3 days post op question

Hi all, I had my VSG on Wed. Apr 15 and I am feeling pretty good except for a lot of soreness. My question is About being hungry vs. gas?  And sipping these liquids is not cutting it.  What I don't know is the feelings I am having are they really hunger or is it gas? I haven't been to the bathroom yet since surgery.  I feel like if I could eat some saltines and maybe satisfy this feeling I could get by.  Has anyone eaten anything like this only a few days out of surgery? 

Stick to the plan, stick to the plan, stick to the plan. My Dr described things in a way I could envision. Baby stomach, liquids, thicker liquids, purée, soft foods, chewable chewables. You wouldn't give a saltine to a 3 day old baby. Hang in, walk, walk, walk

No matter what is causing your hunger, keep to the plan. Your stomach has just undergone a traumatic surgery. If you try to hurry the recovery plan, you could do yourself some serious harm. Yes, it's crappy drinking all those liquids. Recovery time can be incredibly boring, foodwise. But all sleevers have gone through it. You will get through it too.

No saltines, young lady!

psychoticparrot

Hi everyone.  I just joined. Desperately looking for a group to speak with. I also got operated on the 15 of April. After looking into groups I found Laura Ross 87 comment and was relieved. I too feel hungry and thought I wouldn't be. I am having chicken puree (1oz) yogurt and jello. This is what I was told to do. But seems people are still on clear liquids post op days.  Is it normal to still feel hungry and crave your old foods?

Most sleevers do not experience true hunger for six months to a year after surgery. At 8 weeks post-op, I was feeling hunger, and as I was on omeprazole, I don't think the hunger was from excess stomach acid although it might have been. If you're not taking a prescribed med to reduce stomach acid, this is what may be causing your hunger. 

Once I was back on solid foods, I found it very difficult to push a plate of delicious food away because my sleeve was full. It seems like if the food is there, I should be able to eat it. This kind of "hunger" comes from the brain, not the stomach. I'm finding it easier to handle this problem as more time goes by. I'm also getting better at measuring my food, so that I know I can finish what's on the plate.

One pleasant side effect of the surgery is that I don't crave sweets any more (hope this will be permanent). I'm satisfied with healthy food (hope this will be permanent too).

As far as some people being on clear liquids and others on mushy food at the same stage of recovery, these difference are due to each surgeon having his/her own timeline for introducing food back into the diet.

psychoticparrot

Thank you for your response.  My hunger goes away with 3 to 4 half teaspoons of yogurt or jello. But I do feel a little hungry. Not like before Thank God. I am per sting I learn to say no and walk it off, like I just did a few minutes ago. 

I am gonna try my hardest with the help of Jesus to do the right thing and do low the plan to the max.

Thanks

NATASAelias70

Head hunger is a BI*$H. Stick to what your physician told you. Your body is in a major course of recovery and honestly this soon post op there is no way you are having actual hunger. Your head is telling you that you are hungry but that is a psychosomatic response to the fact that you have not been eating like you did before. Guess what, you will ALWAYS experience this to some degree. I'm 10months out and there are times that I feel like I'm going to die if I don't eat. But you find something to distract yourself and DON'T IMPULSE EAT.

Thankfully I work as a Nurse in a fairly busy environment and I can very easily get distracted.

As for gas, it sucks. It does go away, the more you move the quicker it goes away.

And finally in regards to the bathroom habits. You won't be going as frequently as before. Think about it the volume of food you were putting into your body before surgery compared to the amount you are putting in now. You don't really have anything to get rid of... If you're still on liquids then you will urinate those products out.

As for saltines, DONT DO IT. this early out you can cause issues with your sleeve.

I'm 6 days post-op.  I can tell you that once I started taking my PPI, that stomach noise seemed to stay at bay which told me it was acid not hunger.  Honestly it never felt like true hunger, but it sounded like it.  Just really pay attention to it and try taking your PPI at different times in the day as I found taking mine around 10 am keeps that feeling at bay during the hours I'm awake.

My surgeon told me to start taking Miralax if I hadn't had a BM by day 3.  I'd start adding that in right away if I was you (or something like it).  Once I got everything moving there along with taking my PPI at a time that works for me, I've been feeling great on the liquids.

Good luck!

You definitely need to stick with the plan. You're stomach is in the healing processes. Don't eat anything thats not on your plan to help prevent from leaks. Watch my favorite doctor on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P1LOpsx39w

It does get get better day by day and at first I remember being very hungry. I ate alot of sugar free popsicles.; Good luck!