somebody help me please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well today is the eighth day since surgery and I am fighting head hunger terribly. My family has tried to be really supportive but we have a tradition of eating meals at the table together and it is just hard to see them sitting at the table with their really good smelling food and me sitting there with my bottle of water. I guess I am just feeling very angry with myself over how much I let food run my life. I was over weight because I just love to eat. I was raised in the good old state of Louisiana and  boy let me tell ya they know how to cook some good food, but not good for ya. Can someone please give me some words of wisedom to get me through this wee****il I reach mushies. Don't get me wrong, my stomach hasn't felt hungry once but my head is trying to play some evil tricks on me or either it's the devil himself trying to get in my head and tell me that I need to eat something. HELP ME PLEASE

Christy, It will get easier once you are able to eat soft foods. You may find it easier to move away from the table for now especially in this full liquid phase. Fortunately I live alone and didn't have to deal with these issues. I just know that has to be difficult. Anyway, You can do this. Find something new to do with you hands mouth and brain when you are going through the head hunger. Keep your eye on the prize. ((((HUGS)))) Rita

Just keep telling yourself "I'm doing this to get healthy. I'm doing this to live longer." If that doesn't completely work, heat up some broth and "eat" with your family. I have the same kind of family, only mine is italian, so of course there's bread and pasta and all kinds of good stuff. I just keep telling myself that I'm going to be the healthiest person in my family soon enough.

When I was on liquids for those first two weeks, I had to leave my house when my family was eating.  I would go for a walk or go read a book or magazine outside.  It was the smell of the food that had me thinking I was starving, so I tried to avoid all smells.  One day they had lasagna which had to cook for 3 hours and those hours were torture!  So try to have them avoid eating foods that would smell or look good to you.  I had friends that offered to bring meals for some of those days, and since I'm not a huge beef eater, they used that opportunity to bring lots of beef dishes for my family.  You just have to find other distractions to deal w/ the loss of food in your life.  If you start doing that now, you'll have an easier time of it in the next coming weeks.  Eating mushies or the limited amounts of food you'll be eating for now on isn't the same way of life as before, and it's important, I think, to find substitutions for the time you spent eating and munching before.  I read a lot more now, do more yard work, more cleaning, spend more time on my make-up, and more time on the computer now.  You gotta do what works for you!  Diana

I did this it was horrible.  What I did was drained a can of chicken noodle soup and drank the broth it was the best thing ever and it made me feel like I was eating.

Since I am still over here on this side of the surgery side. I cant'offer any really good ideas.....i am a great cheerleader though....I can't wear the skirt anymore but man can I wave those pom poms!!! Head hunger is a feeling...just a feeling. Remember why you did this....Remember that soon you will be wearing smaller chothes, Remember that mushies are coming up soon!! If you have to,  leave the table and go for a walk! Focus on the future....Look at a catalog, full of smaller clothes....dream!!! You will get through this and feel stronger for it!! Everyone on this board except for a few like me who are still dreaming know you can do this!! They have been there and know you can sail through it!! We are all praying for you! I need you to get through this for little ole me....so that when I am asking for someone to get me through the liquid stage, you can tell me I can do it!!!!  Hang in there!  sherry

Head  hunger is a horrible thing those first 2 weeks!  You are more than half way through!!!  Make a really thick protein shake **** in the blender), have a bowl of broth and eat it with a spoon, go to the other room until the food part of dinner is over, fix food you aren't really fond of, or maybe fix them sandwiches.  I don't have any other ideas for you.  Just know it gets much better when you get mushies.  You feel like you are eating again- like a normal person with a tiny tummy. Hang in there it is almost over and the end results are wonderful! Denise

I struggled with the liquid phase too.  It was really hard!  I can tell you that you will make it!  Just hang in there because it is so worth it.  Remember that you have to protect the staple line in your new tummy and it's dangerous to eat.  I promise you that it gets easier when you get to mushies!  Once that happens, you feel like a "normal" person again.  Hang in there and keep posting.  We'll help in any way we can. FYI - I was known to eat 6 sf popsicles one after the other during the liquids stage.  Hey, at least I was chewing!

Hon, one of the hardest parts of the surgery for me was the reailization afterward about how much I depended on food....I mean I knew it before, but after the surgery and on liquids, I got it to the bottom of my toes.....WOW.  It really shocked me, and I think I am a pretty self aware kind of gal.

Try pulling a chair up in the room where your family is, be near them, but not at the table.  Why pretend things are the same when they are not?  You can join them again when you can eat, but in the meantime, you are still with them.

The first couple of weeks post op were really difficult for me with head hunger and all those fluids. Just remember that you are keeping yourself as safe as possible and as healthy as possible by following your surgeon's post op guidelines. Also, try some flavored broth or something thin that smells good and like real food. You're almost done and you'll be to mushies soon. I'll be keeping you in my prayers for a successful 2 weeks on liquids and that your head hunger is manageable for the course until mushies.