Pre/Post surgery HUNGER...

Hi everyone,

I am scheduled for my first appt. w/ my surgeon on Jan. 8th.  One of the reasons why I asked my PCP/PCM for a referral was because I had three small strokes in March/April of this year 2008, and since then I've gained 30 lbs. due to an insatiable appetite.  I mean I eat every 2 hours, never feel full and it's gotten worse since the strokes.  I've always been overweight, but I had a major stroke at 22 years of age when I weighed my heaviest - 240 lbs. after my twin daughters were born.

Also, I feel hungry immediately after I eat.  The strokes thru me into menopause, so I'm not sure if my appetite is hormonal, but here's my question:

Has anyone had this type of appetite pre-surgery and did it go away post-surgery?

Thanks for your help.

I had a voracious appetite before WLS ... I mean I could literally eat almost all day long without any second thought.  I could go to whole foods in the morning for breakfast and eat a full breakfast burrito, hash browns and bacon, then for lunch, go to a restaraunt for lunch and eat a cheese burger, fries and a salad, then for dinner have two pork chops, over a cup of rice and a huge serving of vegetables, plus a salad ... wait there's more ... I would almost always snack on nuts and chips and cookies or anything available in the staff breakroom throughout the day ... literally eating every two hours ... breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack snack snack ... when I was home and I put the kids in bed, my favorite snack was frozen beef and bean burritos oh and don't forget dessert .... gotta have a cup cake or a huge bowl of ice cream (at least two servings cause serving sizes are for chumps).  Now I don't know if I was eating hormonally (I could always eat more on my period) or just eating a lot, but I don't ever remember feeling super full.  The hardest thing for me was the pre surgery diet, I had to lose 10% of my body weight (28 pounds) before scheduling surgery ... I was always starving ... so I did a high protein low carb diet! 
Now let me tell you the good news ... post surgery, I am simply amazed at how little I want to eat.  I have absolutely no hunger issues, I am never hungry, I only eat when the clock tells me it's time to eat.  When I eat, I eat between 1/3 and 1/2 cup of food at a time and I only eat 3 times a day ... rarely do I snack, and if I do, 10 pretzels satisfies me.  This surgery was the best thing I have ever done and I am grateful for it every day because I know for a fact I was well on my way to eating myself into an early grave.  
I hope this helps.
Good luck!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you....

I am so afraid this appetite won't go away, so your answer gives me hope.  I can eat like that, also, but more so after my strokes, so it's good to know that WLS helps curb the beast. 

How much have you lost?  What type of surgery did you have?

I appreciate your taking the time to write and I will keep you posted.

Thanks and take care.

I had an RNY gastric bypass on November 12 ... I have to warn you though, I didn't have head hunger issues post op, but I talk to a lot of people on the boards that go through some type of head hunger usually about 10 days out.  It only lasts for a week or so, but it seems bothersome.  Like I said, I didn't suffer from that problem and hopefully you wont either.  So far from surgery I have lost 32 pounds, but total since orientation I have lost 55 pounds.  

My thoughts exactly. I have been such a compulsive eater until it was so hard for me to do the liquid diet. I had to revise it to 2 protein shakes and a low carb meal. I kept my  carb count between 40-50 as instructed and then I did OK...............but it was sooooooo   hard. My date is Jan 23rd................

My surgeon labeled me "the hungriest person in the world".  I had the lap-band first and then RNY when I had band complications.  The band... OMG, there would be days where I forgot to eat.  Hunger control with the right fill level/restriction was amazing.  My RNY... never feel full... NEVER.  It is the same hunger I was cursed with pre-op.  I thought I had time until the hunger returned.  I told my surgeon about the current hunger level and the only thing he could say was "****" because that means I am not going to lose weight as easily or as much now.  Sigh... I miss my band :(  There are happy people with RNY, but I am not one of them.

I don't know if this helped.

That's horrible Alyssa!  But you've managed to lose so much, it is working.  How much are you able to eat now?  Do you not puke if you eat too much?  I'm so sorry you aren't happy with your RNY.

I'm about 9 days out and I'm suddenly hungry - not all the time, but certainly more often than what I've expected.  What concerns me is that the hunger often comes after I've already eaten (granted I could be experiencing PMS).  I think I'm also having trouble determining fullness.  The first few days out of surgery it was easy to tell when I was full, but it's getting harder and harder.  I hope this procedure will work for me - I need to lose enough for them to be willing to fix my hernia!!!!!!

Yeah, I lost 70 pounds, but I was also in the hospital unable to eat/drink most of that time...

Right now, I am at a plateau.  I have not lost an ounce in 2 weeks.  My clothes are not shrinking either... it is a true stall.  I am going to Disney World in almost 2 weeks and I'll worry about breaking the stall after my trip!

I don't vomit every day.  It's more like I make a hell of a lot of saliva and each swallow makes me more and more nauseated, so I spit out all that spit.  Sometimes it is the true vomiting, like I have the flu.  It's never "chunky"... just my pouch decided to stop pushing the food down or something.  I can even vomit on water, milk, etc.  Middle of the night, I vomited saliva... nothing in my pouch... just saliva.  It sucks.  The band was better on me, but it decided to malfunction and I had to lose it.  I am trying so hard to cope with the hunger on top of the nausea/vomiting.  I hate meat, so that makes food choices harder post-RNY.  Sigh... I could keep on talking about this, so I'll wind it down!  haha!

I get hungry within an hour after eating, without fail. I wake up hungry, go to bed hungry, and try not to let it control me during the day.  I drink plenty of flavored water but choke it down (I only like plain water).  I try to "fill up" on that, but as you know from pre-op, it can only do so much on the hunger signal!  I also have some hormone problems going on (hypopituitary, adrenal insufficiency) and I hope when those things even out, my hunger will improve.  I got the hormone problems after my RNY, likely due to the trauma I experienced with bowel obstructions, strictures, and malnutrition...

Best of luck to you!  Feel free to write any time  your hunger gets the best of you!  Vent away!

Alyssa,

Oh that sucks!!!!  There was a 10 diet to break the plateau that someone from this site (somewhere - can't remember which board) posted.  I'm going to find it and send it to you; perhaps it will help - who knows.

Also, who knows, maybe the hormone imbalance is creating this insatiable hunger.  At any rate, I wish you the best and feel to message me to vent too!!!! :-)

K

I hope when they even out my hormones, I wont' be as hungry... and malnutrition (which I have) increases hunger too... so maybe things will get better.  I have to have hope right!  I don't remember seeing a 10 day diet for plateau busting.  I'd appreciate a link for that!  I'll tackle my plateau when I get back from Disney World!