Question:
I am one week post-op and find myself consistently hungry...

I am so confused right now. I am one week post-op RNY and my doc has me on puree/soft foods. My diet basically consists of blended soups. blended tuna, sf/ff pudding, soft scrambled eggs, ricotta cheese. I serve myself approximately 2-4 oz of food at each sitting and can eat it it all. I eat about 4 times per day, always making sure to stretch each meal to 30 minutes. I don't drink before, during or after meals and have absolutely no problem taking in generous amounts of water. I think I have only felt "full" one time since this surgery and feel like I should feel it all the time. But, I always seem to have this hunger gnawing at me - especially DURING meals. I am getting very depressed over this. Anyone have a similar experince in the beginning? I'm hoping once on solid foods, it'll change. :(    — PaulaM (posted on February 21, 2002)

February 21, 2002
Iam 4 weeks post-op and I still feel hungry, even though I am eating solid foods, like cottage cheese, tuna, fish patties etc. I often find myself nibbling cheese slices.But this is definately alot less food then I was used to eating, before the surgery. I tried drinking extra water but that didn't seem to help either.Today I bought some protien bars, hopefully they will taste decent, and I can nibble on them during the day and still get extra protien. I'll let you know how it goes.
   — Sherry S.

February 21, 2002
I too was hungry at about a week out [Open RNY]. At 4 weeks out, I'm still hungry. I'm also still on soft foods. I was surprised to be hungry since I was told hunger doesn't return for a while [the same as sex drive is meant to be lowered -- yeah right ;-)] <br> <br> My doctor has since told me it's a good sign of my pouch healing and everything being okay inside. So try not to get too depressed, think of it as your body adpating to the surgery.<br> <br> Saying all that sometimes I find it hard to not look at what I'm eating and think it's not enough. I've had to do lots of talking myself out of feeling the need to eat bigger meals, especially since I crave the weirdest things sometimes - like beetroot and garlic and onions. <br> <br> I too am hoping that eating some of the things I crave will help with the hunger.
   — blank first name B.

February 22, 2002
I am so glad someone else asked this question! I was under the mistaken idea that EVERYONE didn't feel hunger after the surgery and even had an adversion to food. I was so upset that I was HUNGRY after the surgery. I got the sensation of fullness but still felt hungry quite often. I was so afraid I had done all this for nothing!<p> I can tell you that I"m 8 weeks post op now and don't have the hunger like I did before. Once my stomach was healed it really did get better. I'm finally feeling like food doesn't have a grip over me and have to eat when I don't really feel hungry.(It's so cool...I've never done that before!)<p> I still find though, that smells trigger me. I can see food and it doesn't "call" to me...but if I smell something good...oh man! I wonder if I can get my nose stapled shut or something...lol!
   — Barbi B.

February 22, 2002
Try drinking milk or protein shakes between meals. They are good for you, they count as part of your fluid intake and anything milk based has a "filling" quality to it. My nutritionist told me to drink 2 protein shakes a day. They consist of 2 cups of milk, 1 packet of carnation instant breakfast and 1/2 cup dry milk. It contains about 35 grams of protein, tastes pretty good and is very filling. This is what kept me from feeling hungery and I did feel hungry.
   — Angela A.

February 22, 2002
If I consume anything with nutrasweet in it I am left with a terrible consuming hunger. Once I stopped consuming anything with nutrasweet, the hunger stopped.----- Helen
   — Helen B.

February 22, 2002
I'm 7 weeks post-op and I still feel like I want to be eating all of the time. If I distract myself with a project I realize that I'm not hungry but just feel like eating. If I feel like I need to snack during the day I try and make it something with protein like string cheese or something. I find the more water I drink the more full I feel. My surgeon told me that I won't have that "fullness" feeling because all of the nerves in my stomach have been cut and if I do feel full my pouch has streached but that it will go back. He says the only safe thing to do is to measure quantities. Good Luck to us all. Vicki
   — vmize