Hunger

 Hi, I'm having revision from Lap-Band to RNY on Dec 14. I'm currently on a pre -op liquid diet and I'm starving! 
I remember the ad I read 5 years ago that helped me decide on the Band. It read "tame your hunger".
Well that has been proven false advertising in my book. Hunger is horrible, and I feel it all the time, within an hour from eating a meal. 
Can anyone tell me if having a small pouch for a stomach will take away that hungry feeling? My band experience has not been a good one. When I get hungry and my stomach starts to squirm, the pain is bad since having the band in there. So until the 14th, I guess I'm just going to have to be really uncomfortable. This is my third day with no food in my tum.
Yesterday I was grumpy and irritated, and felt like I did when I quit smoking a few years ago. What the heck? I'm addicted to food? That's what this feels like-withdrawal. 
Does any body experience reduced hunger due to RNY? Please Please tell me you do!
Julie

Yes with the RNY you will feel full fast and eventually food will not be your focus anymore. Good Luck with your surgery and have a speedy recovery.

 I had RNY for 28 years, I was always hungry, you will only be able to eat a very little of some foods with RNY. In my case, I couldn't eat any kind of sweets, or rich food; even milk would make me dump. And anything fibrous or stringy would stick in my pouch and I would up puke it up. Even rice would stick no matter how much I chewed it. I hated it. It did help me lose the weight, but after about a year, I started to re-gain and had to diet and exercise pretty much every day to keep from gaining it back. When I got sick and couldn't exercise for a year, the weight started coming back and I lost control; ended up gaining it all back.

I got a revision to DS in Sept 2008 and it's like I'm in heaven; I've lost all the weight, I eat pretty much anything I want to within reason and I never dump or have to puke up stuck food.

IMO the DS is superior to RNY in every way and there is no way I would let anyone cut up my stomach and turn it into a pouch again, no way in hell. 

One of the really great things about the DS is that there's no blind stomach to give you trouble or produce ghrelin (the hunger hormone). And because of the way our stomach is modified we can take Ibuprofen or any NSAID.

If I were you, I would seriously look into the DS; especially if you're worried about being hungry.

Kerry

 
Hi Julie.  First, good luck with your surgery.  Second, try brushing your teeth after meal (liquid or whole food meal).  It will take away the hunger for a little while.  I'm not sure why or how it works, maybe the minty flavor, but it works for me & I've heard for others too.  The real hard part is remembering to use that trick when you get that hungry feeling.  You can also try drinking warm herbal or green tea.  

 yes, herbal tea seems to work! Not green or black tho, makes me wicked nauseous to drink regular tea on an empty tum. Thanks for the tooth brushing idea, my brother said that helped him when he quit smoking:) Maybe there is something to it.
Julie

Hi Hummingbird,

First let me say that I had Roux N Y surgery five years ago and am about to have lap band surgery. There is no magic bullet.  That said,  i was not hungry at all for a year after my surgery. I lost 100 pounds and did well. Things went off the rails when I got colitis and had to switch from eating protein and veggies to only carbs. I could have gone back to eating properly but I didn't. It got harder and harder.

the upshot is that the key is sticking with the high protein, low carb food plan. The more sugar you eat, the more you will want. 

I think that the issue for me was emotional eating and that cannot be cured with any surgery- so the work continues.

I am also on liquids right now, in preparation for the revision- it sucks!!!!!!!!!!
So you have  my sympathy.

Best of luck with your revision.

feel free to keep contact me if you want support around liquid diet- I could use all the support I can get.

DD

 Thanks for the support Deb! You are so right on the sugar thing. I think that is where the band failed me. Cookies were easy when I couldnt get protein past my band, and sugar is so addicting! It is as bad as nicotine according to my experience. A good 4 days of withdrawal at least. I'm discovering that I am an addict, and I'm so mad at myself for taking this long to admit it. Just like I cant have even one cigarette, I endanger myself by eating a piece of fudge for all the same reasons. Ugh. And I feel so sad about it. It is a big mountain to climb, but I want to change! I hope this revision is part of what will help me change for good. Pray for me! My surgery is next Monday!!

I think having a revision is like reseting one's mind as well as one's body, back to where it was when we first had surgery. My original goals were to resolve medical issues. This did happen and remains the case even though I have regained 40 pounds. This time, I actually want to be a regular sized person. I'm not sure I could even envision that the first time and now I can.  So- I'm going in with a different set of goals.

I'll pray for you- pray for me too.

DD

Hi DD,
What type of revision are you having?  I am also seeking revision from  RNY proximal to distal or the DS.  I am still in the decision stages. 
Marianna

I'm having a band placed over the bypass. If I had it to do all over I'd probably do a DS. I had a leak after the RnY so I don't want anything that involved cutting the stomach.  I'm hping this helps me get back on the program and stops the weight gain. I gained tweenty pounds in two months after pretty much maintaining for 5 years.

best of luck  to you.

dd