*==>* some answers about still getting hungry! *<==*

Hi folks -- i asked people over in the Maintenance forum for ideas or experiences with hunger returning after surgery.  as i've said, i, personally, am not one of those "i have to set a timer to remember to eat" people, though i am satisfied with very little and stay full.  it's just that when i'm hungry, i'm 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.  I do not know if this is the cause,

Thanks for posting all these.  I feel so guilty that I get hungry (and sometimes eat too fast and over eat).

I had tons of iced coffee with skim milk this morning and a good size bowl of yogurt, and right now, my stomach feels "empty".    Is this hunger?  Is it some kind of indigestion?   I don't think it's head hunger right now.
 

I really wish I didn't get as hungry as I do nor eat as much as I can :--(     I'm 5 months out.
 

 My pschologist said that about 8 months and on, the biological hunger teams up with the emotional hunger and if you don't have a good hold on how much to eat to be satisfied, you will have a rough time. He even told me that you can GAIN BACK your weight!  I was so depressed the day he told me that I thought I had done all of this for nil!  

I talked to my weight surgeon the next day and she said said he doesn't know what he is talking about when it comes to VSG, those things happen with lapband and RNY surgery.  She said you only have stretchability of your stomach regardless of how small/large it isof 5% -10% of the size it is after surgery and that you will only have the ablity to gain back that same percentage of excess weight loss back (ie 5-10lb for every 100 lbs lost).  I felt much better. 

The weight loss surgeon from Lafyette, LA who spoke at the OH conference in New Orleans this year told us that EVERYONE will gain back 5-10lbs after 5 years no matter what surgery you had. The best part is the VSG patients usually don't gain any more than that amount vs the lapband and RNY patients can gain back all of their weight loss and more!! 

Now, right now (7 months out), I am starting to wish I could drink that diet dr pepper or some other things that I am telling myself no about.  In the beginning, I had to make myself eat after I started reintroducing veggies and fruits into my diet, I find I need to eat more often as I can't eat protein and veggies or fruit at the same time.  I am low on protein so it makes it really hard to get the protein in and still have room for the veggies/fruits/water.  Protein is firs****er is second, and then veggies and fruits.  My biggest help is staying busy as when I am busy, I am not hungry! So maybe it is boredom and not real hunger that makes me want to eat.  Maybe explore within yourself what it really is that is making you hungry...I truly find that when I am bored; I am hungrier whether real or imagined.  I am still strong enough now to say NO, you are what got me to this place in my life where I had to have surgery and I am NOT going to give in to you, food!  I figure that some people who may be around me in the store may think I am crazy however I think they are crazy talking to someone on the cell phones about what they did last night with their boy friend or husband tha I consider is private! haha   That is my take on this one. 
No one is exempt from wanting more but we can do it !!! 

Best wishes to everyone that is at this point, Just remember there is nothing that is happening with any of us that isn't happening to others, too....that is why we have this forum to talk on and help us make it through it all !!! Keep writing !!
Granny