know it's going to be a great story someday. I have lots of things happen to me, where the best thing I can say is, "At least this will make a good story". I once had a pastor who said to me, "I believe God brings all these things into your life so you can tell the rest of us stories". I also had another friend who was a pastor who had an incident very similar to yours when we were in Florida one time. He was sitting on the beach, just about to take a bite out of his sandwich. All at once, a seagull swooped down and grabbed it right out of his hand. And he was a skinny guy who couldn't afford to missed too many sandwiches.

Do you know how to make a hormone? Don't pay her.

I'm a guy. I don't have hormones.

I don't think I'd have the stomach to watch it. Oh, wait... I suspect if my doc offered it, I'd watch it, but not before mealtime.

Thank you. I bought the stuff thinking it might be a good deal for those mornings when I need to run out the door. I wasn't even thinking about the caffeine when I came in from the cold. I was just thinking of something hot to drink.

Every day is a new chance to start over, and you only have to make it through that one day. Don't dwell on the past, but look to the future one day at a time, and work it from there. You already know what you have to do, because you've already done it. If you let the past, and what might be in the future weigh you down, it will crush you. So take it one day at a time, and make each day a small victory. You don't have to win the war all at once.

I've had a couple of friends ask about it, but no one has taken the plunge yet. I'm still new enough at this that they are probably waiting to see if I crash and burn or if it really works. But they are paying attention.

I was prowling about the store on the site here a few days ago, and came across Click coffee protein mix. I like coffee, and I like chocolate, so I ordered a canister of their Double Shot Espresso Coffee mocha. It arrived today as the saga of the squirrel was winding down. I had been out in the cold all morning long, so I thought this would be a great time to try the stuff out. I made up a cup according to the instructions, and it was very tasty. But then I got to wondering. Is there caffeine in this stuff? Naw, there couldn't be, right? It's supposed to be good for us, right? They probably sucked all the caffeine out of it, right? So THEN I decided to read the label. Wrong. They did not suck the caffeine out of it. So I will be staying up late tonight. At least I have a good book. And of course, I can always come here and look for trouble.

You are asking good questions. The slippery slope is within us. We just have to be careful what we put on it.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!