biginjapan

I am 5 weeks post op now so not that far behind you. I too felt very hungry in the beginning and I still use my Protein Shakes if I feel hungry when I know I’ve already eaten and would not be able to hold anymore food. I will sip on Protein shakes for a few minutes—very slowly—and it seems to settle my tummy.
I love all the suggestions above and wish I could bookmark this thread for any future reference. I’m still a newbie myself and my tummy is teaching me new things everyday. I wish you the best of luck on your journey. ❤️

AJ Tylo is probably going to pop in here any moment to tell you about how hunger is all in your head. Personally, I don't agree. Your body has multiple metabolic pathways that stimulate hunger in response to multiple physical triggers - bariatric surgery changes some of those pathways fundamentally, but it does not affect them all and it does not not erase the ones it does affect.

I got this surgery because pre-op, I was struggling with feeling starving all the time - even after a full meal. I was on metformin 3 times a day, my blood sugar was steadily inching up towards the diabetic range, and I am nearly the same age as my dad was when he got diabetes. My pre-op hunger was not head hunger - it was physical hunger from a broken metabolism.
I'm 3.5 weeks post-op - a few weeks behind you. I've noticed really interesting changes in my hunger throughout this process. The first week after surgery I was starving - once I moved on to full fluids and found a Protein supplement I could tolerate, this hunger vanished. In the past two weeks, I have gone back and forth a few times between not hungry at all and fairly hungry. For instance, for about 4 days my weight didn't change at all and I was so not hungry that I barely got my protein in. Then I dropped 4 pounds in a day and suddenly felt hungry again.

You might need to do a little detective work to find out the cause of your particular issue. It could be that you're eating too much carbs in your meal, and your blood sugar takes a dip at the 1 hour mark. (I don't know if you're carb sensitive like I am.) Or it could be that you're hungry for a nutrient you're not getting - like how many people are hungry right after surgery until they start getting enough protein. Or it could be that you'd benefit from eating a smaller amount but more often for a while. Does this happen at a particular time of day? Maybe you're just more hungry in the mornings or something? (Or it could be that this is some funny symptom that entirely goes away in a week 😂.) Try out some different things.

Prayers for you @biginjapan that you’re feeling stronger/stable soon! Maybe our dark circles are fat loss under the very thin skin of the eye area? Hmm. Not sure.
I am trying to do light chores around the house today and have to rest like every 1/2 hour for about 15 minutes or so because of light headed/weakness and I feel that weakness throughout my entire body. Will continue searching for clues...

I am at nearly three weeks post op, so far I haven't experienced any lack of energy or fatigue...it is early days though. To be fair I haven't been doing anything really energetic other than walking loops around the house and garden/ or walking on the treadmill at a lowish pace. I am back to work today, I will see how the energy levels are at the end of the week.

Oh honey, I feel your despair in this post. My original surgery was scheduled for 1/14. I got the call two and half weeks prior to surgery that it wasn’t going to happen due to the strict guidelines of my insurance. I was DEVASTATED.
After many tears and talking with my girlfriends, I realized then I had been waiting on this surgery to be a fix-all that it just couldn’t be. I decided then I had to be okay with myself as I was before surgery. The surgery was just a tool I could use for my weight, but I had to be okay with Camille before and after surgery.
I started journaling and after I had isolated myself for two years because I hated the way I looked, I put on make-up every day, I did my hair, polished my nails and dressed up even to go to the grocery store. I went on a couple of dates. I found it okay to put myself out there and to treat myself, as I was, like someone who was worthy of being cared for even if it was only me I was doing it for.
i started being more gentle with myself and when that horrid voice inside my mind told me I would always be a fat loser, I told that b*tch to shut the hell up! I became even more invested in getting ready for the surgery that I had no idea when it would even happen. It finally happened on 3/3 and I felt I was prepared then and ready for it. I had not been ready for it mentally and emotionally in January. It was a blessing in disguise that my surgery was postponed.
Congratulations on losing 50 lbs already! What an accomplishment! See you’ve got it in you! You are worthy of happiness regardless of when you have your surgery. It will come. It will happen. This is not no, it’s just not right now. Focus on your and your family’s health and safety at this time and this will all work out. So you’ve gained 8 pounds back. I know it’s disappointing, but you can turn it around at anytime and thank goodness it’s not the 50 you already lost.
Keep posting and getting your feelings out instead of sitting on them and eating over it. You’re in company of kindred spirits who understand how you feel about this. Good luck and keep on your journey! It’s so worth it and so are you! ❤️

I feel like something always goes wrong when things seem to be going in the right direction for me.
I turned 30 this year. My husband planned a romantic trip to Paris together for my birthday weekend to Celebrate. That was mid-March, so it ended up being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and our country closing the borders. I was honestly looking forward to it -- a weekend where we didn't have to worry about the kids, where we could just enjoy each other, be intimate, go on an adventure, and be able to forget about everything else going on in our lives right now (which is honestly a lot of ****).
I figured that we didn't need to leave our country to do that, though. We could figure out something at home since we would still have the weekend alone, and I got comfortable with that idea. That is, until our babysitter canceled on us completely, refusing to watch them for even a few hours. Great. It didn't turn out to be a bad weekend, but it wasn't what I had wished or even planned for. 😕
Anyways, I still had my surgery at the end of April to look forward to, so forget my birthday. No big deal. I've managed to keep my weight below where it needed to be in order to get surgery (down roughly 50lbs). I have stopped smoking completely & picked up nicotine-free vaping. I was really excited that this next chapter was getting started for me.. And I really hoped that it wasn't going to get canceled with how soon it was, that maybe things wouldn't have escalated as much as they have by now, and I would be okay.. But no, I got the email.. The email from the hospital telling me that my surgery is going to be postponed, that they would let me know by July 1st when I can expect my next date for surgery..
Another two months before I even hear back on when my next surgery date is, and even that isn't promised.. We don't know how far or how long this COVID-19 pandemic is going to take to be over with, or even to just where it can be managed to a point where hospitals can return to a normal routine. It's really getting me down and it's been hard to stay positive.
I've stopped posting on here.. I am not sure why. Maybe I was ashamed or felt like I had no reason to be posting here.. These forums and having a set date was what was keeping me on track and motivated to keep going. Instead, I've turned back to food as a source of comfort. My diet has done a complete 180 and I am over-eating all the **** I shouldn't be eating in the first place. I've gained 8lbs back already. I hate how easy it is to put on weight. I hate how weak I am, how easy I can cave and give in to bad habits. I hate seeing myself sabotage all the work I've put into losing the weight I have. It's so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel sometimes.. My head is not where I need it to be.. I feel stuck and I am just overall unhappy.

It does get better @Lily66 but I still have bad days with my low blood pressure. I always had a tendency to low BP but post surgery it became multiple times a day of dizziness & vision diminishing. I also suffer from randomly blocked ears (like you may get going up or down a mountain range or flying). Nothing fixes it, you just have to wait for it to pass.
I also suffer from reoccurring vertigo virus - room spinning & nausea. I had a bad attack two days ago & a light one last night.
I’ve now been diagnosed with Gilbert’s Syndrome & I think this explains a lot about my inability to undertake strenuous activities (dramatic drop in BP & blood sugars, sudden muscle weakness, ...)
My energy levels are generally back to normal.
@biginjapan Sounds like your BP is dropping. Does it happen after you get up after sitting or reclining for a while? I’d try to find some non constipating Iron tablets (we don’t need more of that) & Vitamin B tablets to give you a boost. And then as soon as it’s safe again see you doctor & get some bloods done. Maybe reduce your daily walk for a little while too until your energy levels are higher & you’re At the eating solid foods stage. My surgeon said no physical activity to at least week 5 except for a gentle stroll around your house/garden or down the block & back. Remember you are still healing.
Go slowly & find the pace that works for you.

@Lily66 and @Arabesque, I find this strange myself. I suffer from really low blood pressure most of the time (for at least 20 years), pretty low albumin (iron) levels (but not enough to be prescribed Iron supplements), and don't do well with pain most of the time. It's just as strange to me that I barely suffered any distress post-op, that pain has been negligible (except for 2 lactose intolerant episodes and a few days of terrible constipation), that I haven't had any real issues with food (except for the lactose intolerance episodes), and that my energy levels are as good as they were pre-op. However, I do notice myself getting off-balance more than once on a daily basis, and that never happened before. And, as mentioned above, I have really dark circles under my eyes - today was the worst yet and if I didn't know better I would think that I was suffering from some kind of wasting disease. Anyway, I think the dark circles indicate low iron and/or B12 levels, even though I've been keeping up with my supplements every day. Of course I can't go to the hospital now to get bloodwork done, so I'm going to see if I can find some additional supplements to make up for what I'm not getting from the bariatric Multivitamin, and see if that helps.

Everyone still looks great!

Sliiiightly overdressed for picking up curbside dinner, but I'm desperate to wear something besides leggings and tee.

Shopping for groceries after work. I simply didn't bin the mask before I got home. Unfortunately there are still only a few people with masks. I've seen a few people of East Asian origin with masks but otherwise...
At least many patients are getting masks now on the wards before they go to the radiology department.

Arabesque, You are describing my journey! Low BP, low blood sugar, most of the time, light headed, lose my balance easily. Drinking Propel and other sugar free electrolyte replacement, making sure I have frequent small “meals”. Fortunately, hubby goes out walking with me because I’m afraid I could pass out! This is why I was never able to do Keto pre-op. I guess some of us are just predisposed to these issues. Thanks, and I do hope things have gotten better for you? Please tell me it goes away? I’m so light headed, I think it officially makes me an airhead Lol.

I was the total opposite of @biginjapan. It took me a good 4/5 months to get my energy back. I had terrible trouble with low blood pressure (still do but not quite as bad) & sudden drops in my sugar levels. I walked around with bottles of diluted hydralite because sometimes just doing the grocery shopping would have me in cold sweats, shaking & having dizzy turns. I almost keeled over several times & almost fell off my treadmill. Not fun.

I'm extremely gassy and I'm not consuming vegetables until this upcoming week. My issue will be that cruciferous vegetables are my favorite, especially broccoli. I will have to find other vegetables to eat for awhile, until I'm further along the journey. Today makes 1 month post op for me, let's see how it goes.

For some reason I expected the board brimming with posts because people are, well... bored. However, the board seems more quiet these days.

I don't have Protein Shakes, but yesterday, I had 80 grams of Protein.
Breakfast: Egg white omelet with 1 slice of jennie-o turkey bacon, 1 oz of boar's head cajun turkey, 1/8c of fat free mozzarella, 1/8c spinach, and a xtreme wellness spinach wrap tortilla: 24 protein
Snack: 1 reduced fat string cheese: 6 protein
Lunch: xtreme wellness spinach wrap, 2 slices of jennie-o turkey bacon, 2 oz boar's head cajun turkey, 1 tsp of spicy mustard, and a tbsp of Philadelphia garlic and herb cream cheese: 23 protein
Dinner: 2.2 oz of chicken breast, 1 slice of jennie-o turkey bacon, 1/4 slice of tillamook swiss cheese, 1/8c cabbage, 1/8c spinach: 19 protein

well, yea - that the two of you would lose at the same rate doesn't surprise me. But how long will she be able to keep it up? And how long she will be able to maintain her loss? That's not to say you definitely will - but it'll be MUCH easier for you to sustain and maintain it.
I lost 50-60 lbs a gazillion times before surgery. But it'd eventually all come back. And I had over 200 lbs to lose. I've lost it all and have kept it off for three years now. There's NO WAY I could have done that without surgery.

So good to hear from you Lisa. Yes, I'm quite frustrated because I feel that with the amount I'm eating I could lose weight without having surgery. I'm averaging 600 - 700 calories daily. I could eat everything in the house some days and I think I could fit it in. I don't feel like my stomach capacity has changed at all but my surgeon says she removed 85% of it!
Frustrated in Massachusetts LOL
Grace

I was just whining about my lack of energy today, I'm looking forward to this emergence of energy I've heard about post wls. I'm cleaning my room and working on a closet, it will probably take me until Tuesday to finish. Geesh, I haven't statred exercising yet and today is my one month surgiversary. Going to start the resistance bands and walking my neighborhood.

@Lily66 sounds like we are in the same boat exactly. Surgery 3/9, so about 3.5wks and I struggle with energy, too. I force myself to walk 1.5 -3miles most days. Calories 600-800. I will admit that yesterday I messed up my counts and ended up eating way more and had quite a bit more energy today, so thinking that is definitely part of it. But I’m not willing to do it again since I’m not willing to risk gaining or stalling to do it 🤪. Guess it’s just going to take time and patience.

I'm kind of with biginjapan on this one, too. I really did not experience much lack of energy after the first couple of days. However, my girlfriend had the sleeve surgery a week after mine, and I had to run the house (the boys can't really take care of themselves) while she was away and while she was recovering, so it was almost that I didn't really have a choice either. As the weight comes off, too, I'm finding more energy and starting to realize that while I just thought I was extremely lazy (I am to an extent), I was also being weighed down so much by my weight.
I would say to keep at it, make sure you are getting your Vitamins in and your Protein, and then just keep up with the walks. I think you'll be back to feeling more like yourself soon enough.

I know I'm an outlier here, but I've basically had no problems with energy since I left the hospital. I get my 10,000 (or more) steps in every day, I'm fairly active moving around all the time, etc. However, I have had a day or two where I felt completely drained, but that's only been 2 or 3 times over the past month since surgery. I have noticed though that even though I get more than enough sleep (thanks self-isolation!) I always look tired - the circles under my eyes are pretty pronounced. I don't know if that's because I'm not sleeping as well as I think I am, or it has to do with the weight loss/nutritional deficiencies.

Hi BariPals, I’m 3.5 weeks post op and that wiped out, low energy stage is still with me. Wondering when energy usually kicks back in? I’m getting my Protein & fluids in, averaging 600-700 cal daily. I walk 1.5 miles daily but/and have little energy for much of anything else. Do you remember when your energy returned? Thanks!

I was four or five weeks out when my energy came back. Then two weeks after that it crashed again. But, I'm dealing with a potassium deficiency and an underactive thyroid, so I'm not the norm in that case. So expect your energy to come back in the next week or two. Hopefully.

Perhaps give the raw salad veges a miss for a little while see if that helps. If the gas stops you know that the raw veges are possibly the culprit.
Cabbage, broccoli, cauli, brussel sprouts plus some others are probably the gassy culprits.