Do you still get hungry?

[Deedle Dee 0]

I've read quite a few posts where people say they don't get hungry anymore. I still get truly hungry (not "head hunger"). Am I normal? (Not mentally, just physically!)

[thinoneday 445]

I've read quite a few posts where people say they don't get hungry anymore. I still get truly hungry (not "head hunger"). Am I normal? (Not mentally, just physically!)

Very normal. . . the majority of us are always hungry! its the minority that is not . . .I've been hungry since day 1 and 13 months later am still hungry!

[Rootman 1,101]

Well I'm over 2 months out and have yet to be hungry once. Pre-op I used to get terribly hungry, I would run home after work at 4:30 PM and be a real bear till we had supper, I could NOT wait if we were going out with someone who ate at a more normal time like 6 or 7 PM. This has been a real blessing to me to NOT get hungry. My blood sugar gets a tad low so I feel that but nothing like it used to be, accompanied by the gnawing hunger pangs..

Others will advise you to make sure that you don't have excess stomach acid. A PPI (proton pump inhibitor) like Prilosec may be in order. A quick test would be to take 2 tums, if it clears up the "hunger" than a PPI would be in order. If NOT you are one of the unlucky few that are genuinely hungry. There is a thread about it here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/11819-hungry-sleevers/page__p__101781__hl__%2Bhungry+%2Bsleevers__fromsearch__1#entry101781

[AChristian 112]

Im not hungry. I never hardly think of food now which is so different for me. I only eat because I know I have too. However, 3 bites into the meal and I'm full.

[Tandybo 1]

I'm 4 weeks out today and have not experienced any "real" hunger. It's weird because my head tells me I should be hungry but my stomach hasn't gotten the message!

[MINI-Me 196]

Hunger is very different now ... It's not that ravenous "I GOT TO EAT NOW" kind of thing.

It is more of ... "Hmmm ... I feel kinda tired (no energy). Oh yeah, I need to eat". Right after surgery, I was never hungry. I even forgot to feed lunch to my youngest at around 3 months. He finally spoke up & wanted to know if we were "ever going to eat". I had been dragging him around for the day shopping and doing errands. Oops!

Head hunger is different. It strikes and I want food "NOW". I've had to be very careful deciding which is which.

[Tiffykins 672]

20 months out, and I'm never physically hungry. No stomach growling, no rumbling, nothing. I get a bit grouchy and kind of "short" with people when I go more than 12 hours from the time I wake up to the time I eat, but I seriously never get physically hungry. It's the main reason I stay on a PPI because I'm not willing to be hungry.

[Kris 78]

My first couple of weeks post-op I really didn't have hunger, and that was wonderful, but starting about week 3 I started getting hunger pains again. The only differences between pre-VSG hunger pains and now is my hunger is easily satisfied iwth just a few bites rather than a big meal, and my hunger pains aren't as fierce as they used to be (so I can have a hunger pain but not feel like I have to eat right at that moment ... sometimes I wait an hour or more before I eat, depending on what's going on. In the past I would never wait that long to eat if I could help it). I still have *horrible* snack cravings (for carbs, of course) in the afternoon between 3-4 pm ... my surgeon said "no snacking between meals" but it can be very tough and sometimes I just cave. I have a stash of Vitafusion Weight Management Fiber gummies I got from costco which I take when I just can't stand not having a snack. They are low calorie (45 calories per 2 gummies) with 6g carbs and 5 g fiber and I need the fiber. It tides me over pretty well until dinner, and even though I'm not supposed to, of all things to snack on I don't think those are a bad choice. But I am very disappointed about the hunger .... I was hoping that would go away and it hasn't.

[MRSKOUBiK 27]

I'm never hungry.

Sometimes I may think I am .... it's the acid.

[myrori 55]

I get hunger, but no like before, it is just a sense of needing to eat something when it has been too long. I no longer think of food or what I am going to eat next. Eating has become a something I have to do rather than I want to do.

[juliarh 35]

I'm hardly ever hungry in the sense of feeling hunger -- I usually feel weak or crabby -- I can usually go about 9 or 10 hours before I realize I need to eat -- I never think about food, not interested in it, but will eat it because I need to. I love it and I'm 5 months out.

[wareagle40 3]

I'm hardly ever hungry in the sense of feeling hunger -- I usually feel weak or crabby -- I can usually go about 9 or 10 hours before I realize I need to eat -- I never think about food, not interested in it, but will eat it because I need to. I love it and I'm 5 months out.

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[wareagle40 3]

20 months out, and I'm never physically hungry. No stomach growling, no rumbling, nothing. I get a bit grouchy and kind of "short" with people when I go more than 12 hours from the time I wake up to the time I eat, but I seriously never get physically hungry. It's the main reason I stay on a PPI because I'm not willing to be hungry.

What is PPI?

[Tiffykins 672]

What is PPI?

Proton Pump Inhibitor - From Wiki

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are a group of drugs whose main action is a pronounced and long-lasting reduction of gastric acid production. They are the most potent inhibitors of acid secretion available today. The group followed and has largely superseded another group of pharmaceuticals with similar effects, but different mode-of-action, called H₂-receptor antagonists. These drugs are among the most widely-selling drugs in the world and are generally considered effective.^[1] The vast majority of these drugs are benzimidazole derivatives; however, promising new research indicates that imidazopyridine derivatives may be a more effective means of treatment.^[2] High dose or long-term use of PPIs carry a possible increased risk of bone fractures.^[3]

They essentially stop the production of acid in the stomach. Acid overproduction can cause "hunger". I experienced this weird, gnawing twinge after eating when I was around 5-6 weeks out, talked to some of the 2-3 year out vets, and they said it could be acid. I went on Prilosec 20mg once daily, and my "hunger" never returned.

Most sleeve patients are put on a PPI (Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix) for 3-6 months post-sleeve due to the stomach not realizing it doesn't need to make a huge amount of acid since even though it's been reduced in physical size. Some are willing to wean off during that time period. I just choose to stay on it.

[Deedle Dee 0]

Unfortunately, I am already on a PPI and still feel hungry. Bummer! Any ideas?