4 weeks post, ravenous

[softwsolu1 8]

Hi folks - I've been lurking since my surgery, and have gained lots of help from reading everybody's insights. Now I've got a question of my own...

Until this week, I've been fine on food intake. When I've tried to eat too much, I've had the predictable pain/nausea/slimies. According to my surgeon my sleeve was extremely tight, and he predicted rapid loss - and in fact, I've lost around 40 lbs until this point. Everything has been as predicted and as my NUT and dr suggested, until this week.

I'm now on mushies and eating more than before - 6 oz per meal, plus Snacks in between. This is again according to plan. But I find myself continuously hungry, even just after eating. I feel like I could eat a little more, but my real concern is that, even if I just eat every 2-3 hours, I'm putting away a lot of food now. Protein and Water are just where they belong, sometimes a bit high.

I know we're not calorie counting but I decided to do so for a few days just to see if maybe I was inadvertently building up a big calorie debt or eating the wrong things. I'm regularly eating over 1500 cals a day. If I don't eat or I wait, my stomach discomfort increases steadily and eventually acid starts heading up the esophagus. I've struggled with GERD and I'm on PPIs, etc to manage.

Now, I'm a big guy so I anticipated that even with a tight sleeve, my stomach would be larger than average. But I worry that if I continue to eat/increase at this rate I will at most be maintaining.

Is this normal? Any tips for decreasing the hunger? I'm still losing steadily and I'm not afraid of eating well, I just worry about the disparity between what the NUT is telling me I should be eating, and what I am right now.

Advice/hints?

Thanks!

[SunnyCox 245]

I go through "hungry days." There are a few days each month where I can't get full. I think about food all the time, and I feel like I eat a ton. Funny thing is that I still (usually) lose weight on those weeks. It comes and goes for me. Maybe it will be the same for you. I've really learned to listen to my body. When it asks for a little more food, I don't deny myself. I have figured out the difference between head hunger and real hunger. If I was consistently hungry for several days in a row or was gaining weight, I would re-evaluate. Otherwise, it may be a normal fluctuation.

I find that a few things help - getting enough Water & taking my Vitamins.

I have heard others say that having lots of acid has made them feel hungry. Maybe you need an adjustment to your medications.

[softwsolu1 8]

I can see that re: hungry days vs not. I do suspect acid as a cause in this, but doc says I'm as PPI'd up as I'm going to get, so now it's just a matter of time.

I may have to accept slightly slower weight loss as a trade off for reduced acid, as I seem to need to have something in my stomach to soak the acid up.

Maybe you're right though - I am losing weight, perhaps now isn't the time to sweat it too badly.

[SunnyCox 245]

This may be a long shot, but google this:

overproduction vs low acid in stomach symptoms

[softwsolu1 8]

This may be a long shot, but google this:

overproduction vs low acid in stomach symptoms

I'm not so sure it's a long shot actually - I have been looking into this as a possible resolution. And it's interesting to note that the foods that settle me are actually more acidic.

But it's nice to hear somebody else point it out - I've been tentative around it as drs can be dismissive of the suggestion.

Thanks!

[SleeveNZ 219]

Wow I am 5 weeks post op and couldn't eat that many calories a day if I tried!!! I am lucky to get in 600 .... may not be such a bad thing though! Can u give an example of your average daily meal plan? Maybe you will feel more restriction down the track when you get to soft foods. Congrats on the loss though!

[AussieLady 521]

I am also 5 weeks out and I went through a couple of days of desperate hunger but then I realized I wasn't having enough fluids. Once I started having food I was forgetting to drink. Maybe you need to check your Fluid intake.

1500 calories is a lot and I also struggle to eat more than 600.

[thinoninside 0]

Are you hungry often or not much.

I was the same and unfortunately 9 months out after a barium swallow i will need to be resleeved. Not sure yet if it wasnt done properly or some other issue but I too could eat way more than the average sleever. NO acid reflux or head hunger just plain old fashion hungry.

Make sure you eat Protein first it does help to increase the sense of fullness. eat slowly.. take your time.. drink Water lots of it!

good luck!

[softwsolu1 8]

Can u give an example of your average daily meal plan? Maybe you will feel more restriction down the track when you get to soft foods. Congrats on the loss though!

I do feel more full when I eat more solid/dense foods - for instance string cheese or soft babybels, crab sticks, etc will leave me feeling more satisfied with less, and for longer. But I can easily take in 6 oz of either of the former in a sitting. That's the amount my NUT told me to expect to take in, but based on feelings earlier in the process (and what other people tell me) I should be very full having eaten those. That's suddenly no longer the case.

I *am* losing weight though, so part of me thinks that as I ramp up physical activity, I just plain need more calories to keep myself going.

[softwsolu1 8]

I am also 5 weeks out and I went through a couple of days of desperate hunger but then I realized I wasn't having enough fluids. Once I started having food I was forgetting to drink. Maybe you need to check your Fluid intake.

1500 calories is a lot and I also struggle to eat more than 600.

I'm getting > 70 oz a day, sometimes far in excess of that.

[softwsolu1 8]

Are you hungry often or not much.

I was the same and unfortunately 9 months out after a barium swallow i will need to be resleeved. Not sure yet if it wasnt done properly or some other issue but I too could eat way more than the average sleever. NO acid reflux or head hunger just plain old fashion hungry.

Make sure you eat Protein first it does help to increase the sense of fullness. eat slowly.. take your time.. drink Water lots of it!

good luck!

I'm sorry to hear you are going through that...I'd be so frustrated.

I'm definitely getting in my Protein first and avoiding drink for 30 mins before and 60 mins after eating. The hunger abates when I eat, but comes back in ~ 2 hrs. If I eat a small snack I can push it back another 2 hrs, at which point I need a meal to keep things under control.

It may very well be acid. The too much or too little question Sunny raised is vexing, though.