Help!!! Death in the Family and I'm having eating fits!!! Any suggestions?

First of all, let me start by saying that I was aware that I was an emotional eater before the surgery. I tried to address some of the issues through counseling, and had my gastric bypass surgery on October 29th. During this time my mother was in the hospital. Upon my release, I began the process of healing and functioning with the small pouch. My surgeon cleared me for mushy foods given the fact that I seemed to be tolerating things other than clear liquids while in the hospital (pudding, etc). Unfortunately, I am one of the few who do experience hunger (physical hunger pains satisfied by substanence as opposed to emotional gratification from the act of eating). In the process of coming to grips with this, my mother came home from the hospital on a Friday, was up and around the house on Saturday, and passed away right before my eyes Sunday night while waiting for EMS to get to the house. Needless to say, I was devastated, my eldest son (7 years) was devestated, and I managed to complete the funeral arrangements on my own without going crazy. Now I am having eating fits. My neice and nephews came in from out of town for the funeral and I found myself eating a whole piece of fried chicken. The next day, I ate two bites of a chicken breast (baked) and felt as though something had gotten stuck. It tried to come up, but eventually the feeling subsided. Another unfortunate thing about my surgery is that I seem to tolerate moderate amounts of sugar. I ended up eating a cake donut at the repast (gathering after funeral), and have been eating small bits of candy on and off. While I understand that I have a process of grieving to go through, and that my grief may be playing a large part in this eating fiasco, I am afraid that my surgery was in vain. I've lost 20 pounds so far, but am scared of eating myself back into the hospital. Has anybody else gone through similar issues? Does anyone else have the hunger issue? Anyone else eating sugar? I need some tips on satisfying the cravings without going overboard.

Hi Paula - I'm in Dr Gachassin's support group too. I am so sorry to hear the troubles you are having and my condolences on the loss of your mother. That can be a devastating thing to anyone whether they are 10 or 60. Next to parents, food has been our number one source of comfort all our lives. I'm not sure how religious you are, but if you are, you know that you can let go and let God. Enough surmonizing. I have had some bouts of hunger, but I'm 8 months out now. And yes, I eat some sugar and it is becoming more and more tempting to me. Did you get some sugar free snacks for following the surgery? There are quite a few out there that are very tasty. Of course, the SF popsicles, etc are always good. I particularly like the Blue Bunny Citrus Lites. They are natural fruity tasting, not just flavored water. I'm not sure where you live, but Zuppardo's carries them. I have SF pudding w/Cool Whip almost every day, or jello and fruit w/Cool Whip. If you don't have a baby spoon or demitasse spoon, invest in one. You can't eat a whole lot at one time using that. And if you like bananas, slice one up and put it in a small container in the freezer until it is frozen. It takes longer to eat and you have to actually chew it. I find that a really big help sometimes. I haven't tried a lot of sugar as I'm afraid I won't dump. I'd rather not know. But I've always been a believer in one bite won't hurt you and will keep you from feeling deprived. Don't put yourself in that diet mentality, failure mode. You won't fail. We are all here to support you. Remember you can call Dr G and he will talk you thru this. If you ever want to call me, feel free. My number at home is 455-1510 or at work 831-1544 ext 20. If you call at home, my answering machine is always on, but if I'm here, just say who you are and I'll pick up. So take care and take heart. Hugs Linda

Thanks for the support. I think that when I wrote that post I was having an extremely bad day along with the situation. After coming to my senses, I ended up getting a bunch of sugar free snacks from Walgreens. I also started incorporating different ways to get more protein and water into my diet such as using a Twin Lab product (I can get 15 grams of protein within 3 tablespoons), and using Nectar protein shakes (22 grams of protein along with water). I even ended up switching my vitamin from the chewable Centrum to a liquid whole-food supplement. With those changes, I've been feeling much better. Although I'm still grieving, I find that I have a lot more energy--which helps out a lot. I have an appointment with Dr. Gachassin on the 9th, do you know when the next support meeting is?

Hi Paula, My condolences. I had something similar happen. I had surgery about a year ago. This August my aunt and uncle were murdered. I began to fall back to eating as much as I could as well as beginning to drink too much. The best thing I found was to get rid of all candy and alcohol in the house. It's not there, so I can't eat it. Also, make sure that you have someone to talk to. If you don't talk about it, you'll never be able to move on. Good luck and feel free to email me if you need.