What does a smaller stomach actually feel like?

 I'm leaning hard towards getting the VSG over the RNY.  I'm really curious about how it feels to have a smaller stomach after you have recovered from the surgery and are back to eating normal foods.  Do you get more heartburn/indigestion than you did before?  Any new stuff pop up that maybe you hadn't known or thought about before you had the surgery?

Thanks in advance for your time.

I feel perfectly normal. Almost like I didnt have surgery at all. the only way I can tell my stomach is smaller, is that Im not hungry almost all the time, and when I do eat....it really is literally only a few bites and I'm full. I can do 4 ounces of soups, like tomato soup, but anything denser, like eggs..and Im done in about three bites. It does get better the longer you are out from surgery. Im only 5 weeks, so my tummy is new and healing yet. It feels great to feel normal and know that the weight is falling off at the same time. I love my sleeve!

at 4 months post op i don't feel any different,  it just takes way less food to satisfy me, which is way cool  --- do it,  you won't regret it, 

Yep, I just feel normal and when I eat, I'm full after a few bites. 6 weeks out now, fully back on regular foods. Half a turkey burger patty eaten slowly and savored is more satisfying than a whole turkey burger sandwich wolfed down. Since I take smaller bites and eat slower, my meals last longer than pre-surgery ...and psychologically, I feel more satisfied with eating because of that. There is no way I feel deprived or miss a darn thing. No problems here with heartburn or indigestion, just my usual gastritis now and then ...which actually is a lot less bothersome since I had the surgery. And I haven't had a single problem with (sorry) my spastic bowel. I feel wonderful! Wheeeeeeeeee! 

You know that big belly feeling when you eat a large meal and are all warm and fuzzy inside? With the sleeve you still feel full, but it's more like a tightness and up higher since the food and your stomach is no longer taking up as much space.

My heartburn and indigestion is way better since getting the sleeve and losing weight.

I can go hours and hours without feeling hungry. That is one big difference between RNY and VSG. We have the part of our stomachs removed which produces ghrelin, a hunger hormone. So, we don't get as hungry and when we do get hungry, it's different than as a pre-op. Some get an "empty" feeling, some get mild hunger. It's not the uncontrollable ravenous hunger like it was with a normie stomach.

For me, I no longer have cravings of any kind. I had a BIG TIME sweet tooth before surgery, but not so much anymore.

I totally second what Mandy said.  Hunger post op is so very different than preop.  It doesn't happen much but when it does it is just so different.  I never have any heartburn but I am on a PPI...and I think that is important.

I still have a sweet tooth at time but SF fudsicles help those.


Good luck...go for it

Patty

I don't crave food!  That has been the biggest benefit.  Food no longer rules me.  I don't really think about it whereas before that's all I would do all day long is think about food.  I remember sitting in my classroom jus****ching the clock and dreaming about the lunch I was going to have.  I think about food now but it's purely in the physical sense of keeping myself healthy and getting in my protein.  I still like to cook and I'm always on the hunt for high protein recipes.  When I eat, I eat slowly and eat smaller bites and eat way less.  Because I have an hour lunch on the days I teach I will heat up my food and will literally spend the next 45 minutes eating little bites until I feel satisfied.  I take a PPI so I don't have any heartburn and absolutely no indegestion.  I do get gassy at times but it's not offensive, if you know what I mean.  Anyway, it has been the best thing I have ever done for myself and I have no regrets!

One cup of food and i feel like i just got out of a vegas buffet lol! I don't get hungry....i eat anything i want just smaller portions.....i drink just like before i had the surgery.

only problem i have is gas....I'm not good at burping but when i am able to, it feels good!

everyone else has told you what it feels like.. for me i think what i have learned is that it really is a life style change, i dont eat anything like i ate pre surgery.. i can not eat alot so now i choose quality over quantity. and i try to eat dense protein. but i can afford to buy quality meats because i dont eat alot of it.
I dont eat fast food, if im going to go out id rather go to a restaurant and have steak or seafood than fries or burger.

I have noticed that the further you get out, the more I can eat, and the faster food goes through the system, so alot with the sleeve is making good choices at least 90 percent of the time.  but this is not hard at this stage to do that.

I love my sleeve and have no regrets.





 

I have a lot of heartburn and my DR won't give me a PPI. So I am taking OTC and its not not working.  Other then that its all good. I eat 3 spoons of soup or oatmeal and I am full. Its great. I have a watch the clock because I would forget to eat or drink a protein. I love it.