Hunger 4 days post op. Normal?

[The New Kel 1,312]

Hi everyone,

I had my sleeve surgery 4 days ago, Oct. 3rd. The first 2-3 days I never felt hungry. Today I am hungry. I take antacids so I don't think its acid.

I will drink a protien shake and feel satified for about an hour. Then hungry again. I am fearful that the "won't be hungry after surgery" thing isnt working for me? Was anyone else out there hungry at this point? No sure what to do. Why am I hungry? I have had about 600 calories today. Could it be head hunger? Will this go away when I get onto solids?

[KristenLe 5,979]

It could be head hunger but what antacid are you taking?

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[PorkChopExpress 821]

You are mistaking the grumbling happening in your stomach for hunger. That's not what's going on. If you feel any pain/ache in there, it's because you just had 80% of your stomach cut away and it's still healing, while you put stuff in it But the gurgling is some combination of gas, acid and just your stomach "complaining" about its situation, more or less.

But when you combine that with the "mourning" process of letting go of eating the way you used to, it can definitely be mistaken for hunger...but it's not. Give it a couple weeks and you'll get used to it, and your stomach will calm down a bit.

[chukki 7]

I think it's gas.

[gidgetgrl 76]

@TheNewKel I will tell you my experience is that some of us post surgery still have hunger. I was on the liquid diet for almost 2 weeks pre surgery and 2 weeks post surgery. In any case it's a long time with no solid food. One of the pluses of sleeve is it's supposed to take away the hormone that is produced in that part of your stomach called grehlin. But in some cases like mine, it did not. The good thing is even when you get to solid food, you can't eat that much and get full fast. I'm 5weeks out on solid food now, but still get hungry. I'm just trying to make good food choices and downloaded a tracking app. I asked my bariatric Dr and he said not everyone loses their hunger. So my best bet is having my new love affair be with the scale and my mirror, and not food!!

[GinaCampbell 434]

I am 4.5 months out and I now get hungry which I am pleased about as I thought the food revulsion that I experience would stop me ever eating again!

I check that I have eaten correctly (I do forget sometimes or the revulsion stops me), then drink Water. If I am still hungry thirty minutes later, I have a small Protein snack. I make sure that I keep up with my PPI so there is no acid issues.

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[The New Kel 1,312]

@@KristenLe, I am taking prescribed pepcid every morning. So far no issues with reflux, etc. I do think head hunger is kicking in.

@@PorkChopExpress, I think you right about the mourning of food I usded to eat. The feeling gets bad in the evenings, which is when my husband and kids are eating dinner, and I am consuming liquids. Its a bit sad, but I know I will get over it and used to it.

@@gidgetgrl, I think I am in your camp. I was on two weeks liquid pre-op and two weeks post op so that is a full month of liquids. I am happy to hear that you started feeling satisfied once you started on solids. That is my hope! And like you, I need to give up my love affair with food.

@@GinaCampbell, thanks for your input! From day one, I never had the food repulsion. Happy to hear that you are past that and can eat healthy!

I am five days post op so I think I have to just wait and see how things go. Thanks all..

Edited October 8, 2016 by The New Kel

[PorkChopExpress 821]

Yeah, just give it time. I'm just over two weeks post-op and I've reached equilibrium now, mentally. It was a huge help, being able to start having "mushy" foods. The doctor gave me a list of stuff and meatballs and mashed potatoes was on it. I was ALL over that! I got some of these little turkey meatballs frozen at Trader Joe's which work out to just about 1oz each, and have a Tbsp of garlic mashed potatoes with that. That's a meal, and I can't have any more than that. It's INSANE, because just a few weeks ago I could have eaten that whole bag of meatballs and the half that tub of mashed potatoes in one sitting, and been fine! Reprogramming my brain to have a different expectation of how much is a "portion" and what I should be eating is the challenge, now.

[courtknee_luv 52]

Hi everyone,

I had my sleeve surgery 4 days ago, Oct. 3rd. The first 2-3 days I never felt hungry. Today I am hungry. I take antacids so I don't think its acid.

I will drink a protien shake and feel satified for about an hour. Then hungry again. I am fearful that the "won't be hungry after surgery" thing isnt working for me? Was anyone else out there hungry at this point? No sure what to do. Why am I hungry? I have had about 600 calories today. Could it be head hunger? Will this go away when I get onto solids?

I am in the same boat I will sleeved on October 6 and I just feel so like hungry but I have no desire to eat whatsoever so every sip is a fight for me

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[The New Kel 1,312]

Yeah, just give it time. I'm just over two weeks post-op and I've reached equilibrium now, mentally. It was a huge help, being able to start having "mushy" foods. The doctor gave me a list of stuff and meatballs and mashed potatoes was on it. I was ALL over that! I got some of these little turkey meatballs frozen at Trader Joe's which work out to just about 1oz each, and have a Tbsp of garlic mashed potatoes with that. That's a meal, and I can't have any more than that. It's INSANE, because just a few weeks ago I could have eaten that whole bag of meatballs and the half that tub of mashed potatoes in one sitting, and been fine! Reprogramming my brain to have a different expectation of how much is a "portion" and what I should be eating is the challenge, now.

@@PorkChopExpress, the meatballs sound terrific! Question: On full liquids I am easily able to drink 4-6 oz in 30 minutes. Does the food being solid (or semi solid, mushed) make it so that you are full with just a meatball and spoon of potatoes? It's so much less than the amount of liquid I can drink.

[PorkChopExpress 821]

DEFINITELY makes me full. I'm supposed to have 1 Protein (1oz), 1 Tbsp of vegetable and 1 Tbsp of fruit at a meal. But the thing is, those meatballs weigh 1.3oz each basically, so I end up having to not eat my fruit, because I get full just on the meatball and a Tbsp of potato...but that's okay! I get my fruit when I have chili and four cut green Beans from a can...that leaves me room for fruit. Or I'll have fruit with my egg. But right now I'm on a real meatball and potato kick, I love that combo. I'm the kind of guy who can eat the same thing over and over again if I like it, I don't need a ton of variety. Also, I bought a tub of the pre-made mashed potatoes in the deli section and then later realized that if I only eat it a Tbsp at a time, I'm gonna end up throwing most of it out before it goes bad. So I'm trying to use as much of that as I can. I'll still probably only get halfway through it, and next time I'm going to buy a box of the powdered potatoes, and then just make it as I go. Cheaper that way. Just one of those things where I was still in the old mindset of portions and didn't even think that it would be WAY too much potato for me to get through in a week or so. We'll see how far I get on it

But yeah, liquids go down pretty quick and they pass through the stomach into the intestine pretty quick, but even chewing up my food to puree consistency, it stays in the stomach longer. They said to wait 45 minutes after eating to drink again, and when I do that I still feel like I've got food in there and can't drink that much at a time. I think it helps "grease the wheels" to help the food go into the intestine though, because after 10 minutes or so I am drinking fine.

So far, so good. But after almost four weeks of nothing but liquids, I REALLY appreciate having something with flavor I enjoy and texture, and the need to chew! And I have to say, it is bewildering but also kind of awesome that I hardly need anything to feel full. My food expenses have been annihilated by this surgery

@PorkChopExpress, the meatballs sound terrific! Question: On full liquids I am easily able to drink 4-6 oz in 30 minutes. Does the food being solid (or semi solid, mushed) make it so that you are full with just a meatball and spoon of potatoes? It's so much less than the amount of liquid I can drink.