Hi guys, I’m Laura. I got my surgery on the 6th of July and currently in the liquid diet stage.
Im kind of struggling.. I miss food. I miss drinking whatever I want as much as I want. I’m tired of being in pain, I just feel so emotional And exhausted all the time. I mean I know long term I’m going to thank myself for this.. but right now I’m just struggling.
Please tell me it gets better? My issue is that my cravings are still there… I just literally can’t act on them.

I can’t even smoke to distract myself or drink icy drinks (I don’t know how to drink anything unless it’s icy).
i know I sound so whiny right now, I’m not usually like this lol. Bare with me????‍♀️

Edited July 11, 20215 yr by Phmatcha

I had mine on July 3 and I feel you. I am not hungry or sick but somehow have cravings. It’s weird! I miss snacking and biting into food. This whole liquid thing is like going against nature ? But the absolute worst thing for me is not being able to have my morning COFFEE!!!

On 07/11/2021 at 11:50, Phmatcha said:

Hi guys, I’m Laura. I got my surgery on the 6th of July and currently in the liquid diet stage.

Im kind of struggling.. I miss food. I miss drinking whatever I want as much as I want. I’m tired of being in pain, I just feel so emotional And exhausted all the time. I mean I know long term I’m going to thank myself for this.. but right now I’m just struggling.

Please tell me it gets better? My issue is that my cravings are still there… I just literally can’t act on them.

I can’t even smoke to distract myself or drink icy drinks (I don’t know how to drink anything unless it’s icy).

i know I sound so whiny right now, I’m not usually like this lol. Bare with me????‍♀️

Head hunger is real! We’ve lived for many years eating beyond our physical needs due to emotional eating, cravings, etc. Therapy to work through these issues is great!

Also, no reason to avoid ice cold drinks as long as your stomach tolerates it.

My team allowed coffee right away. I mix my morning protein shake with cold brew coffee. It’s delicious!

My team is killing me. No coffee (even decaf) until at least a month after surgery. Only filtered, diluted liquids for the first 15 days.. I miss drinking concentrated juices lol

What about trying a coffee flavored protein shake over ice? The Shamrock Rockin’ Protein Builder are really good and come in 5 flavors, one being Latte.

It will get better!!! 3 weeks seems to be when things start to look up! Just try to stay as busy as possible. Walking is a great distraction!
I really missed drinking in large gulps and at 3 weeks I could! Use this time to research puréed and soft food recipes bc it will give you foods to look forward to. Once your on puréed it seems like the cravings go away… good you can’t have still of course looks good, but I felt more satisfied so it felt better. Pain went away and I felt like I made the right decision! I am almost 5 weeks and I do more then I did before. I walk 3mi per day, kayak and pretty much whatever I want!

The mind is a powerful thing and learning how to manage your head hunger is probably the biggest challenge you will face. Some can do this alone. Some need the help of a therapist. Did you team recommend a therapist who is knowledgeable about bariatric patients? If not ask for a recommendation.

I’m concerned you’re still experiencing pain. Were you given pain meds when you left hospital? Can it be managed with over the counter pain meds? Is it gas pain or surgical pain? If the pain is surgical & you’re still experiencing it contact your surgeon. Gas pain can persist longer. Walk. Try some gasX if it’s gas pain.

I was allowed herbal or green tea & I found warm/hot drinks much more soothing on my tummy than cold. Try heating your coffee flavoured shake. I used to heat my chocolate shake & pretended it was hot chocolate - lol!

It will get better. Undergoing surgery can be stressful & has probably stirred up a lot of anxiety & fear which is also feeding your head hunger.

Good luck.

A bariatric surgeon I watched on YouTube once referred to the first 6 weeks as “the buyer’s remorse stage”where you wonder if it was worth the pain, discomfort, and the gradual shift back to puréed and soft foods.

I agree with the suggestions above. See if you can tolerate icy liquids. Soon you’ll be able to have coffee and it’ll be amazing but most importantly right now you want to avoid any strain on those internal sutures. Try to rest as much as possible and walk if you can, even short distances help. Maybe pick up a hobby that you’ve long forgotten or find a new one to help distract you from food for the time being.

Sugar free popsicles, teas, and swansons sipping bone broth were lifesavers for me during the liquid stage. Take your pain and nausea meds (or a Tylenol if allowed by your Dr).
I went thru the same thoughts. I missed eating with my family. I was so desperate, I chewed a piece of popcorn and spat it out. It was good but then I laughed at myself and said I was stronger than that.

My body never liked whey proteins preop and post op I throw it up or get major bloat when I drink it (I’ve tried several). Now that I’m in the soft food stage, I’m eating my proteins instead of drinking them. I’m able to eat about 60g right now and will work up to 80-100g. It gets better.

You can do 2 weeks of liquid! You got this!

if you can handle protein shakes, premier has a cafe late that’s delicious. You can mix it with the salted caramel from fairlife, add ice, and it’s a Starbucks! ?

As some others have said, if you're still having surgical pain, you should probably contact your doctor. We're all different, but for most, the surgical pain goes away pretty quickly (I never had to take a pain pill after leaving the hospital).

With regards to eating and drinking - Yeah, the liquid phase seems like it's MONTHS and at first you feel like you'll never be able to eat/drink normally again. Part of that is true...you'll never be able to eat the portions you once could. We're all different, but after a few months, there are very few things that I couldn't eat or drink. After about a month, I was able to swallow fairly large gulps and can finish a bottle of water in <5 minutes if I'm really thirsty without any pain or discomfort.

A few words of advice - When you do start eating purees and then solids - Go slowly - If you eat too fast, it can be miserable. You're probably going to do it.... seems like we all do... If you eat something that doesn't settle well with you, hang in there and try it again in a few weeks.

It's okay, your body is recovering and you are hungry. You will feel actual hunger right now. As far as head hunger, you will need to meet that monster face-to-face and do battle, journaling might help.

I concur with the sf popsicles and bone broth, alternate as it will help with swelling. The salty bone broth helps with dehydration,get in as much as you can. Sip sip sip constantly, dehydration can get serious rather quickly. As the swelling in the esophagus goes down you will be able to take bigger sips.

I can't relate to the remorse much, but being in pain tends to make everything seem so much harder. Is it an internal pain in one area, constant, more while laying down, or upright? It helps to define it. I had nerve pain where they went in on the right side for a few weeks. If it's too hard too define or constant call your surgeon. Good luck, it gets better.

The first few weeks can be such a challenge and you've received many great ideas from comments here. I found that I worked through the stages of grief during my immediate post-op surgery experience. A loss of my "normal" life and a loss of the food that I thought that I needed. Working with yourself either with a bariatric therapist would be very helpful as someone previously suggested. I didn't have one when I first received my surgery, but my Mom was my rock through those initial processes. Perhaps you also have someone in your support group who can empathize, listen, and assist you during this time. I remember those feelings of longing and the thoughts of "why did I do this??" but it does get better! The cravings have never left me, but I have learned how to enjoy so much more out of my life that while sometimes I may have a bite or more than I initially thought the life that I have after losing the weight is so much better than I could have imagined. You CAN do this! Your body is still healing from surgery so give yourself some grace and kindness as you work through healing, all of your emotions, and dealing with an eating disorder that drove you to your pre-surgery weight. One day at a time and suddenly you will have made it a week, a month, months, and a year. The journey doesn't end...just shifts. Best wishes to you!

Everyone has already given you good advice, but I want you to know I felt like my surgery was a mistake the first couple weeks. I kept thinking "Why did I do this to myself?"
This seems to be something a lot of people feel early on. It's such a big life change! I can tell you, it got better as I moved through the food stages. I'm a year post op now and my life is INFINITELY better than it was before and I'm so happy I had my surgery. Hang in there! It will get better!

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I questioned what I had done to myself for a few days after surgery as well. I was not in much pain but just the restrictions and feeling hungry for real food with the knowledge that I was months away from eating what I wanted. Day but day it just gets easier. 4.5 months out and I can eat everything I ever ate before surgery in much smaller portions of course. The only things I have not tried are popcorn and rice. I was lower BMI so I am over half way to my goal And so so happy with my decision to have this surgery.