a little confused

Well I am on stage two right now and feeling a little concerned. I am always hungry. The small amounts of food they want me to eat just isnt cutting it. I am always hungry after I eat what they tell me too. I was so hungry one day I ate a bowl of cream of wheat and nothing happened to me. I thought I would get a full sensation but I never did so I just kept on eating it. I dont know what to do I feel like this surgery didnt work for me. Is it all in my head? Is it just my old habits showing. The thing that concerns me is I dont get full though like when I ate the whole bowl of cream of wheat. Please tell me I didnt go through this for nothing

Gretta have you asked your Dr about this?? I've not gone through that sort of experience of not feeling full, so I am no expert here, but I'd guess you've done nothing wrong and that you should just check with your dr. Not to scare you but it COULD be that you may need a minor adjustment????? I've known other with opposite problems and they had a very minor 2nd surgery to fix it. I HOPE SOMEONE ELSE FROM THIS BOARD HAS MORE EXPERIENCE WITH THIS PARTICALAR ISSUE TO HELP YOU!! : ) Are you DRINKING the water you should be drinking? Getting any protein yet?

Tamara thanks for the response. Yes I am drinking the protein and water but maybe not enough. I always feel hungry not thirsty so I forget to drink. How much should I be drinking in stage 2?

as for the drinking in stage 2......every dr is different and I didn't have your surgeon but I know you need to be working towards getting 64 ounces a day. If you are NOT getting in enogh that COULD be you trouble. And MYSELF, I was drinking as I ate even that early out cause I just NEEDED the liquids or I'd have dry mouth. I still do that, always have. I've gotten down 60 ounces so far today already. I jsut keep it with me and DRINK, it's a new habit you'll have to develope along with some old ones you'll have to BREAK. : ) It's a struggle for sure but you can do it! PLEASE stop thinking you've had this surgery for nothing. Soon enough you'll see and feel exactly WHY you had it!!! HANG IN THERE and just to get some reassurance, call your doc and ask him about what your dealing with. Tami

Hey Girlie!!! Hows it going? You will see Dr H. tommorrow. I doubt that you are doing anything wrong. But cream of wheat will probally pass from your pouch a little faster than you think. I would not worry if you are not having pain or nausea and vomiting. Like Tami said keep drinking and keep up with the protein and that will eventually get you to feeling full. Do you do the food first or the protein shakes. Which ever switch your order of intake and see if that helps. Or put your protein in your cream of wheat. Take care I will see you tommorrow. julia

Gretta, Call Dr. H but I don't think there's anything wrong with you. For one thing, you are probably not drinking enough. One of the books I read said we often confuse thirst with hunger and believe me if you're drinking even 50oz of water you feel like you slosh when you walk. Also, eat protein first and don't drink right after you eat or you can wash the food out of your pouch. Sometimes I think I'm hungry but if I analyze it it seems like it's my old stomach that is complaining and eating anything isn't going to help that. Drinking seems to be the answer. As for the cream of wheat. I think if I ate that it would just slide in and out of my pouch and I wouldn't feel full but I don't really know. What about if you eat something with more substance, scrambled egg or cottage cheese? Give some other things a try and remember to eat slowly and chew alot. It takes some time for our heads to know we've had enough. Don't despair, please. I know this will work for you. Hugs and loveys, Lana

Gretta, I was the same way. Seemed like I was always hungry and always eating 2 oz of this or 2 oz of that. But, if I kept track I really wasn't even eating as much as I'm allowed. Now, two weeks out it is a little better. I'm learning the full feeling. Like Lana said sometimes it is not my stomach that is hungry but some other empty feeling down lower. I think we just need to get used to our "new" insides. I know after my dumping experience that this surgery will in fact work for me. I just need to follow the doctors orders and take it a step at a time. I know it can be frustrating, you just want to sit down and eat a plate full of something. But, we are just starting out on this whole new learning experience and it will take time to adjust. It will get better, easier and tastier as we go along. I am trying to just focus on the fact that I'm losing pretty well right now - so it must be working! Hugs! Marilyn

Hi Gretta. It took me almost two months to realize when my new pouch had as much as it should. It certainly doesn't feel the same as a full tummy does preop. I am wondering if you suffer from my condition, head hunger? After surgery I placed such emphasis on eating the right things at the right times, really staying on track. But I so missed chewing, reallllllllyyyyy chewing in the early days. I used to eat out of boredom, and ate when I was actually thirsty. Are any of these things something you can relate to? My guess is that you have head hunger at this stage. Something that I have come to realize is that I don't have to eat a full bowl or a full plate of something to fulfill my nutritional needs, only my psychological needs require larger quantities. It is much easier for me to measure the food, eat slowly (over the course of twenty minutes) and then throw whatever hasn't been eaten away, if anything is left. You didn't go thru this for nothing. It is just going to take some time to get to know the new patterns. Don't be so hard on yourself, you are gonna be just fine and before you know it, the inches will be melting away and you will wonder where they went. ~Diana~

Hi Gretta...I wanted to post a little note to let you know that I just went through that a couple weeks ago-and I was confused and feeling exactly like you. I did discuss it with my doctor and she said that if I was drinking 1/2 hr before and up to an hr after, that could affect it-but also that when I ate something of more substance, it was a lot better. I personally didnt do the soups or cream of wheat-just because even though it was on the list-I got dumping syndrome really bad-so I just did extra protein shakes and boiled eggs and cheese. That made all the difference. It was so hard in that stage because I had been on the protein/liquid diet for 6 weeks before surgery and it just seemed like I was never going to eat real food again-but, this too shall pass and even though this time can seem like its never going to end-it WILL....you didnt go through this for nothing-you will start feeling soooo much better and when your clothes are too baggy or you see someone who hasnt seen you since you lost weight and they dont recognize you-it will make all the difference-and you will know all of this was worth it-and it will become just a distant memory....please keep your chin up and if you need to talk-email me, okay? Have a good day and keep your chin up!! Jan

Hi Gretta, Well,I tell you right now,listen to these girls they are right on the button.I too am on stage two and still have the hunger pains,but I believe its all in the head tho lol.You ought to try peaches in the can or pears any fruits in a can that dont have the skin on them with some cottage cheese or even a couple of crackers with some velveeta cheese on it.Anything you can take in your hand and squeeze and doesn't turn into a ball is ok.So girl I know whats your goin thru so your not alone hun,But the good thing about all this,Is that I lost 65 pounds as of this morning.So its all worth it hun,We wouldn't stir you in the wrong direction.Make sure you get all your fluids in and hang in there.Godbless...Tony