Hunger level after surgery

[MissJ482 0]

I am in the very early stages of considering the band. I know everyone is going to have varying experiences but I would just like some input on this. I'm wondering how hungry you are after the surgery. I'm just afraid that I won't be able to stand it.

And what about the pre-op diet? Are you hungry the whole time or are you getting enough to feel comfortable?

Thank you!

[Melissannde 41]

I had no pre-op diet other than Clear liquids the day before surgery and while that was a little aggravating, it wasn't all that hard cause there was no limitations on the amount.

Post-op I don't recall being unduly hungry. There was some hunger, but for me it was normal hunger, not overwhelming.

My surgeon installs the band with a "starter" fill so I think that makes a huge difference. I didn't go through extreme "bandster hell" before my fills started working.

Ask the surgeon that you're considering using his philosophy of working with the band.

Best of luck to you.

[Rachel412 116]

I didn't have to do the liquid pre-op diet, but I can tell you that post-op, I wasn't hungry for the first 6 days. Day 7, Clear Liquids, was hard. Once I hit full liquids I was pretty satisfied, again until the end of that week, when it wasn't enough. Now I'm on mushy food and it's OK. I do get hungry, for sure. But I try as hard as I can to stay on my "diet" (4 oz, Protein, then up to a cup of mushy veg, then up to a half cup of grain if I still want it). Truly I've never gotten to the point where I want grains. I get full way more quickly than I used to- it just doesn't stay that long.

[CheckYes 46]

I have not had a fill, nor needed one. I was banded in December. I do recognize, however, that I am one of the very very lucky ones who don't experience hunger since being banded. You might be like me or you might have a tough time with hunger. It is very hard to predict.

[Jess55 97]

Like you said everyone is different, so I'll give you my experience. For the pre op diet, I had one week, 5 days full liquids, 2 days clear. I've been dieting for many years, not sure if this helped my hunger or not. I was surprised at how easy it was, I actually wasn't that hungry, it was mostly head hunger I think. As for after surgery, I think for the first 2 weeks I wasn't hungry (on clear the first week, then full liquids week 2.). I think I started getting a little hungry week 3 on mushies. I never got like starving or anything, I'm 4.5 months post op and I dint have a fill yet and usually I can go about 4 or 5 hours without feeling hungry. Just so you know, my weight loss did stall week 2-4. I attribute this to the low caloric intake. Ive found if I don't eat enough calories I do not lose. But I couldn't eat enough at that time due to following my post op diet.

[reverie 49]

Everyone is different most definitely. I too have not needed/wanted a fill and I am not hungry for the most part. My stomach will growl if I wait too long to eat so I eat often before I get that super-hungry feeling. I will say post-op for about 2 weeks I had no appetite at all and my appetite today is there but I am definitely not craving the huge portions I used to eat pre-band.

[Gunnersgal 1]

I haven't had any fill yet but I'm scheduled for my first on Thursday. I don't want him to put in to much because I still have pretty good restriction. I do get hungry a couple of times a day, at the appropriate meal times but it doesn't take very much to abate it and fill me up. If I eat to fast or don't chew well enough I will get nauseated just until the food passes and occasionally get hiccups. I'm still learning and don't think I need to much fill to keep things going. I'm looking forward to seeing how much more I've lost. People at work keep asking me how much I've lost and saying that it is really noticable to them. Of course I still see the "Fat Girl" when I look in the mirror.

[vickyd 24]

I had to do a 2 week pre-op liquid diet consisting of Protein shakes, popscicles, Jello, broth (I had to have between 80-120 grams Protein and less than 800 calories) and I was very suprised at how easy it was. The only day I had trouble was Thanksgiving Day for the obvious reason. On that day, I did cheat and eat a bit of turkey (with my Dr's permission so I guess it wasn't technically a cheat) but I wasn't starving during that time. After surgery, I did 2 weeks liquids and 2 weeks mushies before moving to solid food. I am one of the lucky ones who felt restriction right from the beginning (most people don't but there are several of us on here who did) so I wasn't hungry at all after surgery. To date, I have had 1 fill (3 months after surgery) and never went through what others fondly call "Bandster Hell". At this point (5 months post op) I eat between 1,000-1,100 calories a day and can go 4-5 hours between meals without being hungry. The most difficult thing I have had to get used to is the fact that I no longer feel "full" after eating...I measure out my food (3-4 oz protein, 1/2 cup veggies) and eat only that amount and when I'm finished I'm not normally full but instead I'm no longer hungry.

[cheryl2586 3,053]

I had no preop diet but was starving by day three up until 12 days post op when I could finally up my diet to soft foods.

[slauren14 0]

I just had my surgery yesterday, so I know I'm definitely not an expert yet But so far, I haven't been hungry at all. I've been thirsty, so Water and the Protein liquid (and an occasional sugar-free popscicle) have been plenty for me.

BUT I did have to do a full two week pre-op all liquid diet that consisted of Protein shakes, sugar-free Jello and broth. It was miserable.... to me anyway. It wasn't so much that I was HUNGRY, I think it was mainly psychological. Knowing that you are fully capable of eating but not being able to because of a diet it hard, but it is doable. Trust me, if I could make it through it anyone can!

I have read others on here who say that they had no problems with the pre-op diet and several people didn't even have to do one! So it really depends on you... everyone is different.

Like I said, I am only on day two post-op, but I have already lost 5 lbs in a day and a half. I'm sore as crap, but I'm SO glad I did this! Don't let a few weeks out of your whole life determine whether or not to have the surgery. Yes it will probably suck, but just think of the benefits of being banded and losing weight will give you!

Good luck on your decision!

[MissJ482 0]

WOW! Thank you all so much for your responses! This really makes me feel a lot better.

Melissaande--I didn't even know that some surgeons start out with a small fill in the band so thank you for sharing that, that will be an excellent question to ask the surgeon.

Rachel412--That is good to know that immediately after surgery you weren't hungry. I've only had surgery one other time (totally unrelated to this type) but I kind of wondered if this would be like any other surgery in that aspect, I certainly don't remember waking up hungry at all.

CheckYes--That is awesome! I will hope and pray that if I do have the surgery I will end up that way, but with my luck that won't be happening.

Jess55--I've been reading that a lot on here, about the weight loss stalling in the beginning because of the low calorie intake, that is definitely something I will have to remember because I get discouraged so easily when it comes to weight loss (or lack thereof).

reverie--That is a great point about not waiting unti you are super hungry. I do that almost all the time. I am getting better about it but sometimes I still wait too long and then of course I eat everything in sight.

Gunnersgal--Sounds like it's going really great for you! After reading on here about how imperative it is to really chew up food, etc. I've been trying to be more aware of how I eat and trying to chew my food up as much as possible and take smaller bites just to get into "practice" if I do get banded. That has really been a lot harder than I thought it would be.

vickyd--Sounds like you are having a great experience. That is wonderful. That will be really hard for me, too, as far as not eating until I'm full. I'm so used to eating until I'm stuffed. The measuring is a great idea...it would definitely make you more aware. I tend to do a lot of mindless eating so measuring would be very beneficial to me.

fluffytofabulous--That's what I'm so afraid of. I keep telling myself that it is such a small amount of time in the grand scheme of things but it still really concerns me.

slauren14--You should be a motivational speaker or something! You really have a great attitude. I honestly don't know where my willpower went. A few years ago I lost 97 lbs. in 6 months on a doctor-supervised Phentermine/very low calorie diet. And of course I have gained it all back. I realize I had the Phentermine as a "helper" but I had no problem with basically starving myself. I've tried so hard to lose and I might get into the groove for a few weeks but then suddenly I fall off the wagon once again. I have no self-control anymore. I could see if it was right after the diet and I had felt deprived for so long so I was just eating whatever but it has been a few YEARS and I still just eat whatever I want whenever I want it and however much I want.

Anyway, thank you all again...I am just overwhelmed by all of the responses, I really appreciate it.

[HeatherinCA 10]

The post-op diet sucks, no way around it. But it's only a few weeks, you'll live. I personally don't recall being starving, it's more I just hate Protein shakes, and you just want to chew something! But again it's only like a week or two of liquid, and you feel so crappy from surgery, you don't really want to eat. Then you get mushies, once i was on that I fel tmuch better.

Then in the long run the whole point of the band is to control your hunger.. so after you get fills your hunger goes away, so you can eat less, and not be hungry all the time... or you are more likely to resist eating if you aren't hungry.

[MissJ482 0]

Thanks for the reply HeatherinCA...my biggest concern is in the mornings. I tend to get ravenous in the morning. As long as I eat something, like regular food I mean, then I'm okay after that. But I'm just thinking of times when I've tried Slim-Fast or other shakes like that and it almost makes me feel sick because I get so hungry and then I end up eating something unhealthy an hour later. But maybe it's just that Slim-Fast does that. I've tried Herbalife shakes that I had someone at a smoothie store make me where they add a bunch of stuff to it, and those were actually pretty filling, but I also drank the whole thing, which was probably equivalent to 16 oz. or so, and that was one at Breakfast and one at lunch, but then of course I still ate regular food for dinner.

But you're certainly right, I will live. And I've asked myself several times, is it going to make me happier if I can eat whatever I want and be fat or make some sacrifices and be thin and healthy and enjoy my life. And of course the answer is always the latter.

[Finally Did It 0]

I am starving all the time....its 2 1/2 weeks since my surgery and 3 1/2 weeks of watching what I eat. I"M STARVING.

I am in the very early stages of considering the band. I know everyone is going to have varying experiences but I would just like some input on this. I'm wondering how hungry you are after the surgery. I'm just afraid that I won't be able to stand it.

And what about the pre-op diet? Are you hungry the whole time or are you getting enough to feel comfortable?

Thank you!

[MissJ482 0]

Finally Did It--I think that's exactly how I'd be...it's easy for me to say now that I would follow the diet strictly so as not to jeopardize not only the potential for weight loss but more importantly the healing process. I really wouldn't want to mess anything up, like I've been reading on here about the potential for band slippage, etc. but that's so much easier said than done.

Hope it gets better for you very soon so you're not starving all the time!