Is this normal?

(This is a post I originally put on the August messageboard, but I hadn't received many replies, so I thought I'd try here) This is such a wonderful place for support... thank you all in advance! I had my surgery n 8/31 and was just feeling awful until I cheated on the "clear liquids only" and started "non-clear" liquids a day and a half earlier than I was supposed to. Now I'm starting to actually feel human again. My question, though, is this: am I eating too much?? Has my pouch streached out already?? Yesterday, I had one protein shake (spread out over the day), 4 oz. yogurt, and prob. 3-4 oz. cream of chicken soup w/ some pureed baby food chicken mixed in for extra protein. The problem? I think I could have had more. Then, this morning, I had about 2oz of a protein shake, then a couple of hours later, 2 oz of yogurt. It's almost lunchtime and I'm actually hungry. (Well, I THINK I am... I feel hungry). As I feel better, I can eat more at a time, and can take three or more consecutive sips of water at a time (instead of stopping after one tiny one). In fact, my sips are almost "normal size"... sometimes I have a bit of a burp when drinking, but I'm mostly fine. No throwing up, etc. I'm worried that my pouch is getting streached out and that I'll soon be eating too much. Does what I'm doing sound normal? ** TWO updates: 1. Okay, I just went and had lunch. I was hungry... I had about 2 oz of my soup (cream of chicken w/ baby chicken puree in it) and approx. 2 oz of my protein shake. That's FOUR ounces. Is that too much? I feel pretty full (LOL) but I'm not throwing up by any means. 2. Dinner tonight. I was hungry at dinnertime. I mean "give me food now, I'm HUNGRY" hungry. So I helped huubby prepare everyone else's dinner and took one plain grilled chicken breast and blended 3 oz (weight - it was a lot all blended up) of it w/ some leftover sauce from a previous meal (sour cream, onions, mushrooms and various spices). I sat down to eat this and, since I had been feeling pretty good, may have rushed too much... I don't know... but here's what happened. All of a sudden I could feel this wave coming... I KNEW I was going to be sick. It was classic nausea rushing in: terrible weakness, profuse sweating, and, interestingly, a hard time hearing anything, as if I were wearing earplugs. I didn't throw up, but I was sure sick for an hour or so. Was this a dumping syndrome? I didn't have any sugar...???? So, now my "is this normal" question pertains to all of the above... thank you for reading this far and I need some feedback from those who've "been there, done that"!!

Hi Kim, I had my revision on 8/3/04 and yesterday was not a good day for me... I really am never hungry but I know I need to eat something... well yesterday I stopped and bought some chicken salad... one scoop... ate that no problem but when I got in the car to leave... I was sweating and heart beating fast and the same feeling with the ears....so I came straight home was in the bathroom throwing up and dumping.... not a good day yesterday... I really dont feel full when I do eat something but I know just to stop.... I think it is a matter of really listening to our bodies, I wish I had the hungry feeling so I would eat like I am suppose to.... 4 times a day... I really dont feel hungry at all I can go pretty much most of the day without eating.... Good luck

Kim, Sure sounds like dumping to me. I am being absolutely PARANOID about following directions because I am so afraid of dumping. You must have eaten too much too fast. I am only up to three ounces of food, no liquids at meals, three times a day. I can eat solids, but must CHEW,CHEW,CHEW! Sometimes I feel so filled up it seems to be at the back of my throat, but I don't ever feel "full" like before. It is simply a pressure. And it doesn't happen in time to stop me from eating, so I just stick to the amount they tell me to eat. This is like rocket science, very complicated and confusing. But we will get through it, right? By the way, I had my surgery 8/3/04 and have dropped 31 pounds so far. Karen

Hi Kim, I had my surgery on 8/3/04. I did find that about 2-3 weeks into it, I had this funny feeling that felt like hunger. I couldn't figure out if it was the new "hunger" feeling or nausea. I ate about every 3 hours, and the nausea would go away for a while. I asked my MD, and he said that this feeling is normal. It did go away after about a week. Now I almost never feel hungy, even have days I forget to eat! I know that's bad, but I just get so busy. Why don't you try a SF pop every 2-3 hours and see if it helps. It will count as a liquid, and help you feel full so you don't damage the pouch. Anne