Hi, I’m Alicia. I just had the gastric sleeve done on 11/21 so I’m a lil over 2 weeks post-op and I know when I’m hungry, but I’m having trouble telling when I’m feeling full. Has this happened to anyone else in the beginning or in general after surgery? I try to really listen to my body when I’m eating, and eat slower, but I’m still unable to tell when I’m full. I normally just stop eating when I feel like its in my throat and it’s going down slowly. I’ve been avoiding throwing up and I don’t want that to happen, so that’s why I try to not finish everything I’m eating at the time. Any advice on how to tell when you’re full or feeling satisfied? Thanks in advance!

Hi Alicia, I had surgery on 11/22, I can also tell easily when hungry, but the first time I had food had trouble telling apart from digestion or fullness so I took it really slow.

What you are feeling means you ate too much, you want to eat until you are satified but not stuffed.

I'm allowed to eat 1 to 2oz, once I hit 1oz I take a few min break and see if I still want more and do the same at 1.5oz. If still hungry consumed the full 2oz but if I start feeling the food is slowing down when going down I stop.

A lot of nerve endings were cut during the surgery, so many of our old signals just don’t get through or don’t get through in the same way. This is why it’s very important to eat to the recommended portion sizes & to eat slowly. You may find too, that when those signals come back they’re different & you have to relearn what they mean.

Also try not to eat until you are full (& try to stop before you feel your restriction when that kicks in). Signals take time to get through (another reason why we’re advised to eat slowly) & by the time you’re brain says you’re full, you’ve actually eaten more than you need. Eat until you’ve had enough. That is when you’ve eaten what you need not want.

Don’t feel you have eat until all your portion either. If you feel you’ve had enough & don’t need any more stop. I still often have partially eaten food in my fridge. You can finish it later if need be or save it for tomorrow. Left overs are great.

I know lots of things to learn & learn about yourself. But you’ll work it out. Congrats on your surgery.

11 hours ago, leesh_213 said:

Hi, I’m Alicia. I just had the gastric sleeve done on 11/21 so I’m a lil over 2 weeks post-op and I know when I’m hungry, but I’m having trouble telling when I’m feeling full. Has this happened to anyone else in the beginning or in general after surgery? I try to really listen to my body when I’m eating, and eat slower, but I’m still unable to tell when I’m full. I normally just stop eating when I feel like it’s in my throat and it’s going down slowly. I’ve been avoiding throwing up and I don’t want that to happen, so that’s why I try to not finish everything I’m eating at the time. Any advice on how to tell when you’re full or feeling satisfied? Thanks in advance!

it takes a while to decipher the cues because it takes a while for them to fully develop while you are healing…

i didn’t really start to feel things until i was on soft food and much stronger on regular food… i am 5 weeks po so still early on but ca. tell a big difference

watch for hiccups, burps, feeling of pressure in throat, pressure in chest, heart rate or breathing changes, those are all cues people have reported (mine are stomach heavy feeling and hiccups)

My surgery is next week (14th) . This is all good information. I appreciate it all. It will help me manage expectations and deal with the realities of sleeve. Good luck and thanks for being inspirations to those of us who are following you on this journey.

Thank you everyone for your input! I do notice the hiccups, and the burping, which also happens when I’m not eating too. Also I had my first post-op appt on 12/7 this week I’m on liquids and puréed stage and my surgeon told me that the sleeve can hold up to 6oz so I’ve been consuming about 1/2 cup of food which is 4oz. I bought some ramekin bowls from Amazon they have different sizes I chose the 4oz ones and they’ve been great to use so I don’t have to measure 1/2 cup each time I eat since I have them to use as a guide. Good luck to everyone with their journeys pre-op and post-op!

Check with your surgeon as 1/2 cup may be a little too much. I was advised 1/4 - 1/3 cup from purée. But all plans are different.

Even though your tummy can hold 6ozs doesn’t mean you eat that much & yours may not hold that much. They’re only approximating based on how much of your tummy they removed. Plus your tummy is a muscle that stretches.