BJean

NVgirl: Don't feel bad for not knowing what PB'ing means. We all asked that question and people who have heard the question hundreds of times may scoff and ignore you, but it is something we all were unsure of when we joined the forum. PB stands for "productive burp" which is not exactly the right terminology for what actually happens. Sometimes when you eat something too quickly or it is a texture that does not fully get broken down enough before you swallow it, you can have a very uncomfortable reaction. You get a pain in the region of your upper esophogus or in your chest or throat. If the pain is intense enough (because sometimes you can get uncomfortable but it passes without a PB) your mouth will begin to Water and you notice that there is a lot of slimy liquid that you must spit out. The pain intensifies and there is more slime and eventually you have a sort of uncontrolled reflux of partially digested (or chewed) food. It isn't actually as much as when you vomit, but it is more than just normal reflux or heartburn. Once you "spit up" the pain is relieved. This is something that I said I would never allow to happen to me. I would always be careful, chew completely (at least 20 to 30 times per bite), I would take very small bites and I would eat very slowly. One of the tricks is, by the way, to allow yourself some time after each bite so that you can know for sure if the food has actually gone past that area where it can cause a PB. However I have PB'ed. In fact I have done it several times. I believe almost every one does it sometimes. It helps to be able to get up and walk around, loosen your waistband and perhaps your bra, but if you've eaten too quickly, it is probably going to happen no matter what. If you PB regularly, I have been told that you can actually get in the habit of vomiting and that is when you can cause the problem of band slippage and irritation of the site and possibly erosion of the area around the band. None of these things is good and you do want to avoid them! Besides, it is painful and no fun. I hope this explains it and I don't want to scare you because as I said, I believe just about everyone experiences it, and when it's overwith you feel fine again. But I do want to caution you to eat very slowly and take small bites so that you can avoid PB'ing almost 100% of the time.

Family dynamics are awfully strange. For years, I thought we were all so close and loved each other unconditionally. Once we (4 children) were grown, things became very complicated and competitive. Both my parents have died and my sister who was 13 months older than I, also died. My older brother and sister hardly ever talk to each other and although I email my brother and his wife, I hardly ever talk to my sister and her children. I never, ever thought I would see the day when I was estranged from a family member. I work hard to keep the lines of communication with my sister open, out of respect for my mother, but my sister is so wierd, and so volatile sometimes, I am kinda scared of her. Who needs to unleash those hounds?

Green: How would you deal with a scenario whereby your Christian social right started shouting to the rooftops that anyone who disagreed with their stance on a person's right to choose and same sex marriages, was anti-Christian and going against the Bible? Not only that, what if they came into power and used their power to influence every aspect of the government and your military? What if the leftists became completely impotent and you even had to worry because your elections appeared to be fixed?

crabcake: That one is positive rather than negative. I like that!

My current weight is 177 - for the July challenge.

Green! :heh: "You can choose your friends, but your family is a curse from God" is hilarious! I always thought the saying, "You can choose your friends, but not your family" said it well but Green, yours is much more accurate most of the time! And Green, if I could be 5'9" (like my older sister) I would be much closer to my goal weight!! AND I could reach things on the top self of my cabinets. And it would be much easier to kiss my DH when I'm standing next to him. And a million other reasons why being 5'9" would be awesome!!!

lisa: The scenario you mentioned is similar to some of the things I have been witness to over the years. It is what laurend mentioned earlier... the epitome of hypocrisy!

lethea g: You are a smart, consciously aware person. Not all people who attend church are paying as much attention as you. I believe we can attend church and be spiritual and worship Him without getting sucked into the church's agenda politically, but it is very, very difficult sometimes!

TOM: This goes back to a thread where we discussed clerical political influence. Several Christians jumped in and hotly declared that they have never witnessed their minister or priest telling the congregation how to vote. They couldn't believe I would suggest such a thing. As far as I'm concerned, they're burying their heads in the sand of religious rhetoric and that is exactly how the heads of their church are able to tell them how to vote without even saying the words, "You must vote for ___________(fill in the blank.) It also goes to the question of why otherwise very good Christians can say that Bush's actions in Iraq have been for the good of the people of the United States, and why they might also agree with Pat Robertson, for instance, that he was called by God to lead this country.

Oh really? :eek:

I'm in for the July 4th Challenge! Let's just hope I can actually make a dent in my weight this time! The St. Patrick's day challenge went practically unnoticed by me 'n my band. I am supposed to be getting another fill on Tuesday. I am going to freak if this doesn't help!!! I've had 5 fills already and still not losing well. Still hungry almost all the time. Still able to eat too much. Starting weight 218 - 177current - 140goal Surgery date: September 11, 2006 I'll weigh in the morning to set my July 4th start point. Good luck everyone!~!

Well said, laurend.

Did Bush go to Congress and say I want to "shock and awe" downtown Bagdad? Did he say I think we'll need to be over there for years and years? Did he say it's going to cost more lives than we lost on 9-11? Did he say not only do I want you to give me the authority to wage war on Iraq, I want you to allow me to do anything else that I think may be necessary, even if it means that I will wind up holding people without charges for years? Well no, he didn't actually say all those words, but that's exactly what he decided to do when they gave him the ability to "shock and awe" at his own discretion. And his reign of terror continues and many people in the U.S. still believe that it was all necessary and important. How can they? I read a piece that gave a chronological order of events in Iraq and it included the things that we did to help Saddam Hussein become the leader of Iraq. It is complicated the way things have all unfolded in Iraq and the Middle East, but we've become no better than many of them, and I am the very most upset about him using American citizens as pawns in this game of Bush's. Yes, most of the pawns are military and yes, they know they are trained to go to war and to not ask questions of their leaders but that they just must follow orders, at all costs. And of course their families and loved ones want, NEED, to believe that their sons and daughters are risking their lives for very good reasons. It continues to tear this country apart! Arguing that what Bush has done up to this point in time is right, when it is so completely obvious that what Bush did was and is wrong, is very sad to me. It makes my heart hurt.

Stacy: Did you get your band? How are you doing?

Reading your stories makes me thankful indeed for my devoted mother. I used to complain because she never sat down and told me what happens to girls when they start their periods, and she never told me about boys, even when I was engaged to be married. She worked for the health department and she gave my sister and me pamphlets! In her defense, her mother died when Mom was in the 9th grade and her siblings were two very much older sisters who had already left home. She lived with her dad (who was an oil man) and he sure wasn't equipped to tell her anything. So she was just flat too embarrassed to say the words menstruate or sex after never having had anyone say them aloud to her. I will never complain again about the pamphlets though, she did the best she could and she loved her children almost to a fault. I also never thought I'd be glad I was the smallest person in my class all through school. I was always so envious of the taller, stronger girls! I had no idea that height could be a burden too. Turned out that I was pretty much a late bloomer (although I never did get very tall).

TOM: That's strange. I haven't ever noticed that about them quoting the Old Testament more. Why is that? Because it doesn't address the issues of hope and charity as much?

Bubble you are right on about the real estate taxes in Texas. The "independent school district" add-ons jack them up considerably. We thought our real estate taxes in Florida were bad, but then we moved to Texas. It definitely was shocking when we got our first tax bill on our new house. We don't escrow so I have to be sure I have at least $9000 in cash at the ready when the end of the year rolls around. With the low interest rates in Texas and the comparatively reasonable construction costs, lots of people get in over there heads here. The homes are so well built and finished out so beautifully that the temptation to over buy is too great. In other states where we've lived, the tendancy is to just buy the size home you actually need. You know what they say.... everything is bigger in Texas! Good for you for being able to cash in on the problem. By the way, once you buy a home here it's impossible to move almost anywhere else and be happy with what kind of home you can buy. Ft. Worth is one of the most reasonable home markets in the country.

When the settlers were headed west from the east coast, they came upon a sign that read, "Texas to the left, Oklahoma right" Those who could read went to Oklahoma. eh or something like that. It's late.

I'm no expert but PB'ing isn't when you gag yourself to relieve the pain. That's a whole 'nuther can o' worms. PB'ing is a bit like having reflux only on a much bigger scale. It definitely is the result of eating too quickly or taking too big a bite. Or it can be from a certain type of food. chicken, especially white meat, is nearly impossible for me. Soft breads... bad! Fish, ground beef or turkey and crackers or tostitos go down much easier. But anything you try to eat too quickly or take a large bite of is going to probably cause you grief. Making yourself gag to bring up the food that is causing pain, is not good. I've read here too many people who have done it that later worry that they've caused themselves to slip the band or something. You are probably really irritated, possibly swollen from the bahavior. The swelling will also exacerbate the problem and inhibit eating comfortably. So cut it out now and know that meals are supposed to take at least twice as long (as much as 45 minutes - but no longer than 45 minutes) as it used to take you to eat. Another tip, if you're getting so hungry that you're needing to get some food down quickly, eat less at each sitting and eat something more often. Once you get the area calmed down and working normally, you may not need to eat between meals. But smaller meals, smaller bites and slower eating is what you probably need right now. Good luck!!!

Bubble I realize that this will be a lot like asking if I know a friend of yours who lives in Texas, but I have a friend who worked in Oncology at the Mayo - Carol Kane, later Carol Lemke. Any knowledge of her? An awesome, awesome lady who took great pride in the work she did at Mayo. A few years ago, they saved her husband too, from esophogeal cancer.

Was that what that little building was?? Ok whatever they told us said that most people would think that Tejas was the term for friend and that most people think that's why it is so accepted in Texas, but that it really didn't start out that way. I will ask the "other" half (he's in trouble tonight) if he remembers what they told us. To be honest, I don't think it was the Alamo.

Carlene: Now you're beginning to sound like Quebec, Canada.

If I remember correctly, back then the sales tax was high in AZ as well as a nasty personal property tax that we had to pay every year.

Bubble: Once again, I'm a little slow on the uptake. Do you live in Texas? Or own property here? I thought you lived in Arizona? How is Texas' tax situation worse (?) than Arizona. Admittedly it was a long time ago since I lived in Arizona and things could be much different there now. If that's the case, I wouldn't mind moving there when DH retires.

laurend: That is disgusting! 9.75 percent sales tax? Far out! When I moved to Texas from Orlando, which had 6% sales tax, I went into shock everytime I bought anything. But 9.75%! Good grief!!!