*==>* some answers about still getting hungry! *<;==*
HERE ARE THE RESPONSES I GOT (I"LL KEEP POSTING THEM)
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Contrary to popular rumor :} the part of the stomach removed is not the *only* place where ghrelin is made. I guess I figure we all produced it at different rates, some folks were not insanely hungry all the time. I was, so I guess I just figure, having most of my production place removed only made it so I get regular amounts, instead of the crazy amounts.
I never lost my hunger either. Eating on a schedule so that I do not get too hungry, and making choices that keep me full for longest are my saving graces.
I had hunger ONE WEEK post-op - real hunger, that's what it was. I just felt full after very very little. 1 sip of broth, I think.
I never lost my hunger either, though it was definitely reduced (and still is, 4 years later) and I'm certainly satisfied with less...
I've never lost my hunger either. Most of the time I only stay full for 1 to 2 hours unfortunately.
well i pretty much lost all hunger for a number of months after surgery and then it slowly returned but at much lower and much more appropriate levels. these days i do get hungry more often - doctor says the stomachs of vsg patients do empty out faster, but it is a managable hunger that doesn't make me want to stuff and stuff and it certainly takes much less to satisfy. I feel like I have more what normal hunger should be like but milder.
Ditto, I get hungry. my no hunger phase only lasted a month or so. Like others have said, at least it seems to be a normal hunger level. I think I must have had an over production of grehlin before surgery because I would get so hungry that I could eat anything as long as it didn't eat me first (Homer Simpson here).
I think my lack of hunger lasted for a month. I sometime wonder if it's because I have a 40f, not because it's bigger but because perhaps maybe less of the ghrelin production center was removed than people with smaller Sleeves. I get jealous when people say that they have to remind themselves to eat. Just not my story. That said, 4 oz of meat and some veggies and I'm pretty full and good to go for a few hours. It's always tough to differentiate between stomach and head hunger when not much time has passed between meals. I do get hungry sooner if my last meal wasn't protein packed.
It is normal for hunger to return after a few months, but at a lower level (hopefully). Ghrelin is produced in other areas of the body, not just the stomach, so I don't think bougie size has anything to do with it. Even people with smaller bougies experience hunger and I wonder, if the smaller size contributes to faster gastric emptying. I'll have to ask this, when I see the bariatric internist in a couple of weeks.
Sometimes I get hungry, if I go more than 4 hours without eating, which is why the dietitian said not to go longer than that amount of time. If it wasn't for the amount of exercise that I do, I don't think that I would eat as much. I have to fuel my workouts, both before and after. I think some of the "hunger" that I experience, is more "head hunger."
My hunger went away completely for the first 8 months or so, then it returned but in a much easier to deal with mode. Now at two years out, I started to take iron and my hunger disappeared again.
Ann 
