11 Days Post-op -discouraged!

I had my surgery on December 22.  I have been very careful and done everything they have told me.  60 grams of protein a day and 64 oz of water.    Only the first 3 days was this a problem.  I have no problem getting all that in.  I am discouraged.  I am feeling hungry - and the scale has not moved in 4 days.  Am I expecting too much?  Why am I feeling hungry?  I have not experienced the  "full" feeling.

What surgery did you have? Sleeve? Band? RnY? DS?

Thanks I had the sleeve. 

Then, in addition to everything Gwen said below, my surgeon also said that sometimes it takes a few weeks for hunger to go away as the grehlin leaves your system and new grehlin isn't produced as that part of the stomach is no longer there. He also said that for some people hunger does not go away. In fact when I woke up from surgery his first question to me was, "are you hungry?" I thought that kind of weird then because food was pretty much the last thing on my mind at that moment. But my surgery was delayed from noon until 4 p.m. And I had not eaten since 10 pm the night before and I was hungry going in to the operating room. When I woke up I was absolutely not hungry and apart from the occasional feeling of running on empty, I have not felt hunger since.

But, the lack of physical hunger, while certainly helpful, is still no match for the head hunger and desire to eat (usually the wrong stuff) anyway. That is the real battle.

on the full feeling - your nerves have been severed and some major trauma inflicted on your tummy. Give yourself time to heal. You will feel restriction when you graduate to the 'cleared for all foods' phase and especially when you will eat dense protein and fiberous veggies. For now follow your plan by weighing and measuring and sticking to the prescribed portion size.

last but not least, do not seek out the full feeling. Seek out the satisfied feeling. Try to undereat your capacity to preserve the restriction offered by your sleeve.

great that you are getting the fluids in and the protein.

keep up the good work!

It's great that you're getting your minimum protein and liquid in so soon!  Awesome.  :D  

Hunger is often a result of stomach acid - are you taking a PPI such as Prilosec or Nexium?  If not, ask your surgeon about starting on.  If you are, ask your surgeon about a stronger one.  

It's very common not to feel restriction until starting solid foods which is why it's really important to measure things that you eat so as not to overeat.  Your stomach's nerves were all severed and they're healing right now.  This means that they're not giving you valid feedback about fullness (or anything else) so it's best to measure and be safe.  

Thanks for the input.  Currently I am not taking the PPI, and now that you mentioned it, I do remember something being said about that, but I didn't know the "hunger" feeling was a result of stomach acid.  I will give that a try.  Deanna

Taking a PPI clears the hunger feelings up for a lot of people - good luck!  

You won't feel full until you start eating solid food. Liquids or pureed foods just don't give you that sensation.

Throw your scale away. You're going to lose weight at the same rate whether you weigh or not. All weighing does it make you discouraged. You won't 'suffer' from stalls if you don't know they're happening. Weigh only at your doctor's office.

Hunger is natural, and trust me, you don't want to lose that completely. There are days when I have no hunger, but if I don't eat, I get sick. Believe me, forcing yourself to eat when you feel no hunger SUCKS.

If you'll put your surgery type and date on your profile, it will show up each time you post. This info will help us help you.

Don't be scared that it didn't work. I also experienced hunger! It was hard! I drank warm chicken broth. You will experience the full feeling when you start eating food. Good luck and hang in there. You will feel better. Try to stay busy so you are not thinking about it all the time.

Stick with the plan and stop weighing every day.  Weigh once a week or at your doctor visits.  It will be more rewarding and worth the wait.  Weighing every day sets you up for discouragement.  You will lose!!  :)