Feeling full?

I'm 19 days out and I feel very lucky that I haven't had any problems up to this point. I do have a question though. I feel hunger but I dont feel any fullness. I can eat a half cup of my pureed food it goes down fine, no gaging or nausea and I have yet to trough up.  But when I finish I dont fell any fullness or tightness or any signs that I might be full. Like burping hiccups etc. I also have no problem getting in all my protine and fluids for the day. Is that normal? I'm kind of scared becaus I dont want to over eat and run into problems. I make sure I dont eat over my half cup so that I dont, but this seams strange to me. I was counting on that full feeling from having a small pouch.

Help!

I felt 'hunger' but found that drinking more fluids really made that go away.  It was not till I moved to solids that I truely GOT FULL.  I would get hiccups when I was full on soft or purreed food.  However now...two or three bits of  FOOD makes me FULL.  Hope that helps

When u had the surgery, your fullness sensor/nerve  was severed.  Make sure you are weighing and measuring your foods and only eat what you know you are supposed to.  You will not feel full for awhile.  It will grow back, so you want to train yourself now to only eat the correct portions.

Good luck!!! I now get a hiccup burp kind of thing when I have had enough... it's pretty comical.  My 11 year old daughter thinks it's hilarious when I do it and will say something if I continue to eat afterwards because she knows that my signal.  She keeps me in check.

Lisa,

I just learned something new from your post about the fullness/sensor/nerve being severed.  I'm learning how to eat solids now, and I'm chewing like I'm supposed to; however, I think I am swallowing too much at once or eating too much.  This could be the answer that I'm looking for.  Last night after I ate dinner, it all came up again.  Today, I'm going to eat a smaller portion and swallow small bites too!

I have learned so much from OH and people like you, sharing their knowledge.  Thanks for posting this information. 

Have a great Tuesday!

Debbie

Debbie,

The thing to keep in mind is that the opening through which the food must pass is about the size of an M&M.  Even if no individual pieces of food are larger than that, swallowing a bunch of food that's all trying to force its way through that opening at once will cause a traffic jam.  Because the nerves are severed (and nerve tissue typically takes MONTHS to regenerate, if not longer), you're not feeling much from that traffic jam (later on, you'll likely feel pain from it).  

The key is to measure your food, cut it into very small bites, then chew it really well.  Take a little time between those bites (put your utensils down, chat with the folks you're eating with) so that the traffic has time to flow easily without jamming up.

I found the fact that the nerves to my stomach were cut to be a real GIFT in this process.  It let me re-learn eating habits without being a slave to my belly's complaints.  Even now, I don't feel really "full" and that's a great thing - as previously noted, we've all been so used to that "overstuffed" feeling that the freedom from that feeling can take some getting used to.  "overstuffed" does NOT equal "full" feeling... And as Barix advises, you don't eat until you're "full," you just eat until you're "just satisfied" (once the nerves have grown back).

Karen

Karen,

Thanks for the detailed explanation.  I measure my food and chew it really well.  It's whenever I try here lately to eat with a regular size utensil, I run into trouble with the amount.  I honestly feel comfortable eating from my baby spoon - lol - because I know how much is going in and it helps me control that as well.  Last night I had a delicious meal with spaghetti squash baked with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese, along with a small piece of salteed chicken breast.  Apparently, I ate too much at a time or too quickly, because it wasn't long thereafter it came up. 

I love my RNY and the fact that I get satisfied on very small amounts.  I no longer crave food, especially now that I'm sugar detoxified.  It's the BEST feeling in the world to NOT crave food all the time.  I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity.

Thanks again for the information. 

Debbie

Debbie,

Yep - a lot of folks on here swear by their "baby" utensils, even far out from surgery.  Helps remind you to keep those bites small!  

The other thing that raised a red flag might have been the spaghetti sauce... unless it's homemade by you, MOST spaghetti sauces have a decent amount of sugar in them.  The only one I've found with no added sugar is Don Pepino's which has become our family's standard sauce (tastes great, too).  

Karen

I think we were so used to 'stuffing' ourselves all the time that we don't think we've had enough to eat if we don't have that miserable, stuffy feeling. You're doing great, tho - keep measuring your food - you're very fortunate to be getting all your proteins in this early and that will definitely help you in the long run. But keep babying that pouch - the last thing you want to feel right now is 'full'.

Eat your 5-6 small meals a day, drink lots of water - a lot of what you're feeling may be part of head hunger, thinking you want more food but really don't and couldn't tolerate it anyway.

Trust me, Dr Boe did a good job in there - so don't pu****slow and easy is the way to go.

Thanks guys you have made me feel better. I kept on hearing people say that the were full after 3 or 4 bites. So I sort of expected to feel that too. Dr Boe did do a good job and I LOVE him. I just need to relax, and do what Barix told me. Karen thanks for reminding me about eating untill you feel satisfied. I had forgotten that. When I eat I do feel satisfied when I finished, and I don't feel the need to eat more than my half cup. Oh I am measuring and weighing EVERYTHING!  I don't want to over do it.

In the way back beginning (seems so long ago but its 5 months lol) I would measure and do the 20 minute eat thing.  Now, I just "know" when I am full.  One meal may be 3 bites and another meal may be 6...somehow there is something in my brain that says "its time to stop"  Maybe it's just the eating slow and usually still taking that 20 mins or maybe it's just a fear of eating too much sensor, but being this early out you will find out what your turn off switch is.  I also get the hiccup type burps but they usually come after I have stopped.