Hello All,

So, I had my gastric sleeve done about ten days ago. Had a lot of pain in the day or so afterwards, but that dissipated fairly quickly. However, with the physical pain reduction has come something that's also painful. Food cravings. Food cravings more intense than any I've ever experienced in my entire life. Multiple times a day, and my mouth literally waters. I haven't been eating stuff besides protein shakes, broth, and sugar-free Jell-O for obvious reasons, but there's no question that I would be if I could. This isn't just "in my head" either. My stomach is definitely involved as well. I can feel it empty (although certainly not as empty as 500 calories a day would've left it before surgery).

This has been a shocking experience for me. Nobody at my surgeon's office gave me a heads up about anything like this potentially occurring. With that being said, can anyone offer any explanation? Is this common and/or just a mental thing? Did my surgeon do a bad job (apparently my stomach was one of the biggest he's seen in thousands of operations, and someone literally took pictures of them standing around it in the operating room after it was out)? I've also considered the possibility that my body is "fighting" me atm, as I've been losing weight rapidly (was 355 on surgery day (4/4) and was 334.5 this morning).

Anyways, can anyone assure me that this is temporary or offer any wisdom at all? Thanks.

It may be too much stomach acid which sometimes can feel like you are hungry or your stomach gnawing away at you. Are you taking acid reducing medication> If you are, you may need something stronger. If not, talk to your doctor in case you need something to help reduce stomach acid.

In any event, may be worthwhile checking in with your surgeon for some insight.

Unfortunately not everyone loses their appetite & hunger with the surgery. But food cravings tend to have a emotional cause. As you progress you’ll discover head hunger is very different from real hunger. For many of us real hunger doesn’t involve a craving for a specific food or food type (salty or sweet). If I’m craving something specifically I know it’s not real. Try drinking something warm like green or herbal tea if you’re allowed. Look for something g distracting to do.

The surgery stirs up a lot of emotions on many levels so it makes sense that you may crave foods that used to offer you some form of comfort. Even not being able to eat whenever & what ever you want can mess with you. Even the hormonal changes after the surgery can cause cravings. You may benefit from a chat with your therapist (if you were referred to one during your pre surgery process). Many find them very helpful to discover what drives their cravings & then work out strategies to manage them.

Remember your tummy is about 80% smaller so it takes very little to feel full but you won’t feel full until you’re on more solid foods. Liquids & purées go through you more quickly so you have to be careful not to over eat.

Hunger pains are often excess stomach acid. Post surgery you may be producing more than your smaller tummy needs which is why many surgeons prescribe a PPI after surgery to reduce acid production. (Over the counter meds only soothe the symptoms not affect the cause.) You often just need to take them for a couple of months +/-. Hunger pains & a rumbling growling tummy often don’t mean you are hungry - it’s just your digestive process working.

Congrats on your surgery. All the best.

Winky, I know how you feel. I am on day 3 after sleeve surgery and my food cravings are strong. My stomach feels so empty and is alway making noises. The food commercials on TV are driving me mad. I couldn’t take it anymore and put a tiny smear of peanut butter on my finger and sucked on my finger. Good grief, what kind of crazy person have I become? All I think about is food. How am I going to survive two weeks of a clear liquid diet? This is torture for me.

Edited April 15, 20224 yr by suzannethemom

25 minutes ago, suzannethemom said:

Winky, I know how you feel. I am on day 3 after sleeve surgery and my food cravings are strong. My stomach feels so empty and is alway making noises. The food commercials on TV are driving me mad. I couldn’t take it anymore and put a tiny smear of Peanut Butter on my finger and sucked on my finger. Good grief, what kind of crazy person have I become? All I think about is food. How am I going to survive two weeks of a clear liquid diet? This is torture for me.

I know surgeons and dieticians/nutritionists have a variety of pre -op and post-op diets, but two weeks on a clear liquid diet after a sleeve for someone at your start weight seems extreme. I certainly wouldn't have survived two weeks on a clear liquid diet post-op.

41 minutes ago, suzannethemom said:

Winky, I know how you feel. I am on day 3 after sleeve surgery and my food cravings are strong. My stomach feels so empty and is alway making noises. The food commercials on TV are driving me mad. I couldn’t take it anymore and put a tiny smear of Peanut Butter on my finger and sucked on my finger. Good grief, what kind of crazy person have I become? All I think about is food. How am I going to survive two weeks of a clear liquid diet? This is torture for me.

My surgeon has me on three 4 oz low sugar protein shakes every day for two weeks (I use Muscle Milk, which has 140 calories and roughly 30g protein per 4 oz serving) and broth/sugar-free Jell-O as I want it more or less. Unless you're having sugary drinks or Jell-O (which obviously aren't good), then idk how the guy expects someone to go two weeks essentially eating nothing. I'm obviously not going to tell you to begin drinking protein shakes if your doctor doesn't want you to, but your regimen makes no sense to me.

13 hours ago, Hop_Scotch said:

I know surgeons and dieticians/nutritionists have a variety of pre -op and post-op diets, but two weeks on a clear liquid diet after a sleeve for someone at your start weight seems extreme. I certainly wouldn't have survived two weeks on a clear liquid diet post-op.

Okay, I made a mistake. The clear liquid stage is only for one week. I totally read it wrong in my disillusioned state of recovery. What a relief! I still have five days to go, which feels like eternity.

13 hours ago, winkydinks said:

My surgeon has me on three 4 oz low sugar Protein Shakes every day for two weeks (I use Muscle Milk, which has 140 calories and roughly 30g Protein per 4 oz serving) and broth/sugar-free Jell-O as I want it.

I am on the same liquid diet with protein shakes for one week. I foolishly had it wrong in my head. I had chicken broth yesterday and it felt like a waste of time. Not satisfying at all. Same with Jello. So today I’m rotating and drinking 5 oz of a protein shake and then later 5 oz of protein water. The protein water is disgusting. What is your daily rotation of drinking like?

2 hours ago, suzannethemom said:

I am on the same liquid diet with Protein Shakes for one week. I foolishly had it wrong in my head. I had chicken broth yesterday and it felt like a waste of time. Not satisfying at all. Same with Jello. So today I’m rotating and drinking 5 oz of a Protein Shake and then later 5 oz of Protein Water. The protein water is disgusting. What is your daily rotation of drinking like?

4 oz water mixed with 1 scoop of Muscle Milk powder 3x per day for 2 weeks. Foods like yogurt and oatmeal get introduced in week 3, but I'll continue drinking 2-3 protein shakes per day depending on how well I tolerate the actual food. No more protein shakes from the start of week 4 onward.

Can I make my protein shake with milk? My instructions just say that I am allowed a shake (half per day). I have pre-made and protein powder. I was using 1% milk during my 10 day pre-surgery diet.