Driving myself insane!!

Hi there.  I have not posted much on here - usually lurk in the background reading everyone elses posts.  I had RNY surgery on 11/03/09 and have a few questions that maybe some of you that had surgery already can answer for me.
First of all, I find myself worrying all the time that I am going to over eat and restretch my stomach out.  I usually eat something (souip, cottage cheese, jello) around every 2 hours or so when i feel hungry and drink my water in between.  Is this normal?  Have others worried about restretching?  Is it normal that I am usually hungry every couple of hours?  Or is it my mind making me think I am hungry because I was always eating before out of boredom?  
Also, is constipation normal?  This is another thing that makes me worry that I am going to stretch things back out.  I am eating all of these things every couple of hours but i am not having bowel movements on a regular basis like before the surgery.  I have started taking a laxative every 3 days when I am do not go.  
Has anyone else had these types of issues and have any advice to give me?
Thank you in advance.

Michele

I had my surgery 2 days after you. I have the same worries about stretching my pouch. I think that maybe that is normal for us this early out. This is a whole new way of life for us! My doctor told me that is a very common question too! I haven't actually felt hungry yet, with actual hunger sensations. I've been listening to my body and how I feel. I know my body needs food because after say 4 hours I start feeling blah and a little shaky, so I know its time to eat. I'm very conscious on how many ounces I'm eating as well. As far as the constipation goes, that is happening to me as well. I was like clock work every day, now its every 2 or 3 days. Doc told me make sure I am drinking the necessary fluids and if I need to add some benefiber to my water. Mine did NOT recommend laxatives. I did notice this past week the water has helped tremendously! I'm still getting used to these new "feelings" inside my body and what they mean!! I've learned real fast that "indigestion" feeling means put the fork down!! lol  As a newbie myself, I can just suggest follow the rules, listen to the docs and we're gonna be successful losers!! Good Luck to you!

Hello,

Mira-lax is good to use for constipation.  That had been a big problem for me for a while.  I use the generic one I got at Sam's club, much cheaper.  Soft foods are called sliders, they go down easy and you can eat more of it.  Make sure you measure your food.  Your mind can play tricks on you for food.  I went through head hunger for about 2 weeks.  I generally time my meals out.  I eat 4 meals a day and have 2 protein drinks.  There are times when I need to eat sooner than scheduled.  Sometimes I get weak or shakey then I eat early.  Your body will tell you.  You are still early out.  It is all about timing.  It was hard at first, I am getting better every week. 

In the beginning, if you follow the rules you should not have any problems, it's later when you can eat more that will cause you to stretch your stoma and pouch.   I can eat allot more now than I used to, but I try not to.  I stay mindful of serving sizes. 

My advise is to measure everything, that does 2 things, it teaches you portion size, (none of us got here eating normal portions) and keeps you safe from hurting yourself.  I looked at this journey as a learning curve, I had 8 mo's to 1 year to get as much weight off as possible and to re learn everything I thought I knew about food.  How to cook it, portion control, cravings.....take this time to really learn, listen to your body.  If I feel hungry too soon after a meal I'll drink a large glass of water, (this early out you can have a small glass of water :)) that usually that takes my hunger away, which tells me that I wasn't really hungry, I was thirsty.  To me, they feel the same.  I don't drink for 1 hr after all my meals, so I really have to work on my drinking between meals, I never knew that hunger and thirst feel pretty much the same to me.  So I'm still learning things about my body.  

As far as constipation, I don't know anyone who hasn't been affected.  I was also told about benefiber, didn't help me much though.  My thought was that my colon was used to so much more food that when that slowed down, everything slowed down, your not eating anything w/ fiber....all of that means a   s l o w   colon.  Wish I had a better answer for you.

Hope that helps.

Edie

As far as the bathroom issue...is it truly constipation or are you just not going as often as you "used" to go?  If it's that you need to go but can't then I would add benefiber to your water.  But if it's just that you aren't going as often, well, you have to remember that you aren't eating NEAR the volume of food that you used to eat, so naturally things are going to slow down.  Four years out, I still don't go everyday, but I don't consider it to be constipation because it's not that I have to and can't, I just don't need to.  KWIM?  My hubby doesn't understand how I don't just explode!  LOL! 

Men... If my hubby doesn't go four times a day he considers himself to be constipated!  TMI...

LOL,  my hubby is the same....men...not to smart at times huh!

Edie

Edie, Jan.....my hubby's the same way.  He can't figure out how I only go every other day or so and I can't figure out he goes 3 or 4 times a day!

Men are just full of crap.

Ladies, thank you so much for all your responses they have been very helpful.  I think the "bathroom thing" as someone put it is me just thinking I should be going once daily like before and now that I am not it has me worried. 
As for my food, I am still mainly eating things like cottage cheese which is in a 1oz container, or jello/pudding which is in containers too.  I am sometimes find myself looking forward to the day when I can mix up my dinner a bit and have something more than just soup.  I am begining to crave just chewing something!!  LOL
Have a great evening everyone!!!