snowkitten

Your tummy is no longer bigger than your boobs (wohoo) and the hair tie on your wrist doesn't feel like it's going to cut off circulation... it's LOOSE!

Im 6 weeks post surgery and im on a fully normal diet (with the exception of lettus) and I'm having serious issues with hunger. I can admit that about 20% of it is head hunger (ie that looks good, or I should be eating more etc..), but the main part is REALLY hunger. At the suggestion of others I added tums to my diet (didn't work) and increased my water intake (was great WHILE I'm drinking, but the moment I put the cup down the hunger pangs come back). I know it's more than head hunger or reflux because when I ignore it I end up dizzy, lightheaded, shaky, and desperate. This is a very dangerous place for me because I grab for the easiest/fastest cure. Usually chocolate as the sugar quickly raises my lvl. I want to avoid this as I know that is a bad idea. Soo any ideas on how to solve this? I've tried keeping snacks like cheese on hand but the hunger starts every 1 - 2 hrs and if I eat something that often the calories will really add up. Oh I'm NOT diabetic. My sugar level has always been perfect. I do question if I'm hypoglycemic tho. I used to eat ALOT of sugar and at every blood test it's been normal. The solution is snacking but again I'm trying to avoid that. I'm a chronic grazer and I want to avoid habits that got me fat in the first place. Anyone deal with this? Any suggestions?

I was so blistfully NOT hungry after surgery. While in the hospital I was supposed to have 1/2 cup of liquids 6-8 times a day. I could only get 1/4 2 times a day in (not including water). I LOVED it. At 2-3 weeks the hunger came back full force.

I take those too. I hate the taste but it really beats drinking the other crud. @@JamieLogical is absolutely corrent. You can't absorb 42g of protein at once. According to some research I read you can only absorb about 15-10 grams an hr. So with those I drink half in the morning, half at night. To help with the taste I plug my nose and drink fast. If you come up with something else I'd be interested

Hw- 364 Sw- 344 Cw- 323 Surgery on 8/25/14 Unfortunately I was not one of the lucky ones who got the gift of reduced hunger. I constantly feel hungry. On the bright side it only takes 2-3 bites to curb the feeling but I'm trying NOT to get in the habit of snacking.

Every one is different of course. I dont want to scare you but I have to admit, I didn't expect it to hurt quite so much. Immediately after I was woken from surgery I felt this horrible pain. I was too groggy to pin point it but I do remember thinking I made a terrible mistake and wished I hadn't done it. Don't worry, that degree of the pain was over as fast as they were able to get pain meds in me. After that it was a tolerable pain (with meds). No i could not feel my stomach. The pain was full abdomen and upper back. It felt like I'd done a million sit ups, added with sharp pains if I coughed and pressure from the gas. It didn't hurt to take my first drink, but ironically on the second day when home it did start to hurt to eat or drink anything. It felt like a cramping going down then back up. That was gone after 2 weeks. Pain on a scale from 1-10. 9 (10 will still always be reserved for labor) right out of surgery, 6 after they gave me some pain meds, 4/5 after that. Even with the pain I would still do it again tho.

Protein hunny nut cherios and pork rinds. Both have good amount of protein, and pork rinds don't have carbs.

Wow you look incredible!

I was nauseous all the time as well so I talked to my surgeon's nurse. She told me that it's possible my sense of smell has heightened and that's why I was nauseous. She suggested I put a bit of Vicks under my nose. It worked great.

I asked my surgeon how many calories I should be having and he said 800-1200 after I can eat normally.

@"proudgrammy" thanks, it's not a fun illness to have and I'll never be able to have it resolved like with some of the other health issues that obesity exacerbate. ... but I'm extatic to know it's in my power to help improve it. Smiling from ear to ear now!

I know right! Thanks. This is great motivation

OMG Im so happy right now that i feel like crying in relief. I just had to share this... So I have a very severe immune deficiency. I have very little immunity to viruses, fungus, and bacteria. I even dont make antibodies to some vaccines (every heard of/ seen the movie "bubble boy"? Thats what I have). Theres nothing to be done for part of my immune system, but I can get IV infusions every 3 weeks to help with part of it (i wont bore you with details). Ive been getting the IV infusions for almost a year now. My starting level (the level they track for this part of the immune system) was 140. Normal is 900+. My immunologist was seriously shocked i wasn't hospitalized. So after months of Infusions my levels were checked again and came out to only 400. Next few months and it went down to 300!! My Doctor said that there was no way to increase my dose because i was at the highest possible medication because of my weight. So with the looming fear that i could literally get ill and die because of my weight, I proceeded in getting the VSG. Skip forward 3 weeks post op. Its time for my next infusion so they take blood to check my level. Today I get a call that my level has risen to 623!!! Its still lower than normal but thats so amazing. I lost 30 lbs and my level already came up. Just proof that this surgery is amazing.

@@lexie and @mcbutterpanta thanks for your ideas and suggestions. I tried some tums and while it did t remove the hunger entirely it did help alot and I was even back to eating 3-4 bites for dinner. I think I'm going to try two first thing in the morning (my dr actually suggested I do so long ago cause I'm lactose intolerant so I know it's dr aproved), and have green tea before lunch. Thanks to the one who created this thread, it helps to talk out the fear.

I sure hope your right. I'm a nervous wreck over it. It's not just that I'm hungry but I was able to eat WAY too much (not as much as pre surgery but still more than 1/2 cup) and still felt no restriction. What's that? I'll try the green tea and get some tums asap

Actually I'm having that fear RIGHT now and I'm 3 weeks post op. I'm hungry and can't feel any restriction when I eat despite being on soft foods. Im so scared I went through all this trouble for nothing I'm in near tears.

So I realized something and wanted to add it in hopes it may prompt someone with information to respond... I always get this type of intense hunger right before my period. On 8/17 I started my period, last week I had this similar hunger and then soon started my period again (only lasted a few days). Now I have the hunger again and my normal back cramps have started. Which leads me to believe this is a 3rd period in one month. Is this normal? If this is usual it still disturbs me that I was starving even after eating and I was eating so much. Any tips?

Thank you ! Thats a good idea, it will definetly keep me from over eating despite hunger. Im just so worried that the amount i ate didn't satisfy me.

Would i not feel the restriction this early even if i had the last 3 weeks? Your absolutely right about the full feeling. I read a great article on here about that and i try to live by it . The problem im having is that i not only dont feel satisfied, i feel intesnsly HUNGRY. Normally i take about 30 mins to eat. I was a slow eater before surgery so after hasn't been bad.

I'm 3 weeks out from surgery and my surgeon switched me to soft foods a week early because of the severe diarrhea I've had. Normally when I eat something like eggs or mashed potatoes i would feel the restriction right away after about 3-4 bites and not need to finish. This morning I made a dinty moore for Breakfast (10 oz). My intention was to eat what i could and then save the rest for lunch but i ended up eating the entire thing!! Whats really scary is Im still hungry. I thought maybe the hunger was acid reflux (as i've heard that offered before) but I don't feel ANY restriction at all. This isn't normal right?

I was a big drinker too (nonalcohol). I would drink WAY more than the required amount a day easily. I'm 3 wks out from surgery and while it's become easier to drink than the first few days, I still can't drink as much as I used to. Maybe 4oz at a time if I'm concentrating on it. But the good part is that I always drank so much water to keep the hunger at bay. Now I don't NEED to guzzle water. You actually won't be able to drink any fluids at meal times. Every dr is different with their rules but in general it's something like no fluids 30 mins before and 30 minutes after a meal. Thats something i still struggle with but I hear it gets easier. Soda... Ah I miss it. You can still have it as long as you get rid of all the carbonation. I have found the trouble isn't worth it and to tell the truth the one time I did it to a 7up (had a bad upset tummy) it ended up being WAY too sweet.

I'm really happy to hear your surgeon is on your side!

So I've been in a stall for the past 4 days. I put the scale away because I didn't want that stress, but I had my infusion today so they have to weigh me (the med is weight based)....stall over, lost 6 lbs!!! Wohoo!! My nurse called pharmacy to tell them to prepare the meds and they called back freaking out. They were concerned I'd lost so much weight since my last apt 3 weeks ago. Lol I had to explain that that was the desired result of VSG surgery. Made me feel good

Congrats!!!!!

If they said you have to fast then don't eat or drink anything after midnight