I am one week postop and have been starving since I was in the hospital. I am feeling really discouraged because I thought this would help with my hunger at least a little, but it did nothing?? So now instead of actually being able to eat what I used to and feel satisfied, I eat my 2.5 oz and continue to feel starving. I am also having the same old cravings and I worry that them, coupled with my hunger, is going to lead to failure. I could have starved myself without surgery.... Yes, I've contacted my surgical team and I'm getting a lot of "we don't knows" and have been forwarded to 4 different members of the team so far and I'm now waiting on the 4th to try to find an answer for me. I feel like I made a huge mistake! I am supposed to eat five 2.5 oz meals for 2 months and I literally sit and stare at the clock to run to eat at the 2 hour intervals. I feel like I am set up for failure because I can't go 2 months feeling this way! I'm even starting to contemplate ways to just stretch the pouch out eventually and just say eff it. It's a bad head space right now.

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You are straight up dehydrated. You get fully hydrated and concentrate on getting your fluids in and your hunger will greatly improve.

Also, you're still on liquids. We ALL starved on liquids. LOL. Once you start progressing to more dense proteins, you will feel satiety once more. But again, gotta get hydrated first!

Also, you're still on liquids. We ALL starved on liquids. LOL. Once you start progressing to more dense Proteins, you will feel satiety once more. But again, gotta get hydrated first!

I'm not still on liquids. I am on puree and some soft foods. Had chili, tuna, cottage cheese, and yogurt today.

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Ok, so actually eating without fully hydrating is a kinda bad idea. And puree and soft foods do not offer the satiety that you will feel once you're eating solid dense protein.

And you have to keep in mind, you are probably still a carb burner and you are having 2oz of food. It probably won't last you longer than 2 hours--3 at the most...

But bottom line is, you SHOULD be addressing the hydration issue by finding ways to cope with getting fluids down your piehole. Once you fully hydrate, it WILL help suppress your appetite. And lessen your stress too. Right now cortisol is fueling you. You are in panic fight/flight mode. Deep breath. Drink. Drink warm fluids! Drink some more.

Here's how my first week went. Swear to God. I woke at 4am to take my thyroid pill and I began drinking for the day...I would doze off about another hour and would wake to take my other meds. And I would continue drinking. I would drink all the live long day, every 15 minutes (by timer and with the 4oz shot glass), until 11pm. I was getting 64+ oz in of liquids including protein drinks. I WAS still on liquids at 1 week.

And I did that every day. But I had to FIND and compromise on ways to make the liquids easiest for me to handle. Turns out warm or room temp were my friends.

Just talked to my dietitian. She said to forego eating if it means I can get more fluid in. I'm only at about 25oz today so far. I also asked her why my manual says to only have one protein shake a day, which means I am getting only 15g of protein (minus my small protein meals), and she said if I can tolerate more to have more. Um... yes. The protein shakes don't bother my but this friggin book says to only have 12 ounces a day!

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Protein drinks count toward your liquid total. But overall, you really MUST get the fluid in by hook or by crook.

The nurse in the morning also told me to not have more than 4 oz of broth anymore. But the dietitian just said I could use that as my hydration. UGH. Would have been doing that all along.

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Cuz bottom line...we can live for a very very very long time without food at our former sizes. We are carrying a literal ass-load of fuel on our bodies. BUT you WILL die if you do not hydrate. If you don't hydrate, you have about 3 days MAX before death. And it's probably less cuz of the surgical stress on your body.

Also the timer idea is a good one. I think that will help me a lot!

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Just now, mousecat88 said:

Also the timer idea is a good one. I think that will help me a lot!

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Good, use a measuring glass like a calibrated jigger. We have one that is 4oz. I have used it since surgery to measure water, my protein drinks, etc.

Thanks for the advice. Coupled with the encouragement from the dietitian that I haven't ruined my entire plane of existence, I feel a bit better. lol.

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Good! Glad to help. Once you find "YOUR" routine, it will and does get vastly better. Why? Cuz you are back in control of your reality.

It does get better.

Fluffy is right, focus on fluids before food. Many times when we feel hunger it is our body trying to get water by telling us to eat because we don’t drink enough.

That being said, we are human, and I think it is normal after being on liquids for weeks and weeks to feel some hunger. Eventually you will progress to being able to eat denser meals though, and all this will be a bad memory.

One day at a time.

Making some crushed ice Powerade as we speak...

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So I have been starving and I’m at a week and a half post op. I agree with Fluffy, drink drink drink. Are you allowed low cal, low fat geek yogurt? Even a third of one really fills me up. I’m also learning to differentiate Head hunger from real hunger which is very hard. Broth really helped me with the hunger. It felt like more than just fluid.