This is my reward.

Sep 30, 2010

The price paid for posting reality?

(This is what I get for posting)

"Oh, Beth, as always you think this post revolves around you.  The world revolves around Beth.  Beth's is the only opinion that matters.  What, you gonna stalk me now, and hunt down every thread I choose to post on so you can try to hurt my wittle feewings? Awe.

No wonder I have people private messaging me about what a whack job they think you are."

AND?

"I know the response to this is going to be, "you think everything's about you, Beth!" But, this is the person who told me not to post about anything to "scare the newbies," hence my posts today:

" Well.....there are some people on OH who LOVE to scare the shit out of other people on here with their stories of how bad their post op experiences are.  I am not going to name names, but there is one in particular that really pisses me off.  This person has such a holier than thou attitude, shouts through the rafters to anyone who will listen about how bad their post op experiences have been, how they want to warn everyone and anyone who gets RNY that they could very likely end up in their boat.  Well, MOST of OH people stick to their diet.  MOST of OH people listen to their surgeons orders and plans for them.  MOST of OH people do not dump regularly.  Hmmm...could this be why you are in this situation?  So, needless to say, this person LOVES to scare the shit out of everyone on the OH boards telling them about their complications and how they think more and more people will have them- especially newbies.  LOVE IT- NOT!!!! I've done the research, many. many. times.  More than most doctors do.  I am a well educated patient.  I have a thirst for medical knowledge, and I read constantly about anything and everything medical, especially things that pertain to my own health or that of my family.  And, so my current passion is RNY.  I can't get enough info on it.  And I am here to tell you that this persons attitude and information is not factual- it is based on their own experience.  Just one of hundreds of thousands of people out there who have had RNY.  So, don't  let this person scare you with their "information".  Get the facts yourself, from real medical personnel, from real medical research.  It's not that hard to do.  SO- what I started to say in the beginning of this paragraph is ....just like I am among the very rare few who get sick from the flu shot, this person is among the very rare few who have suffered their complications post-op! 

OK, enough ranting for today.  I feel better now. "

It's funny.  I don't.

Bless your heart.  

Do not come crying when something "happens" to you.  And, it will, and you will. 

Off to go be a whack job! 

8 comments

Heightened suicide risk after weight-loss surgery

Sep 29, 2010

Heightened suicide risk after weight-loss surgery

This isn't new news, it's a new study.  This topic has been discussed before, and it's true.  WLS'ers off themselves more often AFTER undergoing WLS than before.

We can only hope to see MORE studies, information and support for our peers and ourselves.

If you are STRUGGLING -

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline


From Reuters -

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Severely obese people who undergo weight-loss surgery may have a higher-than-average risk of suicide in the years following the procedure, a new study finds.

But, "most of the suicides among individuals in this study occurred later than the time post-surgical follow up usually ends," Tindle said.

The report, in The American Journal of Medicine, adds to evidence that patients who have bariatric surgery to lose weight have an increased risk of suicide compared with the general population.

But the reasons for the pattern, researchers say, remain unknown.

A number of studies have found that while the absolute rate of suicide among bariatric surgery patients is quite low, it is still higher than the norm for the general population.

The benefits of weight-loss surgery are well-documented. The procedures, which alter the digestive tract to limit food intake and nutrient absorption, can help severely obese individuals shed a substantial amount of weight. They can also reverse obesity-related health problems like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

The latest study, which tracked deaths among Pennsylvania residents who underwent bariatric surgery, examined a longer period than previous research -- up to 10 years following the procedure.

Among 16,683 who had bariatric surgery between 1995 and 2004, 31 committed suicide by the end of 2006, the researchers found. The data translate into a suicide rate of nearly 14 per 10,000 men per year, and five per 10,000 women each year.

Those numbers are substantially higher than the suicide rates among Pennsylvanians in the same 35-to-64 age range, during the same period. Among all men in the state, the suicide rate in 2005 was 2.5 per 10,000, while the rate among women was 0.6 per 10,000.

Overall, 30 percent of suicides in the surgery group occurred within two years of the procedure, and 70 percent occurred within three years.

For now, the reasons for the higher suicide risk are unclear, according to lead researcher Dr. Hilary A. Tindle of the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. Her group's study, based on death certificate data, could not examine details surrounding the individual suicides.

But the study does not imply that bariatric surgery itself leads to suicides -- something that is "critical" for patients to understand, she told Reuters Health in an e-mail.

Rather, she said, it may be that some bariatric surgery patients have depression or other mental health problems before the procedure -- or develop them afterward -- and that, in turn, increases their overall suicide risk.

Depression is common among severely obese adults, including those who seek weight-loss surgery, Tindle and her colleagues point out. One study of surgery candidates found that two-thirds had, at some point in their lives, experienced a so-called "Axis I" disorder, a group of mental health conditions that includes depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders and substance abuse.

Bariatric surgery candidates do undergo screening to see whether the operation is appropriate for them, and that includes a mental health evaluation. But a history of depression or other psychiatric conditions does not necessarily preclude a person from having the surgery.

Instead, Tindle explained, a team of health professionals -- including the surgeon, a dietitian, a psychologist and, often, an exercise physiologist -- try to determine whether an individual is medically and psychologically ready for surgery, and if not, they attempt to address any underlying problems.

More research, according to Tindle's team, is needed to understand why bariatric surgery patients show an increased suicide risk. If there are pre-surgery characteristics connected to a higher risk, then some suicides might be prevented by more careful monitoring and treatment, the researchers say.

Also unclear is whether suicide risk depends on how much weight a person loses after surgery. It's possible, Tindle's team speculates, that any pre-existing psychological distress could be exacerbated if patients have disappointing weight-loss results -- or if their overall quality of life does not improve as they had hoped.

According to Tindle, the findings indicate a general need for longer term monitoring of patients after surgery.

Bariatric surgery centers across the U.S. do post-surgery monitoring, with the recommended follow-up being six months.

But, "most of the suicides among individuals in this study occurred later than the time post-surgical follow up usually ends," Tindle said.

About 225,000 Americans are now having bariatric surgery each year, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Given those numbers, Tindle said, it will become increasingly important to understand the factors that contribute to patients' heightened suicide risk.

SOURCE: link.reuters.com/mah85p

The American Journal of Medicine, online September 14, 2010.

 

Continue reading "Heightened suicide risk after weight-loss surgery" »

1 comment

Thank you!

Sep 26, 2010


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First, I will force you to sit through 200 photos, while I figure out how I am going to draw names for the Walk From Obesity GIVEAWAYS!  (Yes, it appears that MM sang the National Anthem during this Walk.  I'll let you figure out what happened.  :P ...)

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(This cool chick doesn't have the internet.  She came to talk to me and shared her story.  Six months post op, off of all her diabetes medications, and out of her wheelchair.  She was told she would not live another year.)

We had a great day (the end of September, sweated our butts off!) a great turn-out, and raised a great deal of money.  I think Team MM and the BBGC ended at about $2300.00 in donations, and I thank you, as most of them pretty much all of them came FROM YOU!


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0 comments

The number on the scale determines my worth.

Sep 22, 2010

3 comments

Did you have WLS to LOOK AMAZING?

Sep 20, 2010

Did you have WLS to LOOK AMAZING?

To stand still on the summit of perfection is difficult, and in the natural course of things, what cannot go forward - slips back.   Gaius V. Paterculus

Socially-contagious-obesity
I bought my husband a book yesterday (totally different post) and another book that I plan to read and utilize within the blog. Both, topics I have yet to delve into.  Not. diet. books.  PS.  I am not a professional.  Do not take advice from the internet.  I blog because I can.  That is all.

I have a new more obvious aim.  I want to discuss and challenge my peers to discuss the realistic "life after weight loss surgery," beyond the protein shakes, beyond numbers and reaching a weight goal. 

  • Happiness does not depend on the size or content of a goal, but on the strength of the desire to have it.   Simon Soloveychik

Not just the "weighty secrets," but the stuff that should be discussed ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY OUT LOUD IN CAPITAL LETTERS.

This is the place where I am finding people drop off of the face of the earth, quit, regain, and simply remove themselves from being a success or ever reaching that spot. People aren't getting what they need, or what they expected after WLS, and give up.  People don't post about these important issues, it's usually What I Ate Today Are You Proud Of Me? and WHERE IS MY HAIR!

It's obvious that more needs to be done for the care and feeding of the post bariatric brain.  Our brains seem to be quite disordered, and focusing on details instead of the big, long term picture.  We seem to obsess over The Numbers and Looking Amazing! and forgetting that we need to be healthy overall.

Did you have weight loss surgery to Look Amazing?   To BE amazing?  To completely change everything about you and become a bionic woman?

Honestly, you may have. It's okay to admit it. 

I can't say that I had surgery to CURE a damn thing. I was not a physically sick obese individual.  Removing co-morbidities from the equation, and it would seem to the outside world, that I had surgery to Look Good.  

But, more often than not, people do not choose life-altering surgery to Look Amazing*

*And, if they are, they should BE THROWN OUT OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PRE OP TESTING, or at least slapped around until they get a reality check.

More often than not, Results May Vary. 

What a let down it must be, to go through this process with lofty expectations to be left with EXCESS SKIN!  BREASTS THAT HANG LIKE TEABAGS AND TUBESOCKS, to be STILL OBESE after losing hundreds of pounds, or to be left with COMPLICATONS, PROBLEMS, and then BAD-A-BING you are regaining!  "OMG I FEEL SO BAD, WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF"... and ... all you asked for? 

Was to Look Amazing.

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We need a reality check, girls.  Perhaps you're feeling overwhelmed and anxious by your less-than-perfect results because you were expecting perfection?

I get flack for saying things like this, because to some in the community, it's "so negative."  But, it's not.

  • It's about feeling good about what you DO HAVE!
  • Being happy about what you CAN accomplish!
  • What you HAVE done!
  • And what you MAY do in the future.  

Becoming an image of post WLS perfection is not necessary.  You are perfect already.  You need only get healthier.

Setting unrealistic goals for yourself and finding that you cannot reach those goals is a tried and true route to failure.  Ask anyone who has already dieted themselves back to pre-op weight.

Yeah, I'd love to do a IRONMAN/marathon/jogwalk a 5k....someday.  But, am I getting myself all worked up because my peers might have tried and succeeded at it (GO THEM!  THEY ROCK!) -- and NOT ME?  NO!  (Heh, read this, my laziness is hereby CONFIRMED!  SCREW THE TREADMILL!) 

Everyone has a different level of success -- and amazing-ness -- and maybe for YOU?  

  • GETTING THE MAIL IS AMAZING ENOUGH RIGHT NOW. 
  • Walking the dog.
  • Cleaning your house.
  • Doing your laundry.
  • Not falling into a bag of Cheez-its!
  • Remaining upright and not peeing yourself in a seizure today!
  • (Okay, that one was mine.)
  • EACH LITTLE THING IS AMAZING.  

You do not NEED the perfect body, the perfect food, or the perfect exercise.  You didn't have any of that prior to your surgery, nor the perfect family, life, or job, before -- why must it happen RIGHT THIS MOMENT?  Do you realize how much stress you could simply GIVE AWAY if you let go of some of the ideals that you THINK you HAVE TO HAVE? 

Weight loss surgery does not change anything about you, except the physical route of food in your digestive system.  For some reason, when folks have a bypass, they "become" someone else... someone new.  Some say it's a "rebirth."  Sometimes this new person is super. She's... motivated, pleasant, and successful.  But, not always.  

WLS does NOT fix your brain, (and your brain is marinated in FAT) it merely unearths what was a bit sideways inside you and brings it to the surface at some point.  It could be at six months post op or ten years post op.  You will wear it, and no amount of obsessive carb counting or plastic surgery will remove it.  

WLS does not make you amazing.  You make you amazing.  Think about it.

 
9 comments

Stomach Surgery To Get Thin... But Not Necessarily Happy? Her

Sep 16, 2010

 Stomach Surgery To Get Thin... But Not Necessarily Happy? 
Here it comes.

RIP Lisa Sohr.  A beautiful soul.

Thin050509_1_400

http://nymag.com/nymetro/health/features/1868/ from 2005

I vividly remember this woman and this article:  

My Life as a Thin Person

People like Lisa Marie Sohr, who lose 100 pounds or more with stomach surgery, find that with their new bodies often come new friends, new spouses, new lives. But happiness is not a foregone conclusion.

 (I reposted this article on my own blog in 2005, probably back on Blogspot.)

I remember this clearly as it spooked me.  I was only one year post op, and pushing my own lowest weight.  But, I knew it was realistic if a bit dark, and I have never once held out to anything wild or crazy in my own expectations.  

Looking back, reading articles like that gave me a good balance between the mass postings and books filled with --

"YOU CAN DO IT!  Look at ME!  I did it!  Look at my size ZERO! GLITTER AND BUTTERFLIES and XXX POUNDS LOST FOREVAH!  THANKS TO BABY JESUS AND MY SURGEON!" 

No.  No, sometimes you can't, or you simply feel like you can't.  (Save it.)

Post-ops do not talk about this stuff openly often enough.  

According to everything I have read and listened to in the last seven years (as a non-professional, just a peer with lots of people talking to her, please do not give me another speech about "professional," if you want a PRO - go find one) there is a G I G A N T I C hole in the care of psychological and psychosocial issues in the post op world of bariatric surgery.

More often than not, people struggle.  People struggle harder than you may ever realize.

Sometimes simply seeing your peers succeed and blow past you -- is enough to make you wallow in a pit of Lucky Charms. What happens with bigger life stresses?  What then?  If you never learned how to cope, and do not have the capacity or the means to find help in learning how to cope?  

How does this manifest for you?  Eating problems, inappropriate behaviors, transfer addictions to drugs, alcohol, spending money, gambling, promiscuous behavior, compulsivity or being totally reckless with your life?  

Short answer:  YES.

(I actually feel lucky at times, that even with added stresses and issues, that I have been able to maintain some a little sanity.  However, I am perfectly aware that I am six degrees of separation from a padded cell if I don't pay attention.)

I fear that there is so much attention placed on being a successful weight LOSS patient, and a successful re-loss patient, that lots of people forget about being a healthy person.  You can't have an entirely healthy person without a (somewhat) sound mind.  It's like, "GET TO YOUR GOAL WEIGHT AND STAY THERE AND YOU WIN!  Forget about your family, job, life, goals, they don't matter so much as HOW GOOD THIN FEELS!"  

To me, it's all backwards.  But, again, I am not in the business of selling weight loss surgery, and instant gratification results sell, amazingly well.  

Bariatric surgery is NOT going away, "we" are only getting more obese by the day, and "we" are going to be scheduling more and more bariatric procedures as "we" need them.  There will be countless less-than-stable individuals adding to our current pool.  

We obviously have work to do, as post ops who are aware of these issues.  We don't need to lose another peer.  Doctors can only do so much, they have a job, "to surgically alter the digestive tract," they do not alter our brains.  (That will happen, eventually.)

_________________________________________

*Lisa Sohr committed suicide, article here.

http://www.meltingmama.net/wls/2010/09/stomach-surgery-to-get-thin-but-not-necessarily-happy-here-it-comes.html

12 comments

Giveaways and Swag!

Sep 14, 2010

Giveaways for the Walk From Obesity + Swag Bags!

I have several giveaways currently running to raise funds for the Massachusetts Walk From Obesity

WLS-Bariatric-Bad-Girls-Club-Support-Bracelet_W0QQitemZ320581412417QQihZ011QQcategoryZ92727QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

To enter to win any of the following, make a donation of any size to the Walk or join the team and raise funds with us, and ALSO leave a comment on the prizes you'd like - all necessary links are in the following:

  • From About Time - Nom! Protein!
  • From CLICK Espresso Protein - My biggest giveaway ever, here.
  • From The Enchanted Seed - Wicked awesome pretties, here.
  • From Building Blocks - Super delish protein, here.
  • From Teresa - Handmade jewelry set, here.
  • More prizes on the way!

For local peeps that join Team MM and the Bariatric Bad Girls, you will receive a bag'o'swag from MM and vendors alike.  The more interest generated, the more I can add to the bags, so, MOVE YOUR BUTTS.  :)

Swag bags to include love from -

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Vendors -

  • If you'd like to DONATE A PRIZE that you can ship direct to the winner, email me ASAP at [email protected]
  • If you have a product or equivalent for my swag bags, also email me now at [email protected]

Thank you!

0 comments

Unflavored UNJURY Whey Protein Isolate

Sep 14, 2010

Unflavored UNJURY Whey Protein Isolate

DSC_5358 There are a few products that are staples in the bariatric world that I have never ventured out and tried. UNJURY Unflavored Whey Protein Powder is one of them.  (I did try their Chicken Soup flavor, because it was something different and salty, and I am a sodium lover, hello Ramen Noodle Broth.) 

UNJURY was around back when I was a bariatric baby, in fact, there weren't many options back then for protein, I bought what I could find at GNC and that was that.

Today, I tried Unflavored UNJURY Protein.  It's an affordable source of whey protein isolate.  It is, $16.95 for 17 servings.

Unflavored protein for a bariatric post op is like the HOLY GRAIL. 

All of us obsess about it, "OMG WHAT IF I AM NOT GETTING ENOUGH PROTEIN?  CAN I PUT PROTEIN IN MY FOOD?  WILL I TASTE IT? OMG!"  We all do it.  But, finding a protein that does not smell or taste like protein, might be harder than getting the protein minimums down to begin with.

I should note first, some details from UNJURY:

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Ingredients: Whey protein isolate and soy lecithin

Contains: Milk and soy.  ***Note: Soy ingredient is Soy Lecithin, not Soy Protein.

For all UNJURY flavors, do not use in liquids hotter than 130º F. Proteins, when heated, change texture. For example, you have seen an egg white go from a clear gel, to firm white, when cooked. For UNJURY, in a hot liquid, the proteins tend to clump. A food thermometer is a good way to get the temperature nicely warm…just right.

*Note: We don’t recommend mixing Unflavored UNJURY in plain water.

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I ripped open a single serving packet and sniffed.  It smells like protein.  A very strong whey protein smell, and almost slightly sour vanilla.  (I got the same reaction to the Chicken Soup variety -- which I immediately wondered "Why does this smell like vanilla?")

For review purposes, I like to mix the product as-is.  I added the packet of protein to a glass, and added cold water.  I broke the rule. To be honest, the PACKET does not say, do not mix with just water.  But, I have to taste the product - NOT what I am adding to TO. 

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The UNJURY protein powder may be one of the fluffiest appearing powders I've seen.  It's awfully purdy.  I mixed it with a whisk, and it took quite a long time to dissolve into the cold water.  It looked a bit horrid at a point:

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And, I thought I would abort mission and throw it away.

A bit more mixing, and the powder finally dissolved.  The resulting drink was a mostly smooth, sort of clear-ish, whey-looking yellowy liquid.  (Nursing moms?  Yeah, like that.)

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One sip, Beth.  One sip for a honest reaction, and then I would add it to a "preferred beverage" to give it a fair chance.

And -- one sip.  It tastes like UNFLAVORED WHEY PROTEIN.  Big shocker!  It smells like whey protein, and it tastes like whey protein.  The texture is okay, it's super-thin and there are very few chunks (curds?) floating about.  But, it tastes, because it has to.  It's the nature of the product.

Alone, it's not good.  Not at all.  They warned me.  I did not listen.

I bastardized UNJURY -  my apologies - but can coffee fix everything?

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After adding stuff TO the mixed Unflavored UNJURY, it's mouth-tolerable.  The taste isn't bad, the coffee covers of the flavor of UN.  As with other whey products it leaves a sticky mouth feel.  I am not a fan of this, and I immediately want to drink or eat more after I take in a sticky-whey product.

However, the odor is horrific.  I cannot get past the cup, even with coffee added.  Perhaps heated it would be better?  I don't know, but I am not loving this at all.

That said, it is a good quality product.

Nutrifact_uf
As a supplemental source of protein, it's great.  20 grams of high quality whey protein isolate with a PDCAAS score of 100?  Damn near perfect.

Form your own opinions - as always - try it for yourself. 

  • Product - UNJURY Unflavored Whey Protein Powder - Container
  • Via - UNJURY
  • Price - $16.95 for 17 servings
  • Pros - 100% PDCAAS Score, 20 grams whey protein isolate, decent texture, quite affordable
  • Cons - Somewhat lumpy, highly fragrant, effed up my preferred beverage
  • Rating - Pending, I am reading reviews elsewhere... I may try my other packet in a full-doctored up shake to confirm.
  • PS.  It took twenty minutes for the manufacturer to reply this post. 
  • Picture 12
10 comments

Schwing!

Sep 12, 2010

 

Sunday no sun.

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Mr. MM didn't finish his school-work in time this morning to get out of here to go apple picking, so we didn't apple pick. I am glad we didn't go today, because it was downright frigid!  Okay, so 65 degrees is not at all cold here, but waking up to a 57 degree house was BRISK.  Apple trees on a hill?  COLD-ER.  That, and I know it would be an easy $100+ trip with gas, apples, snacks.  It can wait.

(I miss my camera.  It's now at Nikon, so much for that one week turnaround.)

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Instead, we stayed around here, walked a couple miles and got cupcakes.  (Cupcakes negate the exercise?  NEVER.) 

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I bought a dozen, because I wanted one of each flavor, and each of us would get one, six of us, plus a couple days. I snagged two bites of the one I really thought I "wanted" -- and it was way too overwhelmingly sweet.

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It's not that they aren't great -- it's just not for me.  We shared some with the kids and a friend when we got back, and I'm not tempted.  I sort of like that feeling.   They're in the kitchen, I don't care.  :)   I won't buy them again. 

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The playground was f r e e z i n g today, but fun!

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0 comments

Wahhmbulance!

Sep 09, 2010

Wahhmbulance.

www.nataliedee.com
www.nataliedee.com

Last night Mr. MM was whining about some gas pain, when he ate a protein bar on top of the existing bubble problem in his intestinal tract. 

A little advice, if you take nothing else from me ever again:  Do not eat a protein bar when you already have a GAS bubble floating down your pipes.

I told him, do not eat the bar.  It will only make it worse, you know better.

I noticed he disappeared shortly after eating the bar, leaving his computer on.  I found him in bed, laying in the fetal position with his eyes half-shut. 

"It hurts so bad. I am dying."

I laughed.  I couldn't help it, as I've been in the same "position" countless times before, thinking I am going to drop dead of a intestinal blockage or something, to realize that I REALLY NEED TO FART.

*Disclaimer - If you are a early post op with intense pain in your gut that has no explanation, go to the doctor.  Do not wait.  Thank you.  Also?  Post RNY gas pain happens, A LOT.  We do not digest fiber, sugar alcohol and carbs the same way EVER AGAIN.  YOU WILL FART LIKE CRAZY when you eat those things.

He moved from fetal position, to laying down, to all fours, to rocking, to one leg up, to two legs, to standing, to walking, jogging, pacing, and went downstairs.  He searched the medicine cabinet for GAS-X and we were out of it.

He came back up stairs, doing lunges by the bed. 

"O M G, OMG OMG OMG."

All the while I am watching, knowing he has to fart, because the man ate a protein bar filled with excess fiber on top of a huge gas bubble.

I got on his back and pushed, did baby massage thing, "Aiiiiiiiiiiiyeeeeeeeeeeeeeouuuuuuccccch!"

There was no relief.  This went on for a couple hours.  He was burping, so it was almost like a stuckage AND a gas bubble issue at the same time. 

At the peak -- he thought maybe his intestines were herniating and had to go to the hospital.  For a moment, I considered it.  I thought about driving the couple exits up to the ER with him, and all four kids, and then I told him to fart. 

"There's no way, unless you are dying." 

Boys are dramatic.  Girls?  Can handle this shit.  Literally.  We bend, contort, and usually without bringing much of the outside world IN to it.  ;)

And then miracles!  While in a special position - POOT. 

"I feel a little bit better." 

And, this, for hours.  He's gone to work now, still miserable, and I am still laughing because I told him so.

 

 

 

 

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