Got sleeved on may 8th and was doing fine on clear liquid. Today I had really really bad head hunger and managed to eat two pretzels by chewing them down to nothing and swallowing slowly. Does this mean my sleeve hasn't or won't work? I know I am not really hungry but it scares me that I could eat solid food with no problems.

Truthfully it was harder for me to eat soup and jello than pretzels ground into nothing.. Have I screwed myself already? I am really upset

You're fine. I did the same thing. The first two weeks is hell, because not only are you sick to death of sweet liquids, your body and brain are telling you how HUNGRY you are!!

What you just did was shift to "soft food" a little early. You may get chastised a little for eating a pretzel but you were mindful and chewed it to paste. You're fine. You're gonna live. heck the first "soft foods" are usually mashed potatoes and shredded chicken and such....

Now.. It IS important that you try to not eat anything solid or even too lumpy for the first 2 weeks, because your poor stomach has to heal. But are two pretzels going to undo your surgeon's work? No.

Try thicker fluids if you're having a hard time with hunger ... sugar free Jello, add Protein powder to your (decaf) coffee, etc.

One thing that kept me on track during the first month (2 weeks pre-surgery and two weeks liquid post-surgery) was to remind myself "it is a privilege to not eat".

This may or may not work for you.... It helped me stay humble about it, because the surgery IS expensive and it's such a first-world problem to have so much food available that obesity is a problem....

Another thing to try is to just remove yourself from the temptation ... If you're feeling snacky / head hungry, get a bottle of Water (or broth if you prefer) and take a 20-minute walk outside. This will help you "break up" with food cravings.

Although there may be physical ramifications to eating stuff too soon, that's not where the real trouble lies. Eating those pretzels, that had absolutely no nutritional value is not a failure of your sleeve, it's a failure of your head. The surgery was the easy part, the mental part is where it gets hard. I never cheated one single time on my preop diet or post op recovery. The fear of a leak or other complication kept me on the straight and narrow. Those months of discipline helped me make new habits that are, so far, holding firm at 5 months out when I can literally eat anything I want.

As for your hunger, are you on PPI's or taking antacids? Acid often feels like hunger. Even being on 40mg Omeprazole for 2 months I would get that feeling. Liquid Maalox took the hunger pains away. I'm not taking PPIs anymore but I will chew a couple Rolaids if I feel hungry when I know I shouldn't be.

Try to start new tomorrow and don't let a couple weeks of discomfort sabotage your goals.

@@crazyweight tomorrow makes 3 weeks for me. First 2 weeks post up were really tough for me. I didn't "cheat" but I for sure had lots of cravings and what I think was actual hunger. This past week I have been doing pureed foods and I feel like my body is getting adjusted to this and I have had very few moments of wanting to eat. THIS IS A MIRACLE! Okay maybe just science but it feels wild as I always want to eat. I was actually really worried thinking that my hunger was not going to go away. One thing that has been helping me is really remembering that insane staple line that exists in our stomach. There are not many things I would put on a raw, healing wound so it makes me pause and be very gentle with myself, my stomach.

I am starting to eat more foods but really chewing like you mentioned above and waiting and seeing how my tummy reacts. This has saved me as twice after one spoonful, and then waiting a few minutes I got a clear signal that my stomach was going throw a fit if I put anymore of "that" in it. Good luck. It's as much a mental game as anything so find support whatever way works for you.

Thank you StayingStrong, I'm nearly 2 weeks out and your experience is very encouraging to me! I have terrible head hunger and cravings, even though physically I'm adjusting really well to the low calories. I really want something to chew on. What pureed foods are you enjoying now?

@@crazyweight I experienced the sane thing today. Better yet yesterday. I ate a bag of small chips till it turn purée in my mouth, n I kept it down. Now today I had such a hunger headache n I ate 2 pieces of fries a very very very small piece of chicken, a chicken nugget about 6 spoons of mash potatoes. It's taking everything out of me not cry cuz I know I should be stronger than this. Knowing that I wanted this surgery since 2010 n now that I did it I can't even keep up with it. The bad thing bout my stomach tolerate all that mess, n now I'm wondering did I mess up my surgery! Lord Jesus have mercy on me!!!

MadamPrincess24 Are you drinking your Protein shakes and Water? I don't think eating some liquified food is going to ruin your sleeve, but the fact you're so hungry makes me wonder if you're eating what you're supposed to first. I was very shaky and hungry for about 8 days, but now at 11 days out I'm feeling much better as far as hunger. I know I needed to tell myself not to eat anything I shouldn't for 1 more hour or even 1 more minute. Just take it a bit at a time and don't throw it all away for a couple of mistakes. That's my advice anyway.

Edited May 12, 201412 yr by MichelleInCA

You went through all this to blow it on frickin' pretzels? Really?

If you are going to cheat yourself of this great opportunity to change your life, at least do it on something special.

Yeah, I'm a meanie. It's not OK what you did, and you can do better.

Come on, you can do this. Love yourself and quit sabotaging your sleeve. Believe in yourself. Be kind to yourself. Stay the course. Best of luck to you.

chips?! chicken Nuggets?! Really?! If you are truly hungry, why are you choosing such crap to eat? If you are truly hungry and are going to sabotage all the good work your surgeon did, at least have the courtesy to eat something good. How about some low fat cheese or puréed tuna fish or Protein bar? Not that you should be eating any of these things at this point, but it's obvious you don't care about what you "should" be doing. But these things will satisfy your true "hunger" If not, you are only giving in to your head and trying to blame it on hunger. We all went through what you are going through. We were all hungry, we all missed food. But some of us chose to make the commitment to this surgery and make the appropriate lifestyle changes. (Guess I'm a meanie,too)

For those of you sabotaging your success, I honestly don't know if I should be angry or feel sorry for you. Either you came into this knowing what is expected of you but are making stupid decisions anyways (in which case I'm a little pissed that you are whining about it on here). Or your surgeon and bariatric team is incompetent and didn't give you all the information you need to be successful. You are now in the middle of something you weren't prepared for. In which case I do feel sorry for you and urge you to spend as much time as you need asking questions to help you understand the importance of the mental aspect of this commitment. Perhaps counseling or therapy could help you adjust.

Edited May 12, 201412 yr by Kindle

Crazyweight, you are fine. You ate 2 pretzels, not the whole bag like I would have done pre-surgery. Yesterday I sucked on a Cheeto and was satisfied after that. Move forward and make sure you get your protein in first.

Got sleeved on may 8th and was doing fine on clear liquid. Today I had really really bad head hunger and managed to eat two pretzels by chewing them down to nothing and swallowing slowly. Does this mean my sleeve hasn't or won't work? I know I am not really hungry but it scares me that I could eat solid food with no problems.

Truthfully it was harder for me to eat Soup and Jello than pretzels ground into nothing.. Have I screwed myself already? I am really upset

You really need to talk to your NUT. You really do not experience hunger anymore. They removed that hormone. Its all psychological. You need to change your mind set. The reason u r on liquids is to give your stomach time to heal. It is stapled and must be careful of a rupture. You must be committed to this if you want it to work. Its hard at the beginning but it gets easier. Make wise choices and remember where you were in life and why you made this choice. Its a life changer and you need to be strong. I am almost 5 months post and 92lbs down. You can do it. Just learn to say no and pick healthy choices and stick to what they tell you. It only works if you want it to.

You really need to talk to your NUT. You really do not experience hunger anymore. They removed that hormone. Its all psychological. You need to change your mind set. The reason u r on liquids is to give your stomach time to heal. It is stapled and must be careful of a rupture. You must be committed to this if you want it to work. Its hard at the beginning but it gets easier. Make wise choices and remember where you were in life and why you made this choice. Its a life changer and you need to be strong. I am almost 5 months post and 92lbs down. You can do it. Just learn to say no and pick healthy choices and stick to what they tell you. It only works if you want it to.

I don't think that's true- I am almost 3 months out and I do feel hunger which is when I know to eat. THe difference I feel After surgery is hay I feel full and know when to stop. I am down about 69lbs.

But its not hunger pangs. Its an empty feeling u get not a hunger feeling. The hormone grehlin that gets released that causes the hungry feeling is no longer there. Do some research into it. You do get an empty feeling but you wont get hunger headaches or pangs if you dont eat. That is all psychological. Its what ur body is used to. U need to break the cycle is all.

there is still hunger. its greatly lessened, in some almost none, in others more. but we still have stomaches that produce some ghrelin. its not all head hunger, though i would have to say, at such an early stage of being post op, to be cheating on things like pretzels and french fries is not hunger, its withdrawal from food. please seek help in dealing with your food addiction, each day it gets easier to eat, and easier to cheat and easier to rationalize bad food choices. if you dont deal with it now, when will you?

Sometimes the urge is to eat something different from the sweeter shakes and Jello stuff. I'm finding cream Soups that are highly flavored with unflavored Protein powder are a huge help! They distract me away from salty/real food cravings and let me slow down enough to think about my eating and determine if its head hunger or stomach hunger. My favorite soup this week is a smoked salmon chowder (run through my magic bullet of course!). Try mixing it up more with allowable/recommended food before hitting pretzels again maybe?

Good luck!