MzCoffee

I feel you! I had surgery 4/18 and haven't had all the exhausting additional medical issues you have had, and have good emotional support, and still feel exhausted at times, feelings of hunger, feelings of sadness from loss of food pleasure and food sociability, and intense irritability with the limited food choices that are presently before me. I think you need to give yourself credit for having been through the medical wringer and persisting. I totally get the food issues you are talking about - I HATE artificial flavors, I HATE most fake sweeteners, etc. I've gone with unflavored protein powders and liquid Stevia - I'll make myself a protein drink with skim milk, unsweetened cocoa and a couple of drops of stevia. I have found that when I've been diligent about having two protein drinks a day with skim milk - for a total of 58 grams of protein from that alone - my fatigue has felt much better. But my physician's assistant said it can take up to three weeks, and you have to factor in the additional surgery, etc. I think doubt and self-reflection are part of this journey - sometimes when it gets overwhelming, it's easier to just break it down and think about what you have to do for this afternoon, this evening, etc. Hang in there, I have faith it will get better!

Thank you! This is so helpful, I am not loving the chalkiness of my protein shakes, even the unflavored ones, and I can't tolerate sweetness of the artificial flavors. I will look right now - thanks again!

Hi, Could you tell me what kind of bone broth protein you are using? We buy bone broth from Greenmarket & sometimes make it ourselves but is there another product with extra proteins? Many thanks!

My MD & nutritionist said to aim for three eating moments a day, plus a snack if I wanted one, once I moved onto pureed foods. I am also supposed to limit meals to 30 minutes to prevent grazing. Finally, I am supposed to stop drinking any liquid 30 minutes prior to eating, not eat & drink at the same time, and wait another 30 minutes until I finish eating before I start drinking my fluids again. Hope this helps!

Ay yi yi - ok yes that all makes sense & I'll brace myself & others in my household as well! Thanks for responding!

Hi OutsideMatchInside, Would you mind explaining what hormone dumping is? My surgeon warned us that I'd be an SOB post-surgery and my patience and temper are definitely thinner at any rate. Curious if what you are referring to is related to gherlin issues? Thanks for any and all info!

I really appreciate your sharing your experience with me. It's actually a relief to hear - I am worried that I will be one of the unlucky ones who never lose that hungry feeling! It's a very disorienting experience and one, needless to say, that I haven't been great at tolerating in the past. But I'll be on pureed foods in a few days and that should help. I am making sure that I have two protein shakes a day using unflavored unjury b/c I really dislike the sweetness and sharpness of the artificial flavors. But hungry as I am, a third protein shake feels daunting, but it clearly is an effective remedy. My doctor only asks that we track our protein and liquids, not calories, but I actually did track my calories today and sawI actually consumed less than 700 calories which may also account for my feelings of hunger! Thanks again for responding - it really helps.

Looking for suggestions about how to deal with this hollowed out feeling of hunger I am experiencing six days post-op. My surgery was on 4/18 (Tuesday) and have experienced some ups & downs with nausea, which I still need meds to deal with. However, my actual pain experience is getting better every day. I'm back home and my largest issues seems to be hunger, which I totally didn't expect. My doctor wants me to stay on a full liquids diet until day 7 & then easing into pureed food, so I've been following those directions. I hit approximately 60 grams Protein yesterday & have been careful about making sure that I'm getting at least 48 oz in daily liquids, aiming for 64 oz. I was in hospital until Friday mid-day & had a very hard time consuming the protein shakes, yogurt & soup I was given while in hospital, but I was pretty vigilant about the liquids and also on IV through Thursday night. Unlike others here tho actual food does not nauseate me now that I'm bak home - I can eat no-fat yogurt, broth, blended soups etc. and drink my protein shakes. But I am still hungry.I Is this hunger just a reaction to not having really eaten for a few days last week? I really thought my appetite would be checked by the surgery. For what it's worth I seem to have lost 5 lbs but assume that is mostly Water weight. Thanks for any insights you have!

Thanks for this - I will definitely be diligent about the acid reducing meds.

Mind, stomach, temper ...

Thanks, I'm not sure what a PPI is but I have started taking Nexium which I suspect is in that family. I had an endoscopy pre-op & surgeon found evidence of gastric reflux, which I had been unaware of until that point, so it may well be stomach acid. I hadn't realized that "head hunger" could actually physically feel like hunger - I thought it was more a craving for specific foods that I couldn't have any more. I appreciate your taking the time to respond!

Thank you for responding - that's very helpful! I have some low/zero fat greek yogurts in the fridge and will try eating them earlier in the day.

So I had my surgery on 4/18 (Tuesday) too and have experienced some ups & downs with nausea, which I still need meds to deal with. But now I'm back home & the pain is mitigating, and my largest issues seems to be hunger, which I totally didn't expect. My doctor wants me to stay on a full liquids diet until day 7 & then easing into pureed food, so I've been following those directions. I hit approximately 60 grams protein today & have been careful about making sure that I'm getting sufficient liquids. I was released Friday mid-day & had a very hard time eating in the hospital & drinking the protein shakes while in there, but I was pretty vigilant about the liquids and also on IV through Thursday night. Is this hunger just a reaction to not having really eaten for a few days last week? I really thought my appetite would be checked by the surgery. For what it's worth I seem to have lost 5 lbs but assume that is mostly water weight. Thanks for any insights you have!

Me too. I'm having my gastric sleeve surgery next week and I hate that chemical/artificial taste of most flavored protein powder. (Exceptions to that rule are Tara's Whey in Bourbon Vanilla and BioChem in Vanilla.) But I mostly prefer unflavored protein powder and agree that unjury is truly unflavored. It is also on my hospital's recommended protein powders list.