EATING EATING EATING

Any of you have bouts of EATING where you find that you are just obsessed with eating, even after revision???  I am at that stage for the past week, and cannot understand... but I am just eating... mostly in the evening/night.  YES I have the gas that goes along with it..........and the poops.  It is scaring me, perhaps because I have been SOSOSOSOSO good for vitually the entire 4 years post-op...  Presently I am 9 wks out from my revision and have done well so far, but this week am not.

Oddly, I feel "out of control"...Perhaps I am PMSing...  I dunno...  This surgery was harder on me than the 1st one... and I think because it means more restrictions, it's got me out of sync... 

I would ask for "any suggestions" and expect to get: "Stop eating" or whatever... but if I could hear from SOMEBODY and their experience... maybe I could deal with this a bit better. 

Thanks

There was a thread about this on the DS board recently, because a couple of us are having the same issues.

Your post mentions feeling 'out of sync' because of your revision, and you sound a bit stressed from it all. Do you think you might be over the 'post-op coping' phase and having to come to terms with the new insides?

I think we underestimate how long it takes us to recover from surgery - especially revision ones, which seem to take it out of you more. My eating is often stress related, so I'm having to make myself conscious of it, and find other ways of coping with it. Don't beat yourself up about it though, trust your surgery and have faith in yourself.

Sal

Sal:
I can't figure if I am COPING with my new innards yet...  sometimes I feel in control of the situation, and sometimes I feel like it's a curse... so I don't think I'm "there" yet.  Still trying to figure why one day I can eat one thing, and the next I cannot.  Then there's the pooping my pants, even at work.  Scary.  It's perplexing.  And, yes, I think I'm stressed and overly-anxious over it.  As for the eating part, I actually FEEL hungry...that burning empty stomach feeling... which causes anxiety over "SHOULD I eat again???"  Hmm...

Thanks for your thoughts.

Hey Lizzie,
Your body may be screaming at you!  Maybe with all the potty action, you are missing some electrolytes, or are experiencing a vitamin deficiency, or are dehydrated, etc.  You don't know how to treat the mad body so you just feed it?  When are you due for more labs?  What does your doc suggest?

My family's new joke since my revision is "which supper" is that one, Mom?!!!!  I eat a farely normal breakfast but I ALWAYS eat breakfast or the rest of my day is shot with the shakies and the low energy.  I'll  pass on to you the best advice that was given me (from Vitalady).....overfeed your body with nutrition and not calories!  That isn't that profound perhaps but it is simply what some Erny revisions need to focus on!  My turn around for feeling good and maintaining weight was when I listened to my body and started feeding it at least every 2 hours.  I give it protein drinks, protein of every type, low glycemic fruits and veggies and I stay away from all lthe whites: rice, pasta, flour, potato, and even milk in my case.  I had vitalady ship me $300.00 worth of all the vites that my shortened cc needs to be healthy and I basically put myself on a diet which I have recently learned is what the Body Builders have used for 30 plus years!  It's cycling the  calories and frequent nutritional feedings.  You give yourself HIGH calorie days so the body never gets used to what's going on and so your energy can stay high.  Anyway, I can point you towards the experts on that if you're interested.

Tend to your new tool well and let it work for you.  Learn what your body reacts nicely to by journaling so you can repeat those types of "good" days.

Perhaps you need to hit some support groups or even some therapy to deal with the "out of control" feelings?  Check your labs to see if something's out of whack.

You have long, rigorous work days.  Do you pack food to eat all day?  Maybe the night binging is a reaction to low blood sugar dives?  If you grab some fruit or some processed carbs without balancing protein then your body will peek and feel better for a minute but then crash a couple of hours later from the blood sugar spike/dive. 

I KNOW I feel better because I"ve evened out my blood sugars.

Hang in there!  Get some medical help!

i am not certain if my answer is really what you were looking for but i have found that when i am eating carbs my appetite increases and i eat more and more and more. carbs turn into sugar. i try to keep in mind that when i am eating pasta it is the same as eating a donut and will have much the same effect on my body, my fat.  the more carbs you eat the more you want to eat and eat and eat.

maybe the answer is not about the surgery but about what you are eating. your food choices.

the way to neutralize the desire to eat and eat is to decrease the carbs and increase the proteins. proteins neutralize food cravings.

so ... maybe that will help you. 

                                                     

p.s. your avatar is cute.

I don't eat carbs...that is the rule after a revision.  So, no this is not the problem.

A few months ago, I went though a period of overeating. I would have dinner, and then want to eat again immediately. I couldn't figure out what was going on. After about a week of it, I started having stomach troubles and I ended up with a partial small bowel obstruction. I probably had it while i was thinking I was starving!
I now believe my body was out of whack, and I reacted by feeding it.
Since you recently had surgery, I am sure your body is out of whack, meaning it's different, and you have to become accustomed to the changes. It might not be hunger, just a feeling that something is different, and old habit is to eat when we feel this way.
I'm not sure this is what's up with you, but I completely understand the feeling of wanting to eat even when there's no room for more.
I'm making sure I have the right foods in the house, and avoid the simple carbs for the most part.  I'm not hungry very often at this point, but if I go 3-4 hours without eating I do begin to think of what to eat. Sometimes the whole deal seems like such a hassle!
Good luck with it.

Losing Sally:

Yes, I feel the same about what you are going thru.  Seems that in the a.m. I can get full quickly.  As the day progresses, and the more I do, the hungrier I get...

I am trying to eat the right way... even my hubby doesn't get the pastas and potatoes he once did (as often) and it's good for his diabetes too. 

I cannot go 3-4 hours between eating... sometimes 1-2 hours... it's the contemplation: What to eat?  Hmmm.....  I tossed the choc chips I had the the cupboard (they were calling to me, but I was stronger)...

Thanks

I think that we are pretty close to the same place as far as time since revision. It seems that as soon as you mention something going on with you I seem to experience something similar. I have been dealing with the poopie issue now for a few weeks and I think I have that under control. My problem is all about timing. It seems that 5 minutes after I put something in my mouth something comes out the other end. No idea why. I seem to go about 5 times a day. I also stay away from carbs. I overload on Protein, 1 for the diet and 1 for the wound healing. I start the day with 36 grams of Proteinex and 2 eggs and 2 breakfast sausage and my vitamins and 2 heaping teaspoons of benefiber. 2 hours later I have probably the only thing with carbs. I eat a Slimfast meal replacement bar. 8 grams of protein, 12 grams sugar and 12 grams sugar alcohol.  Lunch is usually some type of soup, this week its been stuffed green pepper soup made with brown rice. Dinner is either 4 pieces of string cheese (if I have to work at night) or something like soup again. If I feel like I need something to snack on and I do on occasion I will eat cashews or popcorn. I lose weight in one drop per month of about 10 pounds at a time and then nothing. I know what you mean about being hungrey but I keep protein handy at all times and that works for me. Its usually the first thing I grab. And if I feel deprived I grab the cashews, they have always been a treat for me and still are. I consider them the lesser of all evils. Oh and I also do 2 more heaping teaspoons of fiber before bed, it seems to help to do it twice a day. Good luck. Let me know what works for you and I will share what works for me.

Sheri AZ

Sheri AZ:

Yep, we are close in revision dates...mine is Nov 21.  First few weeks scared me to death...I thought that THAT would be my life and I made a terrible mistake.  I lost 2 lbs pre-surgery, 20 lbs in the first 2 weeks, and then 7 more subsequently...so nearly 30.  The quickest was 5 lbs in FOUR days...I had such water for poops--and subsequently had near-black-outs and dizzy spells.  Took a lot of Immodium.  Since, tho, Dr. S has me taking Benefiber...I pop 2 in the a.m. and if the day is esp "loose" I take 2 more the afternoon, but I also take an Immodium in the a.m....and then, again, if the day is esp bad, Kaopectate at bedtime.  I hate knowing that my bowels depend on medications, but for now that's the way it is.  I have had more and more good days, when I only take the Benefiber, and I am trying to have more and more days like that.  Dr. S told me recently: "In a year, you'll look back on this and say 'it was nothing' ".  But not yet.  At times, I have put his warnings about the white flour/rice/pasta to the test...and have paid dearly for them...having a teensy amt at dinnertime...SUFFERING GREATLY the following day... even having bouts of poops in the pants at work... it's extremely terrifying for me...I drive a school bus, and am driving from 6:00-9:00 a.m./11:30-3:00 and MUST be poop-free for those 3 hour shifts...so food intake must be proper in the evenings.  Last night I went to a 50th anniversary party and had a some of a small piece of cake...MISTAKE...this a.m. my intestines sound like a Drain-O commercial, and if I continue like this, I'll be hiring Roto Rooter to fix our plumbing!!!  haha So, I am really trying to be a stickler for the right combination of foods.  As for losing: I saw a photo of myself from last night, and I think I should NOT lose any more...I looked pretty thin... I do need to have a tummy-thing, tho...to remove what won't go away.

I start my day w/a cup of coffee--a must that early!!  I eat my chewable bariatric vitamins while driving my bus.  Then I have my 2 scrambled eggs w/cheese and 2 turkey sausage links.  Mid a.m.: 36 gr protein drink w/soy milk.  Lunch is usually chicken...either a chicken patty or 4 Tequila Lime chicken wings and then some veggies.  Mid p.m.: 1/4-1/2 c cottage cheese w/strawberries and 2-3 T vanilla yogurt for flavor.  When I get home from work at 3:15 p.m. I have a decaf latte or coffee...my treat for myself, and a turkey/cheese roll.  Dinner is protein/veggies.  Then I will have a protein snack or shake in the evening.  Oh, and I drink water w/lemon or iced peppermint tea throughout the day.  But, like I said, when I eat ANY carbs (and I have been known to "taste" my husband's pasta or mashed potatoes)...and paid the price the following day!  If I eat too much fat (butter, usually...olive oil not) it messes w/my undies the next day...UG.  (sorry to be so vivid---wipe that thought from your memory!). 

One thing I DO enjoy is a piece of chocolate each evening... I LOVE chocolate, and find that it doesn't mess w/my innerds too much... and just a sm piece...one Kiss or a 1" square. 

Anyhooo.....  keep me informed what works well w/you...  Keep on losin'!