Post-Op Hunger Poll

[MommyTawnie 3]

I have on a busy day gone from 8am - 8pm before realizing that I haven't eaten anything since Breakfast. I am 2 months out and it's been rough, but not having the hunger pains to remind you to eat is different. Now I have noticed if I haven't eaten in a while and my body needs food I start feeling sick to my stomach. I snack on something small "chicken bits, tuna, etc." and feel much better. It's wonderful not feeling hungery all the time like I did in the past. I could eat and an hour later feel hungry again.. This is a blessing compared to the constant hunger..

[Shanny 70]

I still get hungry, but it feels different. It doesn't growl, but it feels like a huge gas bubble and it makes me want to throw up. I hate that when I'm hungry I get sick to the stomach. It happens about every 2-3 hours. After a few bites I'm full until about 2-3 hours later when it comes back. I crave everything though! Even things I don't like. TV sucks because every other commercial is about food and it makes me want everything. I've never been impulsive so I don't have head hunger that much.

[TStew 25]

I still get hungry, but it feels different. It doesn't growl, but it feels like a huge gas bubble and it makes me want to throw up. I hate that when I'm hungry I get sick to the stomach. It happens about every 2-3 hours. After a few bites I'm full until about 2-3 hours later when it comes back. I crave everything though! Even things I don't like. TV sucks because every other commercial is about food and it makes me want everything. I've never been impulsive so I don't have head hunger that much.

Shanny, I'm experiencing almost the exact same thing! It's like the feeling you used to get before your stomach would growl and that feeling is almost always with ya. Sometimes I'm hungry an hour after eating! I haven't started on meat yet so I'm really hoping that will rectify the hunger issues! The worst TV commercials are for pizza and they show them contantly!!!!

[KabinKitty 10]

I am 1 month out and I don't really have true hunger. I do get that empty feeling. As for before surgery, I had pretty much already lost my appetite. The only thing I can attribute that to is that I gave up anything that contains gluten. I think the white carbs were feeding my pre-surgery hunger.

[twoboysandagirl 109]

I voted not hunger but I do get an empty feeling. Hard to describe...you know when you drink so much you can hear it sloshing around in your stomach? The opposite.

[morethan 4]

The first two weeks I was truly hungry. While others on this site tried to convince me that it was head hunger they were wrong. I discussed this with my nutritionist and she said I needed to eat something and she was right. I moved from liquids to pureed food 4 days early. Now the hunger is not so much now. I still feel it once in a while but a few bites will satisfy me. I am dealing with it much better now. Everybody has different experiences. The growling has decreased and I happy about it. Yesterday I made 3 weeks and I am hoping that as time goes on I too will not experience hunger at all like others.

[janinemaire 7]

I voted that I sometimes get hurgry. I would sometimes get an empty feeling and have a few bites of food then I'm fine. I have notice in the last month I'm less hungry than I was, I'm not sure why.

[juliarh 35]

Just bumping this up to see if other will take the poll -- it's interesting to see everyone's experience

[Eloray 3]

I feel physical hunger every 3 hours. After 3 hours im pretty hungry it makes me eat fast. Trying to work it out. I dont wake up starving like I did the first month. Thank goodness.

[dudeman 0]

I'm only 23 days out from post-op, I'm supposed to be on phase IV low-cal restricted diet, but I vomit just about every solid food I eat. I've tried anything which is allowed. Doesn't matter whether it's been blendered, meats, breads, fiberous veggies and fruits, un-strained fruit juices -- vomit city. I liken myself to a un-volunteering bulimic right now. Whatever I eat, 100~200 cc's (1 cup), barf city. I usually have to follow up with Soup of some sort just to put the K-Cals back. I have a diet tracker on my Blackberry that's highly rated and accurate. For the past 5 days I've logged an average of 1400~1600 calories (with a high of 1800 calories on a particular Sunday) eaten, but at least half of that winds up in the toilet. I've gotten so used to vomiting that I'm basically trained and do it automatically as soon as the stuff doesn't want to sit in the new 25% remaining stomach. I'm on track to lose 1 kgs (2.2lbs) per week in any event. I'm so sick of vomiting that I went back to semi-liquid diet today although I'm supposed to be off of it according to my nutritionist's take home hand out. I'm looking forwards to the coming period when I can sit down and eat a 315 calorie lunch of 50g(1/4 cup) of skinless chicken breast cubes, 50g of steam rice, and a 100cc (1/2 cup) of broth, without having to deposit into the toilet within 5 minutes of completing the lunch (took me about 35 minutes to finish, as compared to may be 10 minutes top pre-op on this little food). It's a real problem for me to get calories into my body at this point ever since post-op, the three days post-op was ridiculous so was the first week at home. I averaged I think max 500 K-Cals which is prison quality of life. I lost 7kgs (15.4 lbs) in the first 7 days post-op, the rate of weight loss has slowed to 2 lbs per week, and I'm substituting calories from meals lost through vomiting with 1/2 servings of strawberry sorbet and Haagendaz Green Tea ice cream and still losing weight. Welcome to the nutty post-op world I guess. <br>

[Lila21 36]

I voted that I do have some hunger, but it's really mild. It's more like feeling empty rather than the hunger pangs I used to get. It's pretty easy to satisfy it with very little food, so I really don't mind it. I think it actually helps me to remember to get my Protein in, so I don't mind it.

[Redcobra 1]

4 weeks out and no physical hunger. I get head hunger such as when watching TV and seeing a Domino's commercial but I am learning to ignore that.

[dudeman 0]

I've actually gone and tried pizza by the slice. Twice. Went down (half slice anyways) but didn't stay down. Had gut wrenching pain 5 minutes after eating it and went to the toilet to clear it out. My advise .. don't eat pizza at 24 days post op.

[TStew 25]

I've actually gone and tried pizza by the slice. Twice. Went down (half slice anyways) but didn't stay down. Had gut wrenching pain 5 minutes after eating it and went to the toilet to clear it out. My advise .. don't eat pizza at 24 days post op.

Actually, I tried cheese pizza at around 24 days and it went down fine. I've tried bread in the last week and that went down fine as well. Honestly, it sounds like maybe you're not healed enough to be eating these foods. In the surgeon's instructions that I've read (four different surgeons) they all state that if you have problems like throwing up or pain that you should return to the Clear Liquids for several days. Have you tried this? Have you contacted your surgeon? Throwing up 50% of your calories can't be good for you and it can't be much fun either.

Just to give you an example of what my surgeon's instructions were - 10 days clear liquid, 10 days full liquid, 10 days mushies and then regular food. Well, some of the other surgeon's instructions were similiar except that the mushy/soft food stage lasted 30 days so that would mean no 'regular' food until 50 days out. Today is my five week anniversary so I've been cleared for regular foods for 7 days but I'm taking it really slow and haven't really added meat back in yet (but I have experimented a bit in the last week). My diet is still primarily cottage cheese, Protein drinks, mushed Beans, etc. and I'm adding a little something new every day and I've had no problems whatsoever. In fact, I can probably eat (and keep down) more than I would like to be able to!

Good luck to you!

[Redcobra 1]

Actually, I tried cheese pizza at around 24 days and it went down fine. I've tried bread in the last week and that went down fine as well. Honestly, it sounds like maybe you're not healed enough to be eating these foods. In the surgeon's instructions that I've read (four different surgeons) they all state that if you have problems like throwing up or pain that you should return to the Clear Liquids for several days. Have you tried this? Have you contacted your surgeon? Throwing up 50% of your calories can't be good for you and it can't be much fun either.

Just to give you an example of what my surgeon's instructions were - 10 days clear liquid, 10 days full liquid, 10 days mushies and then regular food. Well, some of the other surgeon's instructions were similiar except that the mushy/soft food stage lasted 30 days so that would mean no 'regular' food until 50 days out. Today is my five week anniversary so I've been cleared for regular foods for 7 days but I'm taking it really slow and haven't really added meat back in yet (but I have experimented a bit in the last week). My diet is still primarily cottage cheese, Protein drinks, mushed Beans, etc. and I'm adding a little something new every day and I've had no problems whatsoever. In fact, I can probably eat (and keep down) more than I would like to be able to!

Good luck to you!

My instructions were 1 week liquids (after release), 1 week mushies, 1 week soft food, then slowly introduce reg food. However, I am one that often doesn't follow instructions, so I did 5 days of each and am doing fine. I think it depends on the individual. I am one of those with an Iron stomach. I have never thrown up in my adult life.

Had meatballs and Pasta with red sauce last night. Total about 1 1/4 cups. If I eat too much it sticks in my throat and sits there like a uncomfortable lump. So I eat slow and see how far down each bite goes.

Your body will tell you what you can and cannot do. Listen to it.