Hunger question?

[MacMadame 81]

I get it at GNC. It saved my butt in the early days because I was getting Protein *and* liquids with it.

My program wants us on a really low carb diet and so things like cream of wheat are discouraged. We had "thin" liquids for 2-3 weeks, which is like Clear Liquids, only also all the Protein Drinks and things like milk. But no pudding, etc.

Then "softs" for another 2-3 weeks, which is everything allowed on full liquids, everything allowed on purees and everything allowed on softs. But again avoiding anything with a lot of sugar and carbs.

I ate a lot of yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese, scrambled eggs, chili and Soup.< /p>

[Nevergoback 0]

I get it at GNC. It saved my butt in the early days because I was getting Protein *and* liquids with it.

So how did it taste? Any flavors to avoid?

It's funny how each doctor is so different in their nutrition regimen. The biggest emphasis in my plan is no sugar, non fat. I have to go to the store today (my son has almost finished all the milk) and will pick up some cottage cheese, it actually tastes pretty good blended down in the magic bullet with a packet of sweetner. I can thin it with the soy milk. I now understand the sugar free part and it's not just for the empty calories. On day 2, the diluted fruit juice they gave me caused the dumping pain. It seems a little better now. Well, everything is better now. My incisions are just a bit sore and I'm not taking pain meds. Today is day 5 and I walked the dogs this morning the entire 1 mile loop.

[MacMadame 81]

The taste thing is variable. Different people like different ones. I liked the Alpine Punch the best and it does seem to be popular.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I have figured out what 'dumping' is and that is the funny pain I have been feeling in my gut. I wasn't diluting my fruit juice enough and when the sugar hits your intestines so fast you get a cramp. It didn't take long to figure out that sugar is not my friend. So I have highly diluted it and added a packet of sweetner, you still get some flavor that way. More like two parts Water to one part juice, maybe three parts water. I feel for you, having to do Optifast before has got to be really hard. My doctor does not require that, they just tell you not to gorge yourself the day before (last meal sort of thing.)

I know what you are describing but it really isn't dumping.

You have a valve at the bottom of your stomach. That valve controls how fast your stomach empties. In Gastric bypass that valve is stapled off and food just pours into their intestine if their stoma dilates or if they consume high sugar liquids. THAT is dumping.

In sleeved people our pylorus valve is still intact, it is not stapled off or bypassed and for that reason we don't dump.

What can happen is that after ANY stomach surgery you can experience something where your colon basically goes into spasms. Somewhere I have a link that describes the two issues.

While the symptoms of a spastic colon and dumping are very similar they are not the same at all as they have very different causes. Our will go away with a short amount of time, with bypass it may or may not go away.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Thank you so much for the info. Why are you having soy milk? Is it your preference or is it part of the diet? I think I am on an ultra-conservative plan. They don't allow cream of wheat until 4 weeks! But it is good to know that other people are having it and doing fine. I guess I will take it slow and see how it goes. Have you tried the Protein Powder (whey Protein isolate)? That is what they are recommending to be sure we get enough protein everyday. I don't think it is flavored but I haven't tried it yet. I guess that is why they say we won't be hungry b/c we will fill up on protein (clear liquid) drinks. I really appreciate all of the little tid bits of info. It goes a long way.

I'd rather the conservative diet to be honest. With banding if you cheat on the post op diet you risk your band. With a sleeve or bypass if you cheat on the post op diet you risk your life.

My doc (for sleeves and bands) is 10 days of clears, 10 days of full liquids, and 10 days of soft foods.

He hasn't had a sleeve leak yet so I followed his instructions, I figure he knows what he's doing.

It really isn't as hard as you think.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I get it at GNC. It saved my butt in the early days because I was getting Protein *and* liquids with it.

My program wants us on a really low carb diet and so things like cream of wheat are discouraged. We had "thin" liquids for 2-3 weeks, which is like Clear Liquids, only also all the Protein drinks and things like milk. But no pudding, etc.

Then "softs" for another 2-3 weeks, which is everything allowed on full liquids, everything allowed on purees and everything allowed on softs. But again avoiding anything with a lot of sugar and carbs.

I ate a lot of yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese, scrambled eggs, chili and Soup.

Nuh uhh! Thinned full liquids are NOT like clears! Thinned fulls are just that, thinned fulls. Clears are broth, tea, Jello, cyrstal light, etc.

Thinned fulls are a whole lot easier than clears! ;o)))))

[MacMadame 81]

Nuh uhh! Thinned full liquids are NOT like clears! Thinned fulls are just that, thinned fulls. Clears are broth, tea, Jello, cyrstal light, etc.

Which was most of my list. Here's my list:

chicken broth

Beef Broth

sugar-free Jello

sugar-free popsicles

Non-fat milk

Evaporated Milk, Skim

Soy Milk, not flavored

Crystal Light and other Sugar-free powdered drink mixes

Various Protein shakes and drinks

Various Protein Soups that are really just broths

So you can see why I think of it as "clears + protein drinks". It's also not a real medical designation. If you search the web, you can find medical definitions of Clear Liquids and full liquids but not "thin" liquids.

At the hospital, they called it "Bariatric Clears" btw. But I think they made that up! :biggrin:

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Which was most of my list. Here's my list:

chicken broth

Beef broth

sugar-free Jello

sugar-free popsicles

Non-fat milk

Evaporated Milk, Skim

Soy Milk, not flavored

Crystal Light and other Sugar-free powdered drink mixes

Various Protein shakes and drinks

Various Protein Soups that are really just broths

So you can see why I think of it as "clears + protein drinks". It's also not a real medical designation. If you search the web, you can find medical definitions of Clear Liquids and full liquids but not "thin" liquids.

At the hospital, they called it "Bariatric Clears" btw. But I think they made that up! :biggrin:

I have never worked in a hospital that included Protein Shakes, non broth soups, soy milk, evap milk, skim milk, or non fat milk as part of clears. Those are always part of fulls. It defeats the whole purpose of clears.

[MacMadame 81]

That's why I said this "thin" liquid phase is a made-up term that covers a diet that is part way between clears and fulls. It doesn't include everything on fulls, but it definitely has some stuff in that aren't normally in clears. It's a hybrid.

[Nevergoback 0]

I know what you are describing but it really isn't dumping.

You have a valve at the bottom of your stomach. That valve controls how fast your stomach empties. In Gastric bypass that valve is stapled off and food just pours into their intestine if their stoma dilates or if they consume high sugar liquids. THAT is dumping.

In sleeved people our pylorus valve is still intact, it is not stapled off or bypassed and for that reason we don't dump.

What can happen is that after ANY stomach surgery you can experience something where your colon basically goes into spasms. Somewhere I have a link that describes the two issues.

While the symptoms of a spastic colon and dumping are very similar they are not the same at all as they have very different causes. Our will go away with a short amount of time, with bypass it may or may not go away.

I would be really interested in reading the article if you find it. Now at day five I am not experiencing it as much. My nutritionist addressed dumping and said VSG patients can experience it too, that is why I came to that conclusion. I am seeing my doctor next Friday and will ask him what he thinks. But either way, it is definitely getting better. I am thinking of returning to work earlier than I planned. So far I am pretty happy with the way I am healing (plus I have lost at least 4 pounds - can't be sure because of different scales)

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I would be really interested in reading the article if you find it. Now at day five I am not experiencing it as much. My nutritionist addressed dumping and said VSG patients can experience it too, that is why I came to that conclusion. I am seeing my doctor next Friday and will ask him what he thinks. But either way, it is definitely getting better. I am thinking of returning to work earlier than I planned. So far I am pretty happy with the way I am healing (plus I have lost at least 4 pounds - can't be sure because of different scales)

It's impossible for us to truly dump since dumping technically involves the pylorus valve. But what we experience can be the same, meaning the effects are essentially the same. I did for the first couple of months but it's gone now.

[neworleanslady 0]

I'd rather the conservative diet to be honest. With banding if you cheat on the post op diet you risk your band. With a sleeve or bypass if you cheat on the post op diet you risk your life.

My doc (for sleeves and bands) is 10 days of clears, 10 days of full liquids, and 10 days of soft foods.

He hasn't had a sleeve leak yet so I followed his instructions, I figure he knows what he's doing.

It really isn't as hard as you think.

So you weren't really that hungry after surgery? I know this is not that important but what about alcohol? Not that I am planning on getting drunk anytime soon (empty calories and carbs) but I do enjoy a glass of wine here and there and would like to do it again someday. Is there a restriction on coffee if you use artificial sweetners?

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

So you weren't really that hungry after surgery? I know this is not that important but what about alcohol? Not that I am planning on getting drunk anytime soon (empty calories and carbs) but I do enjoy a glass of wine here and there and would like to do it again someday. Is there a restriction on coffee if you use artificial sweetners?

Remember, with a sleeve they are removing Ghrelin, that is a hormone produced mostly by your stomach that signals your brain that you are hungry. That's not the only way your body tells you that you are hungry, there are also insulin/blood sugar issues too. But Ghrelin is the big one.

The first week you do not WANT anything. You struggle just to get your fluids down. You should be drinking 64oz daily and I haven't met anyone yet that has managed to get all the fluids down. Not in the beginning. In the hospital you'd almost pay someone to drink fluids for you so that you don't have to hear the harping from everyone telling you to drink fluids. ;o) By the end of clears you are bored with it, head hunger DOES kick in, but not stomach hunger.

I will be honest, I had a band and then revision surgery so I have done the post op diet twice. The 2nd time was a breeze, I don't know how much of it was that I had been dealing with food issues and head hunger was not kicking in full force and how much was the lack of Ghrelin. But I will tell you that I didn't have any problems with it. But again, I had already dealt with many food issues, I revised at 125# and a BMI of 20.8.

After banding it was hard but doable.

You won't want alcohol at first, it will burn along your staple line but I have it every now and again. I will tell you that when I was losing weight alcohol would stall my weight loss every single time. Without fail. It will slow down your weight loss.

Artificial sweetners are fine, I live on them. ;o)

Coffee... only problem with coffee is that it changes the cells in the lining of your stomach and it does tend to make your stomach empty faster thus defeating the purpose of any WLS. It's the caffeine. But if coffee did not bother you before surgery it probably won't bother you afterwards.

[MacMadame 81]

My surgeon says 2-3 months before alcohol but that it's never really recommended because it does slow your weight loss.

Some surgeons say longer or never, but I think they are not giving a medical answer but a value judgement.

Plus, you'll be a lightweight, if you weren't already. So do the first drink in a controlled environment.

[Ms.Enigma 0]

i was banded 2/18. I find that days 1-3 I was miserable because my family decided to fry chicken, and bake sweet smelling goodies. I wasnt physically hungry, but the mind is a whole different story.I found that whenI actually ate... I could only eat less than a cup of anything. I felt that there wasnt enough time in the day to get 60g of Protein, and64 grams of liquids. Isopure is good... but good luck finishing a 20 ounce drink. I drink cans of a Protein Drink called Zioc. Its 21 grams per 11ounces. I try and drink three a day.... But for me.... the hunger was definately mental.