ok so I'm 15 days post op and i feel like I'm starving!!! the nurse told me its head hunger and of course i got a little defensive .... like your not in my body you don't feel what i feel.

after a lot of thought i realized a lot of it is in my head ..... i see all this food that I'm used to eating in fact as a single mom I'm up close to it 24/7 because i obviously can not starve my kids but I'm struggling big time because even though some of it is in my head i am also really hungry as embarrassing as it is i have to admit I've eaten a very tiny piece of meat and it hurt my stomach I've chewed and spit. I've even sucked the cheese of Cheetos (I've rarely done these thing but i have done them)

i keep telling my self that i can do this but in reality its very hard people think that we chose surgery as the easy way out but its actually harder than most would think!!! its not a magic cure its only a tool to help us get to our goal it still depends on us to make it happen!!!

does anyone have any suggestions on how i can get through this liquid stage with out completely failing??

Same here, I’m 12 days post op and chew on food then spit it out.. lol it’s extremely challenging.. I also went to the doctors today and lost 10 lbs, he’s moved me on to phase 3, progress.

I don’t have a ton to offer other than that I TOTALLY FEEL YOU!

I’m lucky in that my sister had her surgery one year before I did and so she gives me some good advice. She pointed out that, for at least a decade, my stomach had been the same size. My brain has thought about feeding something that size. Now, it is so much smaller, and my brain just hasn’t caught up. She assured me the first month is the hardest because you just crave things!

Hang in there!

All doctors are different but mine allowed super free pudding, yogurt, and soups like tomato, any kind of cream soups ensuring they were strained or puréed for lump. One of my favorites was cream of potato with a sprinkle of cheese and real bacon bits puréed in a blender.

1 hour ago, perhapser said:

I don’t have a ton to offer other than that I TOTALLY FEEL YOU!

I’m lucky in that my sister had her surgery one year before I did and so she gives me some good advice. She pointed out that, for at least a decade, my stomach had been the same size. My brain has thought about feeding something that size. Now, it is so much smaller, and my brain just hasn’t caught up. She assured me the first month is the hardest because you just crave things!

Hang in there!

that actually makes me feel a lot better thank you!!

6 hours ago, jlewisgotsleeved said:

Same here, I’m 12 days post op and chew on food then spit it out.. lol it’s extremely challenging.. I also went to the doctors today and lost 10 lbs, he’s moved me on to phase 3, progress.

congrats!!! i see my dr for the first time since surgery Monday and I'm only 5 days from purees

Edited March 10, 20188 yr by lorena090

so i tried vanilla cream protein drink in my decaf coffee and i must say its not completely terrible lol

Same here, I’m 12 days post op and chew on food then spit it out.. lol it’s extremely challenging.. I also went to the doctors today and lost 10 lbs, he’s moved me on to phase 3, progress.

The weight lost is all that is giving me my will power to not eat what my family is right now. I lost 15 pounds *according to their scales* from the day I had surgery to my 1 week post op. But they wouldn’t move me to soft foods, just keeping me at full liquid.

This too shall pass! Promise!

Here’s a good rule of thumb to help determine if it’s head hunger or true hunger... head hunger is “I am hungry and want to eat X” (x of course is anything from that burger I saw in a commercial to the Cheetos I am feeding my kids... side note kids don’t need Cheetos and will benefit from diet changes too.). If you want X and a protein shake or whatever is in plan won’t satisfy then it’s usually head hunger. True hunger hunger is satisfied by eating, period. Eating ANYTHING.

One other thing to note... for many of us the gnawing empty “hunger” feeling is stomach acid. It can mimic hunger pains. I had awful gnawing feelings that food made go away. It was acid from the healing process. My doctor doubled my PPI medication (proton pump inhibitor, in my case it was pantaprozole but there are many of them) and the feeling went away.

I’m 12 days out from full bypass. I feel great, just twinges at incesion sites. 2 moments of giving in to stupidity, one having some Chicken and Rice’s soup w saltines , I had intense stomach cramps for about 2 hours and gas. Of course I did not learn my lesson the other yesterday out of town

Most of the shakes made my tongue curl from the sweetness in them and I can't drink them without feeling ill, but the chocolate Orgain shakes are exactly my groove: less sweet and I can easily drink three of them a day. They basically taste like slightly odd chocolate milk to me. I'm supplementing that with jello, crystal light, milk, and a can of Progresso Chickarina that I blended the hell out of and mix 50/50 with chicken broth.

That single can of Chickarina is going to last me about a week, it's kind of insane. When blended it's not quite chewable, but the chicken and meatball fibers will stick your teeth together a bit if you chew the soup in your mouth. Reverse chewing? Anyhow, it took the edge off the need to chew for me.

Edited March 10, 20188 yr by sideeye

It’s been a long time since I was 15 days out. I’m 3 years out and get head hunger daily, always have since surgery. If I counted the times I was actually hungry in a day? Like, 2 times. The rest is in my head. I can’t stand it. Or emotional eating when I get stressed or aggravated. My nutritionist said I need to find out why I go to food as comfort. I see a therapist but, haven’t really pin pointed why I do as of yet.
You’ll get there, work the program like they say and exercise. Because you don’t want to be in my shoes 3 years down the road saying “ WTH happened??”
Good luck to all the new post ops [emoji173]️