Hungry Gastric Sleevers!

[HetKF 33]

The name of the Book is "Successful Weight Loss With The Gastric Sleeve" by Dr. Guillermo Alvarez. I found the book very informative.

Thx I bought it at the beginning of this month and have yet to get it in the mail

[kaehl 0]

.In my situation, I've been taking it within about an hour after eating (sometimes in 30 min). It's weird, there are times when I can still feel all the food is in my stomach and yet I get hunger pangs.

I am so glad to read your post. I've had the exact same experience as you describe. The almost constant, growly hunger feeling. I also have noticed it while my stomach is full of food! I find that drinking my liquids gets it going too. I have always suspected that it might be acid-related. I was describing this to my surgeon just this week and he told me it's just head hunger. I told him I know what head hunger is. This is a physical feeling.

I've been taking aciphex since about the 2nd week after surgery. It hasn't helped a bit. I asked for a script for protonix but my insurance won't cover it until I've tried at least two others without success. So I just started omepresole. So far it's not helping. I will get some gaviscon to try too.

'

[sleevesearch 14]

Hi Kaehl! I hear ya! Give the omeprazole at least two weeks to take full effect. And the gavison should provide temporary relief. For the past couple of weeks I've been taking apple cider vinegar (there was another thread discussing all the benefits) and it actually has been helping my hunger/acid issues. It's not 100%, but it is noticeable enough that I'm not really taking the gaviscon anymore. For the vinegar, I've been diluting it in Water adding splenda and heating it up (like a tea), it doesn't taste that great but the relief is worth it. I also found on google that they make apple cider vinegar pills, so I may try to find some of those and see how they work.

Below, I've listed the various PPI's and how they did for me:

active ingredient - esomeprazole magnesium (i.e nexium) - didn't do diddly squat

active ingredient - omeprazole (i.e. Prilosec) - only tried for a week, seemed like same ingredient as nexium and still didn't do anything for my hunger.

active ingredient - lansoprazole (i.e. Prevacid) - I've been on for couple of months and it has helped alittle but not constant. I also didn't know that this is an H2 blocker not a PPI, per my PA (I don't really remember the difference)

active ingredient - pantoprazole sodium (i.e. Protonix) - best so far, but still not 100% relief.

I hope you find what works for you!

[sue4491 3]

I have discovered some interesting things about hunger. Real hunger is (ironically and perhaps strangely) not felt in the stomach. It is rather a feeling of light headedness or a headache. Typically when we are "hungry" in the stomach, we may be actually craving something else - be bored, want a hug, be lonely or anxious or a myriad of other reasons. (Now how do I know this - my grandma told me.. hehe). So there are many strategies to deal with hunger in the stomach which likely isn't real hunger. Here are a couple ways I deal with it.

1. Say you will eat something but not now - in 20 minutes. So during that time, do something which is fun and interesting (like log on here! ). If you are still hungry in 20 minutes, eat something which takes a long time to eat and is "calorie friendly" (like a banana). Chew it to liquid and eat small bites. By the time you are done, you won't be hungry.

2. You probably want to follow some sort of "healthy food plan" because healthy foods fill us up and keep us healthy. Chances are your surgeon offers some kind of plan including dairy, veggies (cook them to soft), fruit etc. If not, you can find this on the web for example at the NIH site

3. Sometimes being low in Protein will make you hungry sooner.

4. hungry in a couple of hours? No problem - our ancestors did eat small amounts every couple of hours. You can stay on track if you make good food choices.

5. doing a daily work-out cuts down the hunger also just because it fulfills us, relaxes us, takes up time between meals and burns calories. But it also builds muscle which is a good thing.

6. I just learned this one - do the apple test. Picture an apple and your favorite treat. Which looks more tempting to you? If both look good, you may be hungry so eat the apple. But if only your favorite treat looks good, it's probably not real hunger.

You made a lifetime commitment - don't be in a hurry. You have embraced a new lifestyle - enjoy it and embrace it. And the weight loss will follow.

I realized I had never felt real hunger before I got on my program. And it's so different from what I thought - that lightheadedness and not a nice feeling. Especially when you get it while out on your bicycle. I carry those diabetic sugar pills when I get that and that holds me until I get home and can eat something. (One pill which is 10 calories is enough to make the lightheadedness go away)

The bottom line is pretty much the same for everyone - most of the work is done by the patient, regardless of the procedure.

[pumpkin07 32]

Sue

You look so great, and you have a wonderful outlook. Congratulations on your success. Wondering how the road was for you - how long ago, when did you reach goal, etc.

[Martin64 0]

OMG! I can't believe I finally found some of "my kind"! I thought I was the only one! I have searched and searched and couldn't find others. I never was NOT hungry. I lost 15 lbs on the liquid/soft diet the first month (while starving) and have slowly gained back that 15 lbs after 2.5 yrs. It is a constant struggle and I am so MAD that I have not lost one pound! I thought maybe it was because I had my band removed and sleeved all in the same surgery. My doctor just tells me I am taking in too many calories and need to reduce my carbs! Duh, if I could have dieted I would not have paid so much for a sleeve. Now don't go flaming me - I know I have to work with my sleeve and make healthy choices, but something is definitely wrong! I have been on Nexium (or it's precursor) for 22 years. In other words, I've always had acid reflux issues. Maybe you are on to something! I'm going to try the gaviscon. I hope everyone will keep posting your success or failure with the antacids. I have to have my gallbladder out in a few weeks and my doctor is going to give me a price to "revise" my pouch if he sees it needs it once he gets in there. I have spent so much on first my band (which I lost 90 lbs with) but had to have it removed due to sever reflux problems. I gained back 40 lbs once it was "deflated" and that is why I decided to get the sleeve. My doctor removed the band and did the sleeve all in one operation.

Thanks,

Monica

[kellyw74 258]

I too have been STARVING since having my sleeve. I prayed and prayed that this would be resolved after my surgery, but hasn't!!

I have been taking Nexium for about 8 years and asked my surgeon to switch me to something else. He said Nexium was the best out there. Well, I took it upon myself to go and get some Prilosec OTC and have been taking it for 18 days now. I can honestly say that my hunger HAS calmed down!! I am so happy about it. I do still get hungry, but my stomach is NOT constantly growling like it was before. I think that Prilosec is MUCH better than Nexium and I am so happy that I started taking it.

I emailed my PCP and asked him for a prescription because it is cheaper than buying it over the counter and he gave it to me!! LOL

I hope that the longer I take it, the better my hunger will be!!

Kelly

[Martin64 0]

I too have been STARVING since having my sleeve. I prayed and prayed that this would be resolved after my surgery, but hasn't!!

I have been taking Nexium for about 8 years and asked my surgeon to switch me to something else. He said Nexium was the best out there. Well, I took it upon myself to go and get some Prilosec OTC and have been taking it for 18 days now. I can honestly say that my hunger HAS calmed down!! I am so happy about it. I do still get hungry, but my stomach is NOT constantly growling like it was before. I think that Prilosec is MUCH better than Nexium and I am so happy that I started taking it.

I emailed my PCP and asked him for a prescription because it is cheaper than buying it over the counter and he gave it to me!! LOL

I hope that the longer I take it, the better my hunger will be!!

Kelly

Kelly - that is so great that you found something that works for you. I will anxiously watch this thread to see if we can all figure out what works! Hopefully we will find a common element!

Monica

[cherrysofa 0]

I can totally relate! Prior to surgery there were two different forms of physical hunger "pains' for me; the weak, light-headed, and nausea inducing feeling and the stomach growling feeling. Prior to surgery, if I ate when my stomach was rolling and growling, it would make the growling stop with was a relief. Now... It doesn't matter what or how much I eat, my stomach is always growling. I'm starting to agree with the whole acidy stomach idea. I'm going to try the gaviscon and see what happens!

[MegInNOLA 531]

Yep, I'm another one--I had horrible problems with acid for the first 6 weeks or so, then I started Prilosec on the advice of folks on this forum. Now, 13 weeks out, the Prilosec has sort of stopped working--I have just started taking it twice a day, but the entire day today I have had the feeling of burning, churning, growling, acid in the back of my throat. NOT pleasant. It's not relieved by drinking or eating (although I have been eating less the last couple of days, don't know why). I'm planning to get some of the Gaviscon for temporary relief until I can see if the Prilosec twice a day is going to do it; if not, I will start Nexium in the morning and Prilosec at night.

Y'all please keep posting your ideas and thoughts about this. I definitely appreciate hearing what works and what doesn't work, and it gives me a lot of hope that I can get this under control. It's not making me gain weight, but it's really uncomfortable, and I hate having to think about it all day!

[Estella 11]

This could be related to consumption of carbs. The problem with carbs is that they increase the secretion of insulin, and when there's a lot of insulin in on'e blood, it often signals the brain that one's hungry and needs more food. It's a vicious circle. I don't know if it can beat the sleeve's limit, but that is the mechanism that caused most of us to gain weight (also known as "the metabolic syndrome").