4 days post op

So...I'm 4 days out now. Moving to full liquids because I feel like I am starving. I am not sure if this is normal because it takes a while for the brain to catch up to the belly? I'm constantly sipping liquids and breathing in my spirometer, but my belly is very rumbly and feels hungry. I haven't reached a point where I feel satisfied. Am I crazy? Is my body going to chill eventually?

I was put on full liquids on day 1, but I know all diets after surgery can be different. Your stomach is very swollen right now so make sure you stick to your Drs. directions. You may not be feeling anything until some of the swelling goes down. I am surprised you don't feel any kind of pressure after drinking a few sips of a shake. I didn't feel anything aside from that for awhile after surgery but when I was full my nose would run and that went on for several months until I could feel food in my stomach again. Good luck

Thanks Tracy. I am being very careful to adhere to instructions. I should specify I was allowed to move to full liquids today, provided I was taking in at least 48 ounces of fluid daily, which I was. I feel grumbles and what feels like stomach acid secreting, and cramping that feels like hunger pain. If I drink too quickly, I feel a bubble like sensation, but it seems to pass quickly with a burp.

Are you on an acid reducer ? Sometimes acid mimics hunger pains.

Congratulations!

Sip slowly and be careful is my advice. I was nervous of getting full and stretching or hurting my sleeve so I would take 30-45 minutes to finish each "meal".

I haven't yet felt physical hunger yet but I do have those loud rumblings after pretty much every drink or meal. I'm 7 months out and still have those rumblings all the time. Sometimes it's quite embarrassing.

The "hunger" you're feeling at this point is really excess stomach acid. Although your stomach is a fraction of its former size, it's producing the same amount of stomach acid it was before. Eventually it will calm down and produce less acid. In the meantime, two things will help:

• The PPI prescribed by your surgeon.
• Drinking lots of fluid. This can really help keep the "hunger" at bay.

I wanted to give you a little more information. At this point you may be worried that the surgery was all for nothing because you feel so very hungry. That was my worry, and I suspect lots of other people worried about that too. So let me reassure you again that the hunger will settle down.

Also, I found that the nature of hunger changed a lot for me. Before surgery, hunger felt like a klaxon going off, and it was usually accompanied by an intense craving for a specific food. I felt out of control. Now, hunger is more like an LED indicator. I know I need to eat, but it's not the emergency it was before surgery. And even better, my cravings are more general (e.g. I want something savoury, or I want something sweet), and I can easily find a healthy food to satisfy both my hunger and my craving.

So don't get discouraged. This is the tough part, and it's about to get much, much easier.

Thanks so much Wombat. I appreciate and need the encouragement. I just ate 6 oz of soup and I feel like I could eat another 6. I'm going to wait 30 mins and see if I still feel hungry and go from there.

This soon out from surgery I honestly had no appetite. And I was taking the premier protein shakes. I hated them and they would make me gag. It could be head hunger you are experiencing...or excessive acid like others are saying. I will say this tho..in a few weeks when you are on puree stage and you begin trying things.. you will start to feel it..even something like Greek yogurt will make your sleeve feel like a tornado is going on in there.

I'm on soup, pudding, shakes, oatmeal now. Feeling a little better. Looking forward to solids though!