9 Days Post-Op .... I'M STARVING! What's wrong?

[deliveryguy 0]

I'm nine days post-up. I'm not completely sure what the problem is, but I was told in the many doctor's appointments and group sessions of how I would lose my appetite, how my tastes would change ... Surely being on this liquid and puree is contributory, but I'm STARVING!

Is this my body temporarily reacting to my drop in food intake, or to my uptick in physical activity recently or what?

[gdussell1 5]

The doctor told me that when that happens most of the time you are thirsty. So when that happens try drinking your Water and see if it curves your appetite more bc it should. Hope this helped

[Fluffnomore 1,235]

It also might be stomach acid. You should ask your doctor for a PPI.

[Nicole D. Robinson 1]

I was told the same thing by my doctor, to drink more fluids. For me it was/ is a real task drinking the required amount.. I felt like i was starving too! But i do think it was mostly head hunger,and missing the texture of foods. I was especially feeling it when i had to see family members eat things i love , like pizza, etc. in front of me..I'm on my 3rd week puree diet,i feel alot better now , and happy to eat "babyfood" lol..Hang in there! also if you dnt have it already the Unjury Protein Soup helped out alot. I added curry spice to it

[SnohoGal98296 371]

I found that immediately after surgery what I thought was hunger was actually head hunger - I am 3 months out now and I really don't feel hunger. I do get an empty feeling when I go too long between meals, but never stomach growling actual hunger. (My tummy made/makes lots of noise - don't get me wrong - but that is digestion not empty tummy growls). Over the past few months I have battled head hunger (I want to eat that! or something!) but I stuck to the recovery plan, 3 days clear, 11 days full liquids, 14 days smooth/soft foods and on day 28 slowly started adding more dense regular foods. At three months I can eay anything, some crunchy things still kind of scare me but it is all in my head. I also experienced dreams where I was either eating something really bad for my healing tummy or I was surrounded by foods I was eating before surgery - but in some nightmarish scenario... that was my brain not understanding why I wasn't eating like I used to anymore... I likened it to detoxing in a drunk tank.

My point is - the liquids stage is tough, once you get to the stages with more dense foods you will find that you can only take a few a bites and feel like you had a huge meal, eventually your brain will let go of the comfort / quantity food addiction and it will be easy to eat 2 ounces of Protein and 1 bite or 2 of veggies and be more than satiated... 55 lbs in 3 months doesn't lie.

Edited September 17, 2014 by SnohoGal98296

[McButterpants 2,846]

I agree with the posters above - most likely it's thirst or acid that you're confusing with hunger.

Many new sleevers confuse acid with hunger - I did as well. I didn't take a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), I dealt with it on my own. Now, 10 months out, if I feel that feeling, I pop a Tums and it usually go away.

Also, if I start craving foods at weird times, it's almost always because I am low on fluids. Make sure you always have a Water bottle at the ready and sip throughout the day.

[ijones67 12]

I'm nine days post-up. I'm not completely sure what the problem is, but I was told in the many doctor's appointments and group sessions of how I would lose my appetite, how my tastes would change ... Surely being on this liquid and puree is contributory, but I'm STARVING!

Is this my body temporarily reacting to my drop in food intake, or to my uptick in physical activity recently or what?

yep trust me it's all in ur head. For so many years u've been on a routine to do/ eat as u please. Now it's a game changer and u hv to retrain urself on what & how much u eat. It will be 1 yr for me next month and I'm just about to the point to where I don't care about eating bcuz I still hvnt learn lil bites lil bites lil bites. So My tummy cramp up cuz I'm chewing big bites and not breaking it down enough. Heck 40+ yrs I ate one way and it will take a lil longer to retrain myself but overall I'm good. I still drink my Protein shakes and drinks