Still Hungry 5 weeks out!

I am almost 5 weeks out from surgery and I am still hungry. I have been cleared to go on stage 5( solid foods) but that hasn't seemed to help. I am eating all my protein first and getting enough fluids. I only eat the half cup or 2-3 ounces of food and would never cheat but I could definatly eat more. I am frustrated because I thought the surgery would help more with that. I also don't seem to have any problems with food so far. I haven't eaten anything bad but nothing has upset my stomach or felt like too much, even toast. It feels like I haven't even had surgery. I am always hungry and I feel no fullness after I eat. Has anyone else had this experience? I am very discouraged.

Yeah it kind of felt that way for me also..but the way it was explained to me is thatuntil your stomach heals which can take 6-8 wks the nerve endings are not sending correct signals to your brain yet, that is why they are very strict about following the different stages of food puree, soft etc. because theoretically I guess you could overeat and hurt yourself. All I know is one day I felt the way you do and then all of a sudden I could barely take a small drink of water without feeling like it was going to come back up. I guess time is what it takes. Good Luck to you Hugs Lisa

I am so glad to hear that it changed for you. I was begining to think I was the only one because everyone always talks about how they could only get a little in and then would feel full. I haven't eaten anything that I am not supposed to or more than I am supposed to but I can eat half a cup of chili and not feel a thing. I hope that I start feeling full soon. My doctor said I was over thinking it and as long as I'm loosing weight not to worry. Thats easy to say but its hard to do when your hungry all the time. I just want so badly for this to work. I knew it would not be easy but I thought that at least in the begining I would not feel hungry. Well I guess I'll just hope nature takes over and I'll start feeling full. Thanks for the advice. Sara

Hi Sara, I think that your new pouch needs some time to heal and catch up from surgery. I can eat A LOT of salad and not feel full...but when I eat just one ounce of chicken, I'm full quickly and know it. Take it easy on yourself, try to distract yourself from the "head hunger" and walk, knit, play with your baby, etc. Our minds/bodies/emotions/everything is in a tailspin from major surgery, dissection of our innards and put back together in a new way. Our minds are trying to figure out what is different and I think having a hard time dealing with it. Try to eat some things that are more "dense" to fill you up. And make sure you measure EVERYTHING so that you don't stretch your pouch too early. I think/hope that you'll adjust. Call Lois if you're still in doubt. Maybe she can shed some light on it. Paula

Thanks for the advice. It seems like all I eat is meat. I tried a slice of low carb bread once and I had no problem with it. I am very good about measuring and eating what Elina has told me to. Chicken and even beef doesn't have the same effect on me as you. I can eat 2 ounces and then an ounce of broccoli or something and don't feel a thing. Hopefully I'll start to feel full soon. Thanks for the reply. Sara

Sorry, it is always tough to read of someone's early frustrations following surgery. And, despite all the advice of us well-intentioned post-ops, only you can sort out how you feel about food and eating. For me, I don't think that I ever truly felt "hunger"-- at my weight, and given the constancy with which I ate, I didn't really know that unique feeling of physical hunger. Sure, I had felt un-full (meaning that I could actually take a few steps to the couch and not feel totally bloated)-- I felt unsatisfied (when I didn't find the secret to happiness at the bottom of all those quarts of Ben & Jerry's). And, certainly there were times when I had felt compelled to eat (it was time for a meal, I was bored, I didn't want my daughters' uneaten Dinosaur chicken nuggets go to waste while children were starving overseas). But, through all that eating, I don't think (when compared with how I have felt in my years following surgery) I was ever really hungry. After surgery, particularly for the first few months, I felt a strange mix of sensations after eating. This was explained to me as the slow return to functioning of the peristaltic action of my digestive system (which is a moving organ). So, each time I drank, I would have this strange experience-- it did kind of feel like hunger (particularly when combined with the lack of satisfaction I was getting from food), but it wasn't. Also, I would sense the gurgling of my gastric juices and would mistake this rumbling as a sign of hunger (why else would be stomach be rumbling?)-- of course, because there was so little food in my system, and my remnant stomach (like yours) would continue to produce a significant amount of gastric juice every day, I would hear and sense the sloshing of these liquids. Walking around feeling hungry, and feeling as if you can't ever satisfy it, is extremely frustrating and can make your post-operative experience very discouraging. If you haven't yet found someone to talk with, consider it now because you wouldn't want the sense of frustration to detract from the work you will need to do. Think about attending support group meetings (in addition to your surgeon's own, there are lots of them throughout the state-- we have early post-op group at Norwalk Hospital which is free and open to the public). And of course, given how hard you've worked and the sacrifices you've made to have your surgery, you deserve to have a positive, life-affirming experience. Good luck.

Of course you are still hungary!!!!! I missed the chewing the first 5 weeks, but the hungar subsided. I stayed home and watched all the commercials on food on TV. Yes you are hungary, but you will get over it. Your body is still going through the shock of no food, and is rebelling against your mind for now. This is normal, you have to program yourself and when you get to walking and doing other things, this should subside. It took you this long to get here, and some of the behaviors are still there. If you can't get your hungar pangs in check, go to support groups or see your psycologist to find out what your "trigger" is. Good Luck Jannie