Hey everyone,

So I'm just about 2 weeks post op and I have a have a bit of a problem. I was having a meal. Chicken broth lol. And not even realizing it, I found myself having about 8oz in a half hour period. I was full by the time I realized what I was doing, but not stuffed or nauseous. Why!?!? I thought we can only fit about 2 oz at a time. Another problem with me is that I always feel hungry. I seem to control myself well when it comes to hunger. I'll go for water or whatever, but my stomach hurts like I'm hungry. My md told me it was head hunger so how do I beat the head hunger? Help would be greatly appreciated!

I had that feeling early on also. I found an acid reducer helped alot. Some of what I was feeling was acid. I currently take Zantac 150, 2 times a day and I think it helps alot.

Best of luck =)

Your stomach can hold about 3/4 cups of food or liquid. Normally you can only tolarate 2oz at a time. But 2 weeks out you shld be able to hold more.

Are you taking anything for acid? I understand that excess acid in the stomach mimics hunger. You might try taking something like prilosec OTC or have your doctor prescribe something. That might help. Also, liquids will move through your tummy faster than dense protein so it probably isn't really an issue drinking a lot of broth.

You guys are the best. It's awesome that question get answered soooo quickly on this site! I am taking an acid reducer so that isn't helping. And it's true that it was broth that I drank so that's good. I need to measure more often. Thanks again!

Maybe try a different acid reducer to see if there is any difference.

I was told by my nut. to have no more than 1/3C at each meal until my 3rd month then 1/2C. so I measured it out in a bowl and eat slowly then I don't have to worry about overdoing. It was explained to me why it seems we can eat more when on liquids is that the stomach is like a funnel the fluid goes in and drains out quickly as you begin eating thicker food they will take longer to funnel out thats one of reasons not to drink with meals so it will not pass through quickly and we stay fuller longer! Good weight loss!

Flavored chicken broth seems to be my meal of choice at only 5 days out. I can drink 8 ounces pretty quickly with no problem and it fills me up quite nicely for a little while. I haven't been worried about it since its a liquid and liquids are supposed to go right through our pouches.

1) Your swelling has subsided.

2) Liquids in, liquids out

3) Acid mimics hunger. However, not all "acid medications" are created equally. If you are on an H2 blocker, you will not get the full effect of acid reduction. An H2 blocker treats the symptoms, H2 blockers are Zantac, Pepcid. Proton Pump Inhibitors/PPIs actually stop the acid from producing in your stomach and those are Dexilant, Prilosec, Nexium, Protonix, or any generic of those drugs. These drugs need to be taken on an empty stomach and some require a full hour wait time before eating, Nexium requires 30 minutes. OR, you can eat and take them 2-3 hours after eating. I choose to take mine first thing in the morning and wait an hour. Sometimes, you need to double up on the dose. Zantac, Pepcid never does anything for me.

broth counts as a liquid. There is absolutely no reason to be alarmed with liquids. It's the sheer mechanics of your pyloric valve opening. Be grateful that you can get in that much liquid. It took me an hour to 8oz at 6 weeks post-op. We do not have pouches like RNY patients, there is no stoma. We have normal functioning stomachs, just smaller in size.

Easy mental picture when you start progressing through the stages and learning about eating post-VSG:

Think of your sleeve like a kitchen sink:

Liquids : Dump liquids in, they slide right on down, empty into the drain. NO stopping

Full liquids/thick liquids: Dump 3ounces of yogurt, cottage cheese, pudding down the drain; It will slide down the drain opening a bit slower, but you don't have to stir it around, or mush it through the sink drain.

Mushy/puree: (this is where your teeth come in extra handy) you can dump some puree chicken salad/chili/egg salad down the drain and it's gonna sit there for a bit, it'll leak through, right? but it's going to take some time. So you might have to get a spoon to stir it around to get it to go down the drain.

Soft Solids: Oh chewing is essential. You can toss some ground beef in the sink and it's not going down without some mushing down/stirring it around with the spoon to get it through the drain opening. . The stomach after surgery still isn't sure what to do with those soft protein/solids, so it's slow to work properly, and all the stomach really does is break down, mush down the food. 85% of Absorption of nutrients/calories etc etc occur in the intestine. Anyways, the meat is going to need some help to get down the drain. Gastric fluids, the mechanical work of the stomach, and chewing helps this process. This is when you really get the restriction.

Measuring your mushy/purees and onto soft solids and Protein will keep you from overeating and puking or being in pain. Once you get to full liquids, still be cautious and measure out. Once you're on mushy/purees, always, always measure. Don't eat until full, eat the measured, prescribed portion and that will help you stay within your caloric intake for the day.

The pyloric valve is what regulates how and when the food dumps into the intestines. That's why liquids don't offer restriction. Sip away, enjoy hydration so many of us struggled with being able to get in fluids.

As time progresses, your stomach works better, transit time speeds up and you can eat a bit more. This is where the "sleeve stretching" posts come up. People think they've stretched something, when it really boils down to the stomach is just working properly.

Great information Tiffykins. Especially helpful to us newly sleeved. I love the kitchen sink analogy. I count myself lucky to be able to get my liquids in so easily. The nurses had me mark off on this chart every time I drank a medicine cup (2 ounces) of water. When she came back later, in a surprised voice, she asked "you drank all that?" I told her she that she told me to drink one cup every 15 minutes. She told me yeah she tells everyone that but most people can't do it. About that time an aide came in and she had to tell her about my drinking. I've always been the type of person who drinks a lot. Obviously, I can't drink as much postop yet, but for where I am I guess I'm still a drinking champ. :-)