5 Months Out - Acid Or Hunger

[june13sleever 223]

I take a Prevacid...over the counter...once every three days.

Yesterday was a high calorie day for me. About 1000. At the end of the day I felt like it was hunger, but there was also a little burn to it. Not the same hunger as before surgery. Not sure if because I consumed more food that day my tummy may have needed more prevacid? Or was I just hungry? There wasn't much restriction yesterday as I polished off a lean cuisine in 30 minutes. 30 minutes later I was hungry again with that slight burn. When I get that feeling I feed it, but this time I didn't eat anything else and just went to bed.

I am wondering if it was the Pasta. I don't really eat pasta like that. I guess I have to also watch what I eat.

It is just weird.

Thoughts?

[mamasez 9]

Wish I could provide some good insight. At 5 weeks out I can't honestly tell what is true hunger and what is acid. It's so strange.

I think I feel sort of, I dunno, desperate (for lack of a better word) for food when I am having post surgery hunger.

The feeling that I THINK is acid makes me feel more like the OLD hunger feeling I used to get pre-op. That feeling seems to be more of an "I'm having a rumbly hungry-ish tummy".

So I'm thinking the "if I don't eat something now I am gonna get really shaky and weird" feeling, is true post-op hunger? It's just bizarre to me that I can't figure out what is acid and what is real hunger.

Sorry you are in the same boat but glad to know I am not the only one who is confused on this issue!

Good luck figuring it out. I'll be interested to see what the seasoned vets have to say about this. Leah

[Lissa 2,631]

I'm not a seasoned vet, but my guess would be that it's acid, especially if you're feeling it right after eating. Try taking the prevacid daily and see if that helps the issue. You have nothing to lose except a rumbling tummy.

mama, You'll figure out which is acid and which is hunger fairly soon. I make sure I take my Tums morning and night and have very little issue with hunger. If I haven't eaten anything in 4 or 5 hours, I sometimes get a hungry feeling.

I carry a Protein bar with me because I do tons of driving and I sometimes miss regular meal times, so the bar gives me something when I hit that point. The bars taste "okay", but they definitely aren't my preferred food, so I know I'm hungry when the bar seems like a good idea!

Since I can eat so little food daily, I'd much rather put some yummy Protein in Rex (my sleeve) rather than a Protein Bar.

Good luck to both of you!

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

This is how I address this issue. I try to stay on top of the acid, and not wait to treat it after it is there. I take Pepcid (Famotadine) morning and evening (just morning after about 7 months) and a Prilosec every evening. I count my Protein grams - early on I tried for 40 a day, but by the end of the first month I tried for 60 as day - split pretty evenly in 3 meals or 3 meals and two small Protein Snacks. I am now at a minimum of 80 grams per day. The amount of protein is important to track, so you can have a clue if your body is telling you it is truly hungry, or if it is just "stomach music". If I split my protein that way, I know I am getting appropriate nourishment.

Hunger to me is a true "empty feeling". If I had a gas gauge, it is the feeling I get when the needle of the gauge is on empty. This happens if it has been 4 hours since I have put protein in my stomach. So if I get that feeling, I look at the clock. If it has been four hours, I eat either a meal or a protein snack (baby bell cheese or Jerky are my go to protein snacks). If I don't have one of those with me, I go in search of protein to eat.

Gas / acid is anything my stomach is telling me except that empty feeling after four hours. If I was exercising heavily, it may happen sooner, but that exception aside, anything else is gas or acid. It doesn't happen often, as long as I stay on my meds, chew my food really well, don't eat spicy foods, don't eat sugar, and don't eat white carbs. (all of those things cause my stomach to react) I swear my stomach has tried every sound, every feeling I can imagine to try to convince me I was hungry. My standard response is to drink something - preferable warm (broth or hot tea are my go-to things) but if warm isn't available, I will drink something else. I also put a GASX dissolving strip in my mouth to help with the supposed acid. If I don't have one of those, any antacid will do. Then I quit worrying about it and quit wondering if I am hungry.

People's signals for hunger differ, like the signals for being full. That is another reason to use the clock and how long it has been since you have had protein. You will need to learn what your signal is.

Another thing about spreading out your protein. It isn't good to try to get all your daily protein in one part of the day. My nutritionist said I can't absorb more than 20-25 grams of protein, anything over that passes through and has to be dealt with by the kidneys (I think - maybe the liver). So I am not a fan of those 35-40 gram protein "shots".

Good luck with this. It does get better, once you learn how to use and to communicate with your sleeve. I can't remember the last time I had a problem with the gassy/acidy stomach.

[mamasez 9]

Thank you so much Lissa and Sharon for the helpful replies. Now that I know that Prilosec (on top of the Famotidine) helps you, Sharon, and Tums helps you, Lissa, I am going to pick up some of both! I was hoping it would be fine to take somethiing on top of the Famotidine (which I take twice a day already as well), so knowing that taking Prilosec has helped you, Sharon, I am sure it won't kill me! Not that I tho't it would but.... Anyway, another question: Are the "foamies" where you feel acid rumbling / building up into your throat? I have read about people on this board experiencing "foamies" but haven't had it defined as of yet. If that IS what it is, I DEFINITELY have the foamies, especially if/when I take pills earlier in the day!

I will start watching the clock more closely to time my gut feelings. I also get hungry sooner after exercising (which I am happy to say, I have been walking 30 minutes per day, at least 5 days per week since the middle of week three post-op and it kicked my weight loss into a higher gear). I am down 41 lbs in total. 10 pre-op and 31 post op since sleeved on 10/17. So exciting! I have been using the MyFitnessPal.com app on my phone daily and it is a great tool. I am shooting for 50 to 60 g of Protein a day and trying to keep the carbs low-ish. You are on there, aren't you, Lissa? I love being able to keep track of everything there. I finally think I am OVER utilizing the pen and paper routine to track, but must admit, I do miss not being able to see a whole week or more at a glance. I had created an Excel spreadsheet of everything I ate and drank and tracked cals, protein and carbs plus Fluid intake and exercise for the first 4 weeks. But using MyFitnessPal is just SO much easier and less time consuming that I know I'll be more likely to continue tracking for the long term with it, whereas with paper, I always quit eventually because of time constraints.

Lissa, I looked at a bunch of Protein Bars at The Vitamin Shoppe but they all had 35 or more carbs per bar and that worries me a bit. I am trying NOT to be paranoid about carbs but I do want to do this right and I DON'T want to screw up my losing streak, IYKWIM!

I get to come of of soft foods as of Tuesday and am glad to be moving on to the "permanent" stage of eating on this journey. I just have to figure out what to purchase and fix so I won't get burned out on all the soft foods I've been eating (mostly eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, ground up chili with Beans, refried beans and the like). I am SO ready for a REAL bite of REAL chicken (not ground down in food processor til it looks like baby food!'

Thanks for your help. Hope your Thanksgiving weekend is relaxing! Leah

p.s. Sharon - love your new picture on the board. It's lovely!