Question:
I am only 4days postop..but today I was so hungry that i ate some

green bean casserole just half an ounce..it was so good..and I feel great it didnt make me sick...so my question is should I just stick with the liquids until after i see my surgeon again?? I dont wanna mess anything up..    — tylerswife (posted on January 27, 2002)

January 27, 2002
Hi Rebecca- The reason that we are supposed to stay on liquids is to give our insides the chance to heal. I'm 2 weeks post and I think that what you were suffering from is a case of head hunger. If you will just have some water or SF jello or something else that your surgeon allows it will go away because there is no way that you can actually be hungry. Good luck on your journey. Vicki
   — vmize

January 27, 2002
To the previous posted response, Yes, she could be hungry! I was hungry very early on and am still hungry much of the time. Drinking liquids helps the hunger a great deal but after so many stomach growls, I have a snack. If you are so hungry or just have to have something, a saltine cracker, cottage cheese, yogurt would be a much better choice for you. This one time you may have felt fine after green bean casserole but maybe not the next time or it could cause the healing process to slow down. I absolutely hated the instant carnation breakfast drink I had to have for THREE weeks. But I drank it. I kept reminding myself it would be over soon. I also hate cottage cheese (had to do cottage cheese test 3 times this week-I gaged each time) but I ate cottage cheese shortly after surgery. I needed something in my mouth besides liquid. I figured it had been two weeks since I ate anything, maybe cottage cheese would not be so bad. It was tolerable but very nice to have something to chew. The crackers were like heaven to me. Do what your doctor tells you, I did not follow the rules 100% and then had minor problems with food going down. So, because of that and that I did not follow 100%, my Dr. made me go BACK on Carnation Drink for 5 days. If that was not a huge bummer! It make sense, after you are out of being in the middle of it, that the stomach is healing and you need to be kind to it. Hope I did not ramble too much LisaMarie
   — Lisa Marie D.

January 27, 2002
HUNGRY at 4 days postop?????? At 6 months postop, I happened to mention to my nutritionist that I have never yet felt hunger and she was very pleased to hear this. She told me that people who complain about hunger are not feeling true hunger, but rather head hunger, and it's important to be able to differentiate between the two or you'll be headed for trouble. I'm 13 months postop and to this day have NEVER felt hungry.
   — [Anonymous]

January 28, 2002
Rebecca, the best rule of thumb is to follow your doctor's advice. It is he/she you must answer to if you have a complication. I have learned that there are as many different opinions on this site about what we should/shouldn't eat/drink as there are doctors that perform this surgery. Mine was very liberal, told me to eat soft foods at 3 days post op and anything I wanted at 4 weeks as long as I chew, chew, chew. I have read where some people had to stay on liquids for 4 wks. Why is it different, who knows but I knew that if I had a problem I didn't want to have to tell my doctor that I didn't follow his recommendations. Good luck to you.
   — jsuggs

February 12, 2002
I am 7 days post-op. When I was allowed to start my clear liquid diet, I had a hard time drinking even 30cc (1 oz) in one hour. Other pts were drinking 4 oz in 45 min. Since I was getting so little in (I felt like I was trying to cram a bowling ball in a straw) I think this is why I would have my stomach growling and then it would progress to dry heaves of hunger. I do believe "real" hunger is possible after this surgery.
   — Kathleen S.

May 29, 2004
i hope all goes well for you. i had my surgery may 18th, and the last couple of days i have been sooooo hungry. my first thought when i read that you had after only 4 days, you were awfully lucky at least this one time, please dont test your luck again, ok?
   — althea R.