ghrelin

Hi VSG'rs,

I am closing in on my surgery date 3/23. I'm very curious about reduced ghrelin hormone after surgery. I have strong hunger desires like many, but I've heard the stories about post op surgery VSG'rs are not hungry like they used to be before they had surgery. Is this fact or fiction?

Thanks for any feedba k given.

Hi. Im fairly new to this. I was sleeved on 2/19/2015, and I must say it is 100% true. The hunger goes away! The only problem that im facing are the cravings inside my head! I have other family members that I live with who still eat regular food and I get cravings. It gets hard at times but I just try and remember why I had the procedure in the first place. Through it all I can never say that I have ever been hungry!! Good luck!

Fact.  But not always for everyone.  

A lot of hunger issues are in your head rather than physical cravings.  The portion of the stomach that generates ghrelin is removed but ghrelin is also generated in other areas of your body.

I can say for myself that I have not have physical cravings for hunger since I've had surgery.  It's all in my head, and that's a tough nut to crack.

Keep in mind that many recent post ops think they're feeling physically hunger when in fact it's stomach acid.  My surgeon required that I take a PPI for six months post surgery.  Make sure you ask your surgeon if he/she prescribes one and how long to take it.

Because I've developed GERD post surgery, I continue to take a PPI.   The side effects are minimal and it reduces the nastiness from the stomach acid.  Good luck!

I am no longer hungry. But, after a 3 oz. to 4 oz. of dense protein, I do feel quite full for a while! It's great!

My stomach makes little flips - kind of like a 'growl,' but I learned on OH that it is most likely stomach acid. 

I do "miss" food for my formal life. I don't call it a craving, though, because that implies that my body needs it or has to have it, And I still cook and have lots of food around for my family. Although I "miss" it, I don't think I could be so strong against it without this surgery. Some days are better than others, honestly, but this tool is a great help with compliance!

I'm rarely hungry and, when I am, it's either acid or something I can easily ignore.  Hunger is no longer something that I need to address.  Which is fantastic :)

I have done a fair amount of reading on this topic and there is no single answer to your question. 

Ghrelin, leptin and orexin are three hormones that affect appetite. A tremendous amount of research is being done currently to give us a clearer picture of how these hormones interact and impact our eating behaviors. The last meeting of The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (asmbs.org) included several discussions focused on this area.

There is a lot of information available online on ghrelin, but I would highly recommend you look for the most recent articles you can find because it's really interesting to see what is being uncovered right now.

Agreed. Those who latch on to reduction of ghrelin as the solution to hunger pangs are grasping at straws. Physical hunger is far more complicated, not to mention head hunger.

Some say they don't feel hunger several years after surgery. Some never have hunger go away at all. From reading on OH and my local support group, I would estimate that most people feel no hunger for 9 months to a year, after which it returns in varying degrees. From what I've seen, there seems to be no difference between VSG and RNY.

To me, that hunger-free time is the true honeymoon period.

I was one of those who never lost hunger.  I never took a PPI, so I don't know if some hunger I felt was really acid.  However, as soon as I ate, I felt filled up.  Usually, hunger returned a few hours later, when my stomach was empty and it was time to eat again.   It's still like that, though I do experience head hunger and cravings at time, as well.  When I've already eaten, and it's not time to eat again, I get my fluids in, which helps me get through those times.