Stomach discomfort & confusion post op

[greekgoddess2468 1]

Hi everybody! I had my surgery December 14,2022 so I’m a little over a month out. Sometimes I’ll feel like this weird emptiness in my stomach, or something that mimics what it feels like when your hungry (isn’t painful but does cause discomfort). Does anyone know what that is or have they experienced the same? I sometimes get confused as to if my body’s hungry and should eat or if it’s digestion or another issue I should be focusing on.

[Sleeve_Me_Alone 656]

Yep, completely normal. With VSG, they remove the part of the stomach the produces the hunger hormone, ghrelin. That means not only have you just had major surgery, completely changed your eating habits, have new anatomy, but the signal that used to tell you when you were hungry no longer exists (or is significantly altered - some folks do still experience hunger post-op). I always said in those early days that I was learning my "new plumbing" because it felt like I had a whole new set of pipes!

For me, eating on a fairly regular schedule helped. Over time, that schedule has changed and I've adjusted as I've lost weight and healed and all of that. But in those really early days, having a system really, really helped. I knew I would get my Water and Protein in, I could avoid a drop in blood sugar that gave me the shakes, and it helped me learn my new hunger and full queues more quickly. Give yourself lots of grace, this is all new and you are figuring it out!

[SkinnyMingo1408 356]

I found when I felt "funny" early on it was usually 6+ hours since my last intake of nutrients. A schedule definitely helps in the beginning.