Question:
I just had surgery 11 days ago and I feel like I can tolerate everything.

I pretty much feel like I have to stop myself because I could actually eat more if I wanted to. I am concerned I don't feel full all the time like I anticipated. The only difference I truly feel is that I have to eat slow.... They did a cat scan post op because I had complications so I know the pouch is the size it should be. I guess I hear everyone talking about what a hard time they have tolerating everything that I am concerned and even worry... what if I don't lose weight? Help. Does anyone else feel totally 100% fine and have no problems with tolerating food? Also, who could try to describe the "feeling of full" for me?????    — karlasmh (posted on January 23, 2006)

January 23, 2006
I had my surgery 12 days ago and I have been able to eat everything so far as well - and I do eat cautiously slow - and so far no nausea, no vomiting, no dumping - I feel GREAT - I went back to work last Wednesday - 1 week after surgery - I have more energy, I am sleeping better, and I ahve already lost 20lbs - I can't help with the full feeling as I am not eating much - but everything is staying with me! good luck and don't worry - if you have concerns talk to your Dr -
   — sunsheyn

January 23, 2006
Hi Karla - you will get many different answers, mine included. I will answer you from both a physicians view point and a post WLS patients view point. You will Not feel full., That is the bottom line. You should only feel satisfied. Eat only the number of ounces allowed by your protocol and nothing more. If you are allowed 2 ounces, eat those, but do not add any more. You are in the process of " re learning and re teaching" your body how to handle food, and you are much too early post op to be finding out you can over eat your pouch. I will be 22 months post op tomorrow, the 24th, and in all of that time, I have only felt full less than 5 times. I eat my half cup of food each meal- or less, but never more than allowed. Its all a matter of doing the following " just because you can, doesnt mean you should" I hope you understand what I am saying. This is a brand new way of life for you. You will lose weight, but why not lose it and make your lifes eating changes at the same time. The results are so worth it. Congrats on your surgery, and i hope you can find a happy medium in your eating that satisfies you. Cindi -218#
   — DollyDoodles

January 23, 2006
Hi. I have to agree with Cindy totally. I am only 5 1/2 months out and I am at goal (actually under it :) When I was okay'd to eat soft foods and then 'whole' foods I did (and still do) try everything but only a bite or two of it. I can tolerate every single food I ate before the surgery but the BIG THING that I have learned is that WLS is a tool and you must use it as a tool to retrain yourself. I feel it is an 'easy' way to lose weight for me, especially after years of dieting and trying 'everything' there was to try. But I make sure to have small portions always. I do get the feeling of fullness (everyone is different) and I stop as soon as I feel that happening. One thing that is strange is I never ever get hunger pains. I don't mind but I have to make sure I remember to eat! I never thought I would have that problem! Follow the rules and you will do AWESOME! I love WLS! Good luck. Smiles, Jenna 260 down to 148!
   — jstatkus

January 23, 2006
Greetings, I will put in my two cents becasue I can. LOL I too am 13 days post op and have had no problems. I have not eaten a lot of sugar (I stick to the SF stuff) and I have not had any problems. I do get full. I fell that pressure under my left breat that says one more bite and you'll be sorry. I am still on soft stuff so I am kinda scared to go to solids. I feel this is where the issues will be. I agree with eating what you are advised, but I am not a really great measurer. One thing I will tell you is that I felt I was eating way more than I was. I recently went to fitday.com and logged what I was eating and was pleasantly surprised by the informaiton it produced. It is a very simple web site and will give you all of your infomration on a graph that is simple to read. Give it a try. As far as eating what you have been you may just be surprised. Good luck, I am sure you are doing fine. Please check that site out, it's free and really helps me track what I would normally slack on. :o) Kristie
   — continuedmoon

January 23, 2006
I am 2 yrs. post-op this month. I can only tell you what has worked, and what HASN'T for me. When I was a new post-op, I was strictly regimented to what the doc's food plan was. When I was on all liquids, I could have "eaten" all day! With clear and basic fluids, I did eat pretty much all day to get in basic calories. When I transferred to food, I have had that "full" and "very full" feeling sometimes. I agree that sometimes the feeling will hit and you WILL be sorry if you take that next bite. I have even spit out the bite in my mouth because it wasn't worth it. Now - my problem areas are when I am hungry - eating too fast! I try not to let myself get to that point - because that is usually a prescription for overeating. I will occasionally drink while eating - sometimes I can fell that it is "stuck" and that is painful. So I don't do it often. Good luck, listen to your body and follow your docs plan! Barbie
   — BarbieCarroll

January 23, 2006
For the first 4 weeks I experienced exactly the same thing that you are talking about - never feeling full. I was SO disappointed because I was counting on that as a tool to help me. I felt so cheated - other people on forums were complaining about not being able to eat even their allowed amount because they were too full. Why was I not entitled to that same feeling? I talked to my Dr. about it and he said it was normal and that it would get better when I went to solid food. But he also told me I didn't need to be totally strict about 4 tablespoons/2 oz. - that a little more would be ok. For me, that has made all the difference in the world. I suspect it's mostly psychological but with 2.5 oz I feel a definite difference in satisfaction. Just my $.02 worth.
   — blues-singer

January 24, 2006
My niece and I both had theRNY surgery, she a year before me. she had no problems eating anything right away, and still lost quickly! Even though she eats much more than i do, she still does not eat as much as she did preop! I have never bben a big eater, so I am losing more slowly, although still losing. She went from 350 pounds to 115! Everyone is different. You do nteed to learn the difference between "head hunger," when you just want to eat because it tastes good, and real hunger. It is something I still struggle with a year out.
   — Novashannon

January 24, 2006
Hi Karla, I am 3 weeks post op today. Congrats on your surgery! I have lost 22 lbs and over 12 inches overall. So, if your scale stops moving down, the inches are moving out. Ok, I know what you are talking about when you can't tell if you are full. I now know it is a pressure, not a feeling of fullness that we felt pre op. I myself was worried that maybe something is wrong because everything I ate, I had no problems with. I drank my 64 oz of fluid (most of the time) during the thin liquid phase. I eat pureed foods okay. I even ate eggs with no problem. I had my experience with a bite of hash browns. That set me straight. That didn't go down so good, and came up. I do measure all of my food at 4 oz and if I feel that pressure I stop eating. My doctor told me that even though I feel good, not to eat food that have rough edges on them as they can cause damage to your pouch. So I am still on pureed and soft foods. One thing that helped me with head hunger is I had to cook meals for my husband in order to feel satisfied. Not seeing food for over 2 weeks was bad for me. Just smelling the food and seeing the food was enough for me. After I had my RNY, my husband ate store bought pizza. I needed to cook something that I liked, but didn't eat it. I feel like that helped a great deal with the head hunger. That may not work for everyone. Good luck to you and best wishes. I hope that I was able to help you with some of your issues. Kristy Heslin
   — Kristy