Hunger

As of today I am 6 weeks out from surgery.  I am still hungry and get cravings.  Does  anyone else have this problem?  I haven't lost my hunger at all.  I was expecting to not want food but I still do.

I am only a week out and I think I still have hunger pangs, I am confused to whether they are from real hunger or the pains I get from drinking the liquids.  I am a little concerned also as I was told I would not care about eating at all. ahhh

The bit about not being hungry at all I agree with you.  I do still care about the food.  In fact I am having some awful cravings.  Just making sure I stay away from them.

Thanks for your reply Shotard.

Michele

Hmmm... couple of things:

1.)  When you say "hunger", are you talking about that empty, gnawing sensation in your stomach that tells you its empty and you need to eat, or are you talking about wanting to eat (commonly referred to as "head hunger")?

2.) If it's the former, what does your typical food intake look like in a day?  Are you getting in 80g of protein and 64oz of water?  Are you using any food journaling sites like MyFitnesspal? 

3.) If it's the latter (head hunger), what does your carb intake look like... how many grams per day are you eating/drinking?  If you're not paying attention to carbs, they can creep up on you and spark cravings.

Physical hunger doesn't disappear completely post-op, the signal is just not as strong as it was before due to a drop in the number of cells producing ghrelin.  I'm 8 weeks out and I still get hungry, but it's appropriate hunger; I only feel it when I've gone too long without eating... the way it's supposed to be.

Cravings can and will still happen, the surgery only affects physical hunger -- it won't touch the mental side of it.  Head hunger will continue to be a struggle until you can find new ways to deal with the emotional side of eating for pleasure. 

Are you seeing a therapist or going to any support groups?  if not, i'd recommend checking one or both out as they can be super helpful in finding new ways to deal with stressors that used to send us to the fridge/pantry.

Thank you LittleMissSunshine for your reply.

I had a journal that was given to me by my surgeon but it was only for  month.  I will have to look into the fitness pal that you suggested.  I was keeping a journal everyday.

I am not getting all my protein that I need.  I know that is part of the problem.  My water intake is fine.  It is hard to keep the timing straight from eating and drinking.

I do go to a support group.  In fact because I made the statement that I was having problems with cravings they will have that as one of the subjects we will talk about tomorrow night.

I appreciate everyones answers and support from this sight.

Thank you again,

Michele

 I'm 2 1/2 weeks out and I've been getting hungry from about day 5. But I find that just a few bites of protein and the hunger goes away for a while. That's different than it was pre-op when I could eat a full meal and still feel hungry. So it's an improvement.

I have been eating a lot of popsicles.  That seems to take my hunger away.  I do get full quick but it seems like in 2 hours I'm hungry again.  That's when I start with the popsicles or jello.

Thank you for your reply Rainydayz.  It always helps to hear from others.

Michele

Just a question.....are you all taking a PPI(protein pump inhibitor) for stomach acid?  Excess stomach acid can mimic the feeling of hunger.  Also, a lot times early out the stomach is still producing the same amount of stomach acid as it did when you had your larger stomach.  Because of this a lot of surgeons prescribe PPI's to help with this initially.  Just a thought......hope this helps!

Thank you cannonkb for your reply.  I take nexium first thing in the morning to help ward off an ulcer.  Is that what you mean by a PPI?

I haven't heard of that before.

Thanks for your info.

Michele