Hi,

I've been PBing about once a week, and have started to notice a trend. If I get a feeling in my stomach that feels like "gnawing" and I get dizzy and I'm starving, then when I eat, I almost always PB, even if I eat slowly and take small bites.

The problem is, I can get the gnawing feeling without warning, and I can get it after having eaten a normal meal. For example, I ate a small but normal breakfast just fine last Tuesday, and then, without warning I became ravenously starving a few hours later. I tried to eat some peanut butter crackers, and took small bites and chewed really well, but I PB'd violently anyway.

It's like I get a feeling of "if I don't eat right now I'll pass out" and it's almost like my stomach is... convulsing, if that's the right word. It's like my stomach is spasming or something, and I'm sooo hungry I feel faint.

I only get the feeling about once a week, and normally, I do just fine with small meals. I am usually full for four hours after a meal, or even five hours, and feel great.

I would love to know what causes this feeling and how to stop it, or how to combat PBing. I'm thinking of maybe carrying a liquid protien shake with me in my purse to help stop that ravenous feeling and maybe that would prevent a PB.

Any thoughts?

I have no idea what causes that feeling - but as to curing it - yes - probably juice or a protein shake first to take the edge off and then try to eat.

I am thinking that somehow, that ravenous feeling is overriding your brain and even though you think you are doing your normal slow routine, you aren't.

Good Luck!

Hey Sunta, a few thoughts.

First, any chance that because you're so hungry and feel so compelled to eat, you're eating a lot faster & not chewing as well as you might when you eat under more normal conditions? The quick intake, or swallowing bigger bites, couldn't definitely play a role.

I get something that sounds similar, only without the PB, but everything else including the pain & sliming. And I get some pretty uncomfortable paints to either side of my belly button when I eat, though not all the time. I asked my surgeon and his guess was that it's the stomach "gearing up" to receive food... it's way hungrier than I feel, so physiologically it's doing everything it can to be ready to start digesting the food.

Wish I could offer better guesses.

It sounds like me before the band. I did not PB but the gnawing feeling was so bad that it took over my loveable personalty and made me a monster to eat. I have not had this after the band unless I do not eat my little meals. It has been easy for me to stop the monster now, one spoon of penut butter or one grenola bar. Before the band it was BAD.

The hardest thing that I have had to cope with after the band was learning what the full feeling in my gut was. My eyes/brain/mouth wanted to eat, eat, eat. My gut was saying it was full, it was happy and did not SCREAM eat, eat, eat. My (smart?) brain was still saying eat, eat, eat.

How do we learn to tell the differance? Can we teach each other? Any ideas?

Well, I think it might also depend on what you are eating. Unless I'm having a day where I'm wide open, peanut butter will stick me up any time.

My theory though, is probably when we feel like that, our tummies are churning like crazy, and maybe that makes it all awkward. I would do the protien shake thing... whenever I feel like that I drink a glass of milk. Then, once the shakes go away and my head clears, I figure something else out.

kwhenrykerr; head hunger is a beast to fight. You really just have to stop all the time and ask yourself "why do I want to keep eating?" Sometimes the answer will be that you are truly hungry. Other times, it will be things like "I feel like I should be able to eat at least this much" or "it's so good!"

Quick question.. What is PB stand for? I understand what it is but not what it stands for.