As I am getting o-l-d-e-r I have been noticing things that are not quite the way I like them...you know, how your body changes over time, new aches and pains, and my latest blurred vision.  For the last several days my left eye has been itching and feels like my the tears in my ducts have been replaced with sand.  I keep using drops which really hasn't helped and I am almost thinking the change is due to allergies.  At least in a few months that will be over but what about my sudden urges to use reading glasses ("readers" as I call them).  Yes, my vision has been changing (although according to my eye doctor, I am still 20/20) and the technician who did all my "pre-see the optomotrist" tests showed me something I had never seen in my last 25 years of having eye exams.  She took out a card with different font sizes and asked me which one I could see the best.  I think I told her 1.0 so she commented that I would need to pick up some reading glasses at the drug store.  Fortunately I don't need to wear them all of the time and I am hoping my focus issues will only be temporary or of no great concern.    But in the world of social media, is it our eyes that are out of focus or are we just ridiculous. Facebook is a wonderful place to catch up with friends from the past or present and even the future but what exactly does this "social" media mean to you?  To me, I want to see what my friends are up to.  Where they are going on vacation.  To see photos of their children and to be able to support them (as in prayer) or them for me when we need it.  I hear people all the time talk about how some "friend's" post irritates them.  That they don't care about the drama going on in that person's life.  That we don't care WHERE you ate dinner or WHAT you ate for dinner or WHO you ate dinner with.  Now I do have a couple of friends that some of their posts are on the ridiulous side but I am not walking in their shoes and it might be that facebook is their therapy.  It's inexpensive and there are many people out there that do care and want to help (I love those friends who are up to any task!!!)  And there are some of my friends who post things that I am not comfortable reading (sometimes REALLY uncomfortable) or sometimes the posts are out of line so yes, I occasionally block some status updates from showing up on my wall.  I don't "unfriend" them, I don't want to be mean...they haven't done anything to me and again, I am not living their life.  Plus, who am I to think I should be able to tell someone what they should or shouldn't write on FB.  We all know facebook is what you make it and if you want to talk about bunyons on your feet or extractring fat out of the dark meat of a chicken, have a go!!!  If I don't like it, I don't have to read it, right? I have one "friend" in particular that has taken a "holier than thou" stance (well, she is no longer a facebook friend but is my real life friend, in my opinion. NOTE: I may not be hers though) who slammed on so many posts by people on facebook (and a lot by me it seems) that I decided that this social network didn't have the same meaning to us so I ended our facebook friendship (which she also slammed.) It seemed she wanted me to stop posting about getting my nails done or what a crappy day at work I had and start sharing information that can educate others who read my (very trite and boring, according to her) posts with some pharmaceutical facts so that others can learn about the business I am in.  This is funny on so many levels...those of you who truly know me know that if I could do it over, I wouldn't have chosen the career I did.  This person is included in that list so why would she suggest that I start giving vitamin advice on facebook? HELLLLLLLOOOOO....THAT isn't going to happen.  I am on facebook to get away from work.  Do I often get questions inboxed to me about medicine or appropriate choices of meds for kids from my friends....of course I do and I enjoy answering them.  I have recieved requests to write recommendation letters, etc. and I love this about facebook.  It is a place where you can build professional bonds with some of your friends!!!  But I am not going to clog my "wall" with drug information or scientific facts (she'd probably then say I was being a know it all) as I would much rather have it full of all the farmville tasks I completed in a day.  (WOW, could you imagine how she feels about the games on facebook???) This friend even told me I complained all the time about work, health issues, etc and basically my posting was not up to her standards.  So tonight I am up at 3am (second night in a row) after dreaming my husband took off to Mexico (we've been discussing planning a fabulous vacation in Cancun...could this have triggered that dream?) and I was wide awake so I am now on the sofa watching my "insomnia movie" (You've Got Mail) and doing a little writing.  But I also have been reading the posts of my friends and reading about their crappy days at work and their headaches and aches and pains and I just smile (not at their woes) because they are like me...just writing to vent and to see what friend will come to the rescue.  I also appreciate when one of my friends post how they or someone they know need prayer.  I do say a prayer for them...it may not be a 10 minute articulate prayer but it is ususally on the lines of "God, I do not know what (insert facebook friend's name or the person my friend is lifting up) needs, but you do and I pray that you will help the person to get them thru this situation, whatever it is, you know and are capable..Amen"  Well, my friend (lets call her Angel to be a tad bit sarcastic) even told me that when people post prayer requests she doesn't like it (go figure, right?) It appears that Angel has BIG goals for her facebook account.  It is NOT to keep up with her friends but to make MORE AND MORE possible customers.  She wants numbers, the larger the better...and I respect that as she is trying to set up a fan base for her "business adventure" (I am not giving specifics, I'm in no way trying to out her as a Facebook Nazi---that's a joke, take it as it was meant) and that is fine but if you want to do that, maybe you should have a page for friends and family and then one for people- you- don't -know- you -just -want -them- to -support -you- in -your- business- adventure.  (NOTE: Angel does have two accounts...one for family and one for professional contacts...but not one for friends which she lumps together with all of those "people- you- don't- know- you- just -want -them- to -support - you-in -your- business- adventure...I find this intersting, do you?)  Not that advancing your dream of a career is wrong...I support that...but missing out on what your friends are doing because it is boring and you don't even pretend to hide your disgust for manicures, haircuts and headaches shows that this social network should be renamed a professional network, or at least for this one. I noticed many times (before I unfriended her) how when she would post about shopping for jewelry, planning a vacation or some trivial task which was totally ok for her to do but if a "friend" posted something she didn't like on her page (umm when one "said friend" challenged her argument about how boring peoples' posts are---pssst, I didn't know it was ME she was writing about) she WENT OFF (and thus I felt the need to end our facebook relationship.)  It seems, she could write about anything and everything she wanted but if you did not share HER opinion on HER wall, your comments were not welcome!!!  Well, my comments were not welcome because I was trying to give the "other side of the story" which I felt was responsible journalism.  I even asked her (still in a VERY friendly manner) why she felt it was ok to decide what someone could and could not write on THEIR OWN STATUS?  Honestly, I don't remember if she answered that or not or what ever happened there, but I'm pretty sure she would still to this day feel her opinion IS the correct one.  So those of you reading this blog, it is coming on spring, and I have begun the spring cleaning in our home....it could be time to clean out that "friend" closet.  I'm not trying to make enemies.  But if  you can't answer my question "why do you want to be my facebook friend if you never said a word to me in highschool?"  then maybe it's time to crunch numbers.  I use to think it would hurt my feelings if my friends were to unfriend me but I don't think it would.  If I am not "doing it" for you thru my status updates, you can (save my feelings) block my boring life tales from hitting your wall or just go ahead and call it quits and hit "unfriend." I read something the other day that reminded me of this not so angelic tale...."facebook makes you love people you don't know and hate those you do."  That makes me quite sad because I can remember how exciting it was to find someone you hadn't seen in years and got to catch up and be happy you had found a blast from your past.  I am still looking for some lost friends and am hoping to find them one day.  I am not here to be friends with just anyone (no, I am not trying to sound like a facebook snob) but with people whom I really want to know what is going on in their lives.  I do not want MY facebook to make me love people I don't know (although that is ok) and hate those I do know.    So now, after posting this, I might notice my friend number drop...that's ok.  I'm just me and I'm going to clean my "glasses" so I can see clearly!!!  Some people try to make their life sound perfect and everyone knows that the grass is NOT greener on the other side...there are weeds in every yard!!!

draft

So much to say....

My name is Yums, and I am addicted.....to blogging.  This is my third blog in the past three hours but one of my friends posted on facebook that she needed something funny to read because she cut her pinkie off (seriously, part of it is gone) and is in pain and needed something to get her mind off of it.  Feeling sorry for her and her pain, I decided to tell her about something that happened at the State Fair when we were there two days ago.

My husband and I were walking off all of the food we had been eating since we walked thru the gate of the state fair when we heard the gun shots from the turkey shoot.  We decided to walk over to see what was going on and as we approached the area, the guy with the microphone (the "turkey shoot emcee" we will call him) called out to my hubby by saying the name of the restaurant that was on his t-shirt.  My husband looked up and the guy asked him "Did you check your daughter out of school to bring her to the fair?"  I immediately smiled (at least on the inside) because I knew he was telling my grey haired husband of forty-two that I looked a lot younger than he did (which enforced that the ridiculous amount of money I spend on hair color is so worth it) but my hubs didn't get the joke and a little befuddled responded "We don't have any kids" to which I whispered to him "he was talking about me!" After his delayed reaction of catching emcee's funny, Yucks (that is my nickname for my husband which might explain Yums to those of you who know me and wondered where the heck did that come from!!!) mischieviously said "this is my girlfriend" and I (looking as serious as possible) looked up to emcee on the platform and said "his wife is at home!"  Emcee shocked and speechless said "umm...I'm not touching that one!!!" We started laughing and said "just kidding" and I held up my left hand and said "I'm the wife."  At this point three or four young'uns (I'm a southern gal) standing in front of us probably in their late teens/early twenties started laughing at our joke and I explained that we had used that one before when one of the guys turned to us and with the most mortified look on his face said "I thought you were serious!!"  I hope he at least thought it was funny!!!


Note about photo:  I was taking a picture of a cow that looked like an oreo cookie and in the stall next to said cow, this cow came over and literally posed for this picture!!!  I love the fair!!!

B12...the search continues

Since sharing my first blog, I have received questions about B12 and what kind I am taking/how much etc.  I first want to say that this information is my journey and is not my promoting the use of the vitamin for weight loss.  My husband's favorite quote is "knowledge is power" and that is what I am doing.  I want people to be informed enough to make the decision for themselves. 

As a pharmacist, I get questions all the time from customers who are tired and lack energy.  Other than getting the proper amount of sleep, our recommendation has been good ole' vitamin B.  I usually recommend the B-complex because of the benefits those B vitamins.  There is a product in a liquid that you use sublingually (there's that word again....so there must be something in using it that way) that contains all the B vitamins...

I'm going off on a tangent right here to give some good information that I learned when I was on one of my rotations during pharmacy school.  My FAVORITE preceptor had an extensive OTC (over the counter) review which asked questions about what ingredient was in each product, how it worked and who would benefit from them.  She also encouraged me to learn the RDA of each of the vitamins.  (RDA is recommended daily allowance) and well, that was almost 20 years ago and although I do not remember those exact numbers, I do remember many things that have been very helpful over the past 16 years as a pharmacist....so here is our pharmacy lesson for today......
How do you remember which number correlates with the  B vitamins.  This is catchy and you won't forget it!!!
The  "B" vitamin              It's "B" number                                 Word to remember
Thiamine                                B1                                                           "The"
Riboflavin                              B2                                                         "Rabbit"
Niacin                                     B3                                                         "Never"
Pyridoxine                             B6                                                           "Peels"
Cyanocobalamin                   B12                                                       "Carrots"

Now this information may not be helpful to most of you, but if you are a student in the medical field or just would like to know something catchy to impress your friends, here you go.  Some of you might be thinking "Hey smartie, there are other B vitamins that you haven't listed" and well, that is correct...there are four more, but they didn't fit in this cute little saying so we won't be too worried about those.  But feel free to come up with a phrase that includes all of the B vitamins if you fell like it.  :-)

So back to B12 and it's possible use in weight loss?  Is it safe to take B vitamins at any quantity?  My answer as a pharmacist if someone were to ask me this at my pharmacy would be---B vitamins are water soluble meaning the body takes what it needs an eliminates the rest.  I just googled this to see if anything has changed since I was in pharmacy school and learned that there are some problems if you take too much of some of the B vitamins.  According to Wiki (I know, not a solid resource but we all use it daily), there is no known toxicity of taking too much B12.  I do not encourage taking excessive amounts without talking to your physician first.  Remember, my blog is to relay my personal journey or what I call my own clinical trial where I am the lab rat so please do your own research before you take amounts that are above what is recommended on the product package.

I will now begin my search of what the experts say about B12 and weight loss.  So far what I have found is very interesting.  But I will close with what I have found that makes me feel encouraged....

B12 is used in the metabolism of fat and protein for energy...HELLO...metabolism???? and more importantly metabolism of FAT???  Isn't that what has stopped working in my body over the past five years??  I am intrigued......

My first blog...Vitamin B12...can it be used for weight loss???

Today I decided to begin blogging.  A work associate told me I should blog about our customers and the funny (and sometimes scary) stuff they do.  I decided that I would write about things that matter to me.  Right now, at forty years old, I am searching for answers to medical issues to find out what approach I should take as I begin my journey into the unknown female destination of menopause....will I take estrogen, what about bio-identical hormones, how can I eat better, why do I keep gaining weight? 
STOP, right there...this problem has been plaguing me for about five years.  Seven years ago I weighed a lot less than I do now..about forty pounds less and exercise and diet really haven't helped me.  I guess I should be honest.  I really hate dieting and exercising.  A year ago I decided that I would run in my first 5K four days after my 40th birthday.  I begin training and actually enjoyed it.  But then I was slapped in the face and sadly developed the beginning of a stress fracture in my right foot.  After about four months the fracture was all healed and I was released to run again. I started at the beginning and was trying to get ready for my running debut a few months later, but my foot kept hurting and swelling which made me have to accept the hard truth...I am NOT going to be a runner.  I decided to try something else.  I have always loved "playing" tennis (I guess I should actually say "hit the tennis ball in the hopes of getting it over the net") and a couple of months ago I began taking lessons.  I quickly fell madly in love with this game and at forty years old I was very proud with how well I was moving on the court.  After about 6 lessons I was ready to join a group of ladies who competed and my coach seemed to think I was pretty good (or at least he kind of implied that I was!!!)  Then, on September 16 as we began my lesson, I heard and felt a pop in my right calf muscle.  The pain was intense and well, the look on Coach Nate's face told me I wouldn't be playing anymore tennis for awhile.  I made it to the car (with a little help) and managed to drive home and make it inside to the sofa.  I grabbed my laptop and quickly googled (my favorite verb) "calf muscle pop" and was not encouraged with what I read.  I decided to do what I could do with the internet suggestions to treat myself so I began elevating and icing the muscle but within an hour I knew that I better contact the ortho doc who treated me for my stress fracture because I knew they would be closing early on Friday (the next day) and I didn't want to go the whole weekend in such pain.  Thankfully they managed to squeeze me in and my fear of a muscle tear was relieved when I was told that I had a muscle strain and that it would take six weeks to heal.  It appeared that my muscle kind of "stretched" a bit and scar tissue would have to fill the area that was injured.  I was thrilled that it wasn't a tear but knew it wasn't going to be easy as the PA asked what we were going to "do about work?"  and told me they would be giving me a lift to put in my shoe to relieve some of the work the muscle was required to do while walking.  So now four weeks later, I am walking better and the pain is minimal but I still cannot play any tennis.  I have been released to ride a stationary bike!!! LOL

So what does this have to do with B12 and weight loss you might ask if I haven't bored you to tears yet???  A few weeks ago a customer walked up to my pharmacy counter and wanted to know what the difference was between two bottles of vitamin B12?  I took a look at the bottles and explained to him that the only differences were the strength and one of them was a sublingual tablet (meaning you dissolve the tablet under the tongue like patients who experience chest pain do with Nitroglycerin.)  He went on to tell me about one of his friends who had lost twenty pounds by taking B12 (but I do not remember if he took oral B12 or injectable B12) and he really would like to lose some weight so he wanted to try it.  I told him that I had heard of B12 helping people lose weight and actually knew someone who went to a diet clinic and B12 injections was part of her treatment.  As a pharmacist of 16 years, I couldn't tell you why this should work but I did recall a pharmacist that I worked with a few years ago tell me that a friend of his took B12 and lost "a lot of weight" and well, my interest in the B12 connection and weight loss began.  I bought me a bottle of those sublingual tablets since I knew that anything under the tongue didn't have to compete in the stomach or fight for it's life amongst the acid swimming around in the gut and decided, hey, why not give it a try, the only thing I have to lose is weight!!!  That was 13 days ago and so far I am down a little over 3 pounds.  That may not seem like much to most people, but to me it is incredible.  Last year I began an exercise program that swore it would have me slim in less than two months and I KILLED myself for over 5 weeks and didn't lose not one pound.  THAT was very disappointing.
The other reason this three pounds is so important to me is because during these 13 days I have eaten HORRIBLY.  I have baked three pound cakes in the last 3 weeks (working to perfect my cake creation in order to enter it into the state fair) and well, I did eat quite a bit of those cakes.  I also went to the state fair and consumed WAY too many calories two days ago and had a family get together with my husband's family yesterday and those aunts can cook some good country food and desserts!!!  But today, I was down another 0.4 pound.  The only change I have made (other than eating more than usual) is taking those B12 tablets.
I now am very curious about what the experts say about B12 and weight loss?  I will begin googling again to see what they know and will continue taking those little tablets that could!!!
Stay tuned.....