hungry help
hey i am 3 and 1/2 weeks out and hungry all the time is this normal... please help need suggestions and what could be done.. I am mushy and feel full when done with meals.. it is the in between that kills me... I just do know what to do.. I feel like if dont eat i am starving but if i do eat i feel bad cause i am eating... Please help...
Thanks
DEBI
lap band 4-19-06
Hi Debi,
I've read posts before of people who said the same thing that you are. I haven't had surgery yet so I can't give you my advice but the people *****sponded to the other posts said it was something that they call "head hunger", I don't remember exactly what that means and I'm sure someone will be along soon who actually knows what they're talking about and can help you more. I thought since you hadn't been answered yet, I would let you know that I don't think you are alone on this subject.
Lia
You need to break your old habit of eating all the time what we call grazing. It is a very bad habit. When you are not really hungry and not at mealtimes find something else to do. Take a walk, bathe the dog, clean out a closet, knit, do something else to occupy your time. Sometimes it take a little while to learn when you are full. Be sure and do not drink when you eat and eat what your doc tells you to eat and watch the portions. You have to make lots of changes now in order to be successful, it is hard but you can do it.
The lap band doesn't have the "dumping" syndrome to help limit consumption, and there is a period between the surgery and the first fill when hunger is more of a problem because the band is still pretty open while healing is still going on. After the fills start, it takes a little while to find the optimum amount, or "sweet spot". For some, it takes 4 or 5 fills. You don't want to fill too much, or that has its own set of problems. But once a bander finds the sweet spot, hunger is not a big issue, and if weight loss causes the band to loosen again, another fill can usually get the person back to the sweet spot.
So yes, at first the banders do struggle more with hunger than the RNYers, who have all of their restriction from the beginning. But the surgery is much easier and safer, the anatomy stays the same, there is a little more of a "normal" diet on the lap band and not as much supplementation with vitamins is needed. The band is adjustable and reversible. The weight does not come off quite as fast for the banders, but studies are showing that the weight loss is about the same at 4 or 5 years out.
Each surgery has its own benefits and risks, and each person has to decide for him or herself what they can live with and be successful with. Neither surgery is inherently "superior" to the other, they are just different kinds of tools. For some, the RNY will get them to their goal, and for others, the lap band is the way to get there.
Best of luck to you no matter what you choose.
Debra
I dont know how much I can help. I am sort of in the same boat you are in. I am just 3 weeks out and at times do feel hungry. But I also think alot of it has to do with what is going on around me. For instants my mother is in the hospital and all the family was there. Well at the time I was still on my liquid diet (8 weeks long) and everyone was eating big ol fat cheese burgers. I got hungry and sort of mad cause I couldnt eat like I use to. But then I got my thought under control and removed myself from the situation. I got me 2 stick of chewing gum and went for a walk outside the hospital. By the time I came back they were done eating and I wasnt hungry any longer. I was a social eater my family is Italian and when we all got together we ate. So I have to id what are some of my triggers and rethink them. I hope this helps and if nothing else for you to know your not alone!!!
Take Care
Melissa
VGS 5-24-06
Most Active
Recent Topics
