Sansa

I had my surgery about 5 months ago and have developed a funny little quirk since then. Whenever I eat and get full, I start sneezing! I suspect that some nerve that runs from my stomach up my throat into my nasal passages must get agitated when my stomach is stretched. It's actually kind of funny how my family knows that I'm full whenever I start having sneezing fits after eating. Does anyone else experience this or any other quirks since your surgery?

I think that it is fun how we all seem to have internal alarm clocks that go off in burps, hiccups, and sneezes when we get full.

no, it's not just you. I had my surgery about 5 months ago and stay hungry most of the time. I find that I have to eat or drink a shake every 2 hours or so. I have found that eating fiber pills, carrots, or other veggies help me stave off hunger. I have also been trying appetite suppressants. Obestrim works great at alleviating my hunger but it also tends to keep me awake at night. Overall, I'm really disappointed that the surgery didn't alleviate my hunger like so many on this board claims that it does.

I am two months postop but experience pain when food enters my stomach. I try to chew my food really well but everything that is not pureed hurts. When can I expect to be able to eat regular food without experiencing pain when the food enters my stomach?

I am 3 weeks out but have only lost 5 lbs. I have been concentrating on limiting my intake to 600 calories and 60 grams of protein a day. My doctor didn't say anything in particular about sugars or carbs though. I have seen that some people on this board try to limit their sugars to 10 grams a day but that seems really low. Others concentrate on limiting their intake to under 40 grams of carbs a day. I was just curious about what kind of guidelines others try to follow as far as sugars and carbs? My opinion is that the sugar and carbs shouldn't really matter when I am only consuming 600 calories and 60 grams of protein but, since I haven't lost much weight, I'm beginning to wonder if it does matter?

I bought a Cuisinart Handy Prep 3 cup food processor. It's perfect for pureeing meat and veggies in with canned soups. I'm impressed with how powerful it is, however, it tends to puree everything rather than chop.

I am struggling with hunger myself at the moment. However, I have found that adding fiber to all of my protein shakes, puddings, and pureed meals seems to somewhat alleviate my hunger. I also set an alarm and force myself to eat something or have a shake every 2 hours. The biggest issue for me at the moment is trying to get to sleep at night when I am starving. I'm thinking that adding protein powders and fiber to pureed soup and meat for my last meal of the day is my best option right now.

Fibercons are Fiber pills that I picked up at the grocery store. They apparently expand in the stomach which explains how they could alleviate my hunger:http://www.fibercon.com/lc/answers Any kind of fiber will fill up the stomach though. I try to throw in a scoop of flax mill into all of my Protein shakes and puddings and my last meal of the day. I have also found an appetite suppressant called Obestrim to be somewhat helpful. It is supposedly a natural appetite suppressant and is available to buy online.

btw, I discovered today that swallowing a couple of fibercons on an empty stomach with water alleviated my hunger. I'm thinking that taking a couple at bedtime may help me make through the night a little better without being so hungry.

so what ways have you found to deal with your hunger and still lose weight, LeaveItToSleever? I have been trying to eat every 2 hours for 6 small meals a day, however, that means that my last meal is at 6-7 p.m. I am absolutely starving for the rest of the night. What diet do you follow as far as calories, proteins, and carbs?

I agree that hunger still feels like hunger and reflux like reflux and thirst like thirst. Taking antacids and drinking lots of water does absolutely nothing for my hunger. One of my main reasons for having the surgery was that I hoped that it would help me with hunger but, thus far, it hasn't. In fact, I have to deal with hunger a lot more since I can only take in 100-200 calories at a time.

Apparently, anyone who experiences hunger on a 600 calorie diet has either the mind and stomach of an infant or lacks control. I understand that you believe that people that claim to be hungry aren't actually hungry, however, denying the fact that people experience starvation on 600 calorie diet doesn't really help people who are actually hungry. Just because surgeons and drug companies selling expensive vsg surgeries try to convince you that vsg diminishes hunger does not actually mean that vsg diminishes hunger for everyone nor does it mean that starvation is gas, thirst, or lack of control. If I was a immoral surgeon and I told you that vsg would diminish hunger if only you pay me $5-$20+k but you were still hungry after the surgery anyways then I might try to blame you for being hungry on a 600 calorie diet by claiming that you have an immature stomach and mind or can't possibly tell the difference between hunger, gas, or thirst, or I might even insinuate that you lack control. I might pretty much say anything to keep you from suing me for making promises that I made in order to get your money for the surgery. My point is that insulting people that claim to be hungry by telling them that they aren't actually hungry isn't necessarily helping them like so many people on this board seem to think that it does. It is absolutely reasonable to acknowledge that the surgery does not diminish hunger for a lot of people. It is something that pre-ops need to be aware of before dishing out a lot of money.

How many grams of carbs a day should we have then on a 600 calorie, 60 grams of protein diet?

I don't understand why every time someone on this board says that he/she is hungry that others try to persuade he/she that he/she is confusing hunger with gas or thirst. We are all adults and know by now the difference between hunger, gas, and thirst. I was absolutely starving today but yet so many people on this board would seemingly have us all believe that I can't possibly be hungry on a 600 calorie diet! It really is ridiculous that everybody who claims to be hungry after surgery on this board is never taken seriously. It is entirely possible that the multitude of people who experience severe hunger after the surgery on a 600 calorie diet are actually...wait for it...HUNGRY.

I bought a treadmill and put it right in front of the television. I record my favorite shows but then only allow myself to watch them while I'm walking on the treadmill. I started with 15 mins and am now doing 20 mins a day 3 weeks out from the surgery. I have been having low energy problems since the surgery. Believe it or not, I was struggling to do the 15 mins after the surgery but, after a few weeks, the 20 mins fly by. I will probably add another 5 mins next week.

I'm 3 weeks out and had a handful of popcorn. It didn't bother me at all.

I am 3 weeks out and starving most of the time. I have found that adding fiber to my protein shakes and puddings tends to fill me up better. Being in the puree stage, I also am able to fill up on pureeing meat with canned soups. I must admit that I am discouraged too though because I was really hoping that the surgery would help me overcome hunger but it hasn't so far. I have also only lost 5 lbs since surgery. I'm not sure that I would have had the surgery if I had known that this would be the result. I actually just bought some appetite suppressants to help me with the hunger. I'm thinking that another way to deal with the hunger though is to make sure that we eat or drink something, no matter how small, every 2 hours. I have to set an alarm to remind myself. I find though that I am much more satiated if I force myself to have something every 2 hours than if I only eat or drink 3 times a day.

Ginger helps my nausea. I either cut up fresh ginger into tiny pieces and swallow them with water or I drink ginger tea. I have otherwise found protein drinks like Pure Protein to be too sweet and thick. I like Wonderslim protein drinks particularly because they are aspartame, soy, and dairy free.

Ginger helps with my nausea. I either cut up fresh ginger into tiny pieces and swallow them with water or I drink ginger tea.

I was glad that I had 2 nights in the hospital to recuperate enough for the ride home. I certainly didn't feel like getting into a plane for a long ride home. However, the 3 nights with Aceve sounds reasonable to me. I would just recommend making sure that you are completely doped up on pain medication for the trip home. I can tell you that I sure was happy to be home in my own bed without doctors and nurses waking me up every hour though. I didn't get any sleep in the hospital. I am 3 weeks out and am still debating about whether I am glad that I had the surgery or not. The surgery did not take away my hunger like I hoped that it would. I am hungry all of the time. The only thing that the surgery has done is diminished the amount of food that I can eat. I'm not sure that I would have had the surgery if I had to pay 14k just to diminish the amount of food that I can eat. The surgery was free for me though. I would probably be upset if I spent a lot of money on a surgery that hasn't, thus far, fulfilled its promises. In my case, I would probably be happier about having had a cheaper surgery with a more experienced doctor.

I spent 2 nights in the hospital and am glad I did. I needed the 2 nights to recuperate in order to withstand the ride home in the car. Maybe I'm just a wimp though because a lot of people on this board hop onto various planes and cars and travel thousands of miles after surgery and a night in the hospital. I would just recommend making sure that you are doped up on pain medicine for the ride home. I was really happy about leaving the hospital though because I didn't get any sleep in the hospital. It was just so nice to be home in my own bed without doctors and nurses waking me every hour.

I am also 3 weeks out. I pureed some beef with canned soup last night. It was delicious and filled me up for awhile. I just went out and bought every kind of canned soup that looked good to me in order to puree them. I am, however, allowed to have protein shakes and puddings but have been adding fiber to them to make them a little bit more substantial. Others on this board seem to eat a lot of fat like dairy products, beans, nuts, and avocados. Chicken salad, tuna salad (without the salad part), scrambled and deviled eggs, and oatmeal are other suggestions. Others on this board eat baby food which really isn't such a bad idea.

I, like PdxMan, have been pureeing broth and various canned soups. Last night, I pureed some beef in with some soup. It was delicious and filled me up for awhile. Tuna salad, chicken salad (without the salad part of course), oatmeal, and deviled and scrambled eggs are other ideas. I recommend mixing those though since pureeing them just obliterates the texture. Some people on this board eat baby food, beans, nuts, avocados, greek yogurt, and dairy products like cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream. I can't personally eat those things and lose weight but the fat in some of those foods seems to help a lot of people on this board to stay full. I have otherwise been mixing fiber in with my protein shakes and puddings.

I am 3 weeks out and I am famished most of the time. I find that mixing Fiber in with my Protein shakes and broths helps fill me up for awhile. Although it's a little too early for puree for you, I also pureed some beef with canned Soup last night and that filled me up for awhile. I have been so hungry though that I actually went out and bought some appetite suppressants. After complaining to others on this board about my hunger, I realized that a lot of people get filled up by consuming a lot of fat like dairy products, Beans, and nuts. I simply can't eat those things and lose weight but that may explain why I am hungry all the time while others on this board are not.

My lactose intolerance probably has something to do with the fact that I can't lose weight when I eat dairy.