I had the sleeve done two weeks ago I'm currently eating soft foods like cottage cheese and tuna but after I eat till I'm full after about 15 minutes I'm completely hungry again stomach growling and everything I am so depressed I can't live like this I don't know why it's happening and it's not head hunger I would happy to never eat again I told my Dr she just said it will get better but I don't believe her I don't know what to do I can't spend the rest of my life having to eat every 20 minutes I wanna have a life

58 minutes ago, pointlessneedles said:

I had the sleeve done two weeks ago I'm currently eating soft foods like cottage cheese and tuna but after I eat till I'm full after about 15 minutes I'm completely hungry again stomach growling and everything I am so depressed I can't live like this I don't know why it's happening and it's not head hunger I would happy to never eat again I told my Dr she just said it will get better but I don't believe her I don't know what to do I can't spend the rest of my life having to eat every 20 minutes I wanna have a life

A few things.

1. You won't really feel the restriction you have until you get to real, solid food. And some foods will make you feel full faster than others. I ate part of a pancake and felt full for hours. Pork makes me feel fuller than chicken or beef. Everybody is different, and every body is different.

2. I had hunger after and discovered, thanks to my surgeon, that what I think is "hunger" is actually reflux/heartburn. It doesn't happen often but yesterday I had a bit of pizza (options were extremely limited) and felt "hungry". I took a Pepcid per my doctor and suddenly didn't feel hungry any more.

3. Not everyone loses their hunger. Most people feel it 'blunted' at first, but some people just don't.

4. Two weeks after surgery, your body is still producing the same amount of stomach acid it did when you had the larger stomach. It takes some time to stop doing that, and in the meantime not only did my stomach growl, I made the most horrible personal noises! It went away around the time my incisions stopped itching, so 3-4 weeks post-op.

Stick to your plan. It will help you, and it WILL get better.

Do you drink water/liquids during/after meals? If so, don't. For at least an hour after eating.

If it’s true hunger check out @lizonaplane ‘s posts. She worked through this with her program.

The other option is you are still learning your hunger/satisfaction signals. Notice I didn’t say full. Satisfied is the sensation we are aiming for. It’s ok to be empty. You can be empty in your stomach and that may be the new sensation. You won’t die of being empty. You may find it clarifies your thoughts and allows you to move easier. Each person experiences hunger and satisfied differently. Speak to your team and go to the follow up support meetings, ask the bariatric psychologist.

3 hours ago, pointlessneedles said:

I had the sleeve done two weeks ago I'm currently eating soft foods like cottage cheese and tuna but after I eat till I'm full after about 15 minutes I'm completely hungry again stomach growling and everything I am so depressed I can't live like this I don't know why it's happening and it's not head hunger I would happy to never eat again I told my Dr she just said it will get better but I don't believe her I don't know what to do I can't spend the rest of my life having to eat every 20 minutes I wanna have a life

Oh I hear you. I am 3 weeks out and I was ravenous for two and a half of those so don't give up hope (I was just about to!) Over the last few days as I have been eating more protein and more solid textures it has definitely reduced drastically and I am staying much fuller for much longer after my still very small meals (1/3 cup approx).

And what vikingbeast said. ^^^^

4 hours ago, dms75 said:

Do you drink water/liquids during/after meals? If so, don't. For at least an hour after eating.

Like a sip or two

3 hours ago, learn2cook said:

If it’s true hunger check out @lizonaplane ‘s posts. She worked through this with her program.

The other option is you are still learning your hunger/satisfaction signals. Notice I didn’t say full. Satisfied is the sensation we are aiming for. It’s ok to be empty. You can be empty in your stomach and that may be the new sensation. You won’t die of being empty. You may find it clarifies your thoughts and allows you to move easier. Each person experiences hunger and satisfied differently. Speak to your team and go to the follow up support meetings, ask the bariatric psychologist.

Its not just empty it's painful and gnawing and all I can do is cry

3 hours ago, pointlessneedles said:

Its not just empty it's painful and gnawing and all I can do is cry

That’s the acid pain @vikingbeast mentioned. I’ve over produce stomach acid for years & regularly experienced a strong cutting like pain across my tummy. The only thing that stopped it was eating carbs because they absorbed the excess acid which was literally eating my tummy. Are you on a ppi (esomeprazole)? Once they diagnosed my problem I was prescribed them because they reduce the amount acid. Many are prescribed them for a period of time post surgery to counteract the excess acid. I still take them every day because I still over produce acid just less in my smaller tummy.

It’s a new learning to understand that hunger pangs & a growling tummy don’t indicate you are hungry as we were always told but just stomach acid & the digestion process. It’s also a struggle to understand it’s not a bad thing for your tummy to be empty. Many of us kept feeding it before & it was rarely actually empty so it’s a new feeling.

Most of us are advised not to drink about 30 mins before & after eating as it can wash what you’ve eaten through your system more quickly & temporarily fills you up. As time passes, you’ll reduce the time frame before & after & even drink a little while eating but how much & how long is individual.

Your world’s probably feeling pretty upside down & not recognisable at the moment either. It does get easier & better. But have a chat with your medical team if you’re still concerned.

All the best.

On 12/8/2021 at 9:51 PM, Arabesque said:

That’s the acid pain @vikingbeast mentioned. I’ve over produce stomach acid for years & regularly experienced a strong cutting like pain across my tummy. The only thing that stopped it was eating carbs because they absorbed the excess acid which was literally eating my tummy. Are you on a ppi (esomeprazole)? Once they diagnosed my problem I was prescribed them because they reduce the amount acid. Many are prescribed them for a period of time post surgery to counteract the excess acid. I still take them every day because I still over produce acid just less in my smaller tummy.

It’s a new learning to understand that hunger pangs & a growling tummy don’t indicate you are hungry as we were always told but just stomach acid & the digestion process. It’s also a struggle to understand it’s not a bad thing for your tummy to be empty. Many of us kept feeding it before & it was rarely actually empty so it’s a new feeling.

Most of us are advised not to drink about 30 mins before & after eating as it can wash what you’ve eaten through your system more quickly & temporarily fills you up. As time passes, you’ll reduce the time frame before & after & even drink a little while eating but how much & how long is individual.

Your world’s probably feeling pretty upside down & not recognisable at the moment either. It does get easier & better. But have a chat with your medical team if you’re still concerned.

All the best.

Im on an acid reducer it doesn't help and it is bad for my stomach to be empty because it hurts and makes me feel like having a panic attack so I need to eat again and I feel like that makes this whole surgery pointless

I have really persistent reflux, and would have the same feeling when empty. Evidently I needed a much higher dose. Thee are also different meds that they can switch you to if the one you are on is t co trolling your acid reflux.

Don’t just tough it out. I tried and it resulted in overeating to manage my symptoms. It doesn’t have to be this way, so discuss your options with the doctor.

I had the sleeve done two weeks ago I'm currently eating soft foods like cottage cheese and tuna but after I eat till I'm full after about 15 minutes I'm completely hungry again stomach growling and everything I am so depressed I can't live like this I don't know why it's happening and it's not head hunger I would happy to never eat again I told my Dr she just said it will get better but I don't believe her I don't know what to do I can't spend the rest of my life having to eat every 20 minutes I wanna have a life

Don't panic! I'm post op 3 weeks and i have only lost 9 pounds! I'm eating 5 to 6 times a day getting 90% of my protein in. And 90% of my water. I'm on soft foods now and gained a pound! Im also hungry.. I panicked until I have read where other people are in the same boat. I'm up at 2am writing because I went in panic mode. Our bodies are all different and age, how long we carried the weight, medicines and if you didn't eat that much before surgery it may take longer. I got upset because I saw so many people saying that they lost 30 and 40 pounds in a month! 10 pounds is better then what i had been doing. You being hungry too is normal. Try to relax and keep drinking as much as you can. Try thr protein water. I'm sorry we are going through such hardship through this part of our journey. But it will get better. It has to! Keep strong