Question:
post op hunger

I am 4 weeks post op this friday and I still find myself hungry and I thought they take out the "hunger hormone" is this normal and will it ever go away?????    — kimabodnar37 (posted on June 10, 2008)

June 10, 2008
That part of your stomach is gone, so it's not producing it anymore, but you still have some floating around in there. Some people take a month or 2 to get it out of their system. You will always have some of the hormone in you, but for the first 6 months, I wasn't hungry at all. It did return a bit after 6 months. Hopefully you will start noticing it soon. Over all, it should still be better than before surgery. Good luck.
   — Teresa V.

June 10, 2008
I was hungry. I still get hungry. Not all the time, but sometimes. I was too disappointed since I belived that the hunger would stop. have you tried drinking more water? I usually find out that I feel more hungry when I am in fact dehydrated.
   — H.A.L.A B.

June 10, 2008
My hunger never went away. I've been postoop since 3/10/08. I lost 36 lbs. I always feel hungry and don't get that full feeling. I feel the same before surgery and wondering why in the world did I go thru this open RNY for nothing. I guess I am just destined to be obese! All my friends lost weight really well and said they never felt hungry, but not me! I have this ugly scar for nothing. But good luck with your journey!
   — Val A.

June 10, 2008
I dont think there is such a thing as a hunger hormone and if you had proper counseling before your surgery they say a lot of the hunger is in your head. Belive me I am almost 5 yrs post of and I still find myself shopping and preparing a lot of food. Your hunger will never go away I am sorry to say but it is differnet for everyone. I was hungry right from the beginning. But after I drank or ate i was satisfied.
   — Joanc

June 10, 2008
If you do some research you will discover that there is more than one component to the hunger reflex. The component that is in your stomach may be removed, but there are OTHER parts that have NOT been touched by the surgery. For MOST people, the VSG does relieve a great part of the hunger that many patients have experienced before their surgery. This is because the section of the stomach that produces the hormone grehlin is removed or MOSTLY removed during the surgery. This often eliminates or greatly reduces the hunger that the patient feels. However, if your body is producing more of the OTHER trigger hormones for hunger, the VSG will do very little to alleviate your hunger pangs except, perhaps, make it easier to quell them by making the stomach smaller. Here is a link to information on grehlin: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin). Here is another link for seritonin. It also affects appetite: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin). Here is a link to orexin. It, too, effects appetite: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orexin). The last 2 links are NOT located in the stomach. This was just a SHORT search on hormones that affect hunger by someone who is not a medical professional. There may be MANY more, I don't know. I don't really want to dedicate a great deal of time to this now since I have ANOTHER project that I am working on at this moment. I hope this helps to answer some of your questions, though. Best of luck to you, Hugh
   — hubarlow

June 10, 2008
Here's an opinion - nothing more. I sometimes have people tell me they can't practice nutitional cleansing because they feel "hungry". I say, that's a rare complaint in our day because we're always so surrounded by food. One little twinge and we're reaching for the nearest "quick fix" of some kind. Just a little stomach growl can send us scurrying to the kitchen like a mouse. But, if you're seriously HUNGRY, your body may be crying for, brace yourself now, FOOD. Nutrition. Minerals. Protein. Or even water. What I tell my people is to listen to their body, but don't be a mindless slave to it. Make absolutely sure you are getting adequate NUTRITION, not what you feel is adequate food. Very different thoughts, there. My belief is that a fully nourished body will not crave empty calorie foods. I also have come to learn that a body that is healing from surgery needs a certain amount of nourishment to rebuild. I'm sure your surgeon/health team will advise you to get adequate hydration and adequate protein. If you need to space your protein intake out so that your metabolism always has some work to be doing, that will probably help with your feelings of hunger. Talk to your nutritionist or other professional who is familiar with the unique needs of WLS patients. Get enough water. Make certain you're adequately nourished so your body can repair. Rest, and give yourself a break - not focusing on negative feelings. I would imagine that thinking you should NEVER feel hungry would be discouraging if you dwell on it.
   — Ruth Shapovalov