I'm slipping bad! Please feel free to kick my a_ _! I need it.

As soon as I got the hang of my plan, and losing consistently, something has thrown a wrench in my way and I can't get the monkey out of the way! I'm only 5 1/2 months out, and the first 2 were difficult to say the least. Many vsg vets Ono here thought that I was just whining in the beginning but I was really having a hard time getting my body to cooperate with my sleeve. Even at 400-500 calories I wasn't loosing a lot of weight and the hunger was more than in my head. It took my surgeon and family doc to work a few "tweaks" for me before things got moving.<br /><br />
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So for the last 3 months I was loosing steady, cravings gone, hunger was manageable, and I was learning to like my sleeve. Then 2 weeks ago, ravenous hunger kicked in! I was still dense protein first, few carbs, lotsa water! But the hunger became like an uncontrollable "nervous" hunger...the kind I got before my surgery. <br /><br />
As many of the vets on here suggested, the surgeon's office said I was approaching the 6 month mark when my appetite increases. The dietician referred me back to the basics of my plan. The problem is that my hunger is now so strong nd often that I feel I need to eat almost every hour or so. If I try to to ignore it, and wait to eat, then it's hard for me to get the food down bc I'm nauseated.<br />
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So where has this lead me? To very soft carbs bc it seems to be the only thing to quell some of the raving hunger, and of course they "slide" down a lot easier. I know all of this is bad bad bad. <br />
But this uncontrollable hunger is killing me! I didn't have the surgery to continue to experience this type of hunger. I'm now well past 1100 calories easily, my weight loss has obviously stopped, and I've tried for 5 days to get on plan, but the hunger takes over and then it's the "I gotta eat now" syndrome, so I grab what I can to quell it. But I need to get this figured out ASAP , I don't like this feeling and I sure as hell don't like the results. I just don't think it's only the 6 month thing causing this. The hunger is too strong and pronounced! And I can't seem to stop it. The worse part is that my family doc has suggested an appetite suppressant until we get a grip on the hunger. Really? Is that the world I have to return to? Was all of this for naught?

Well someone needs to kick my ass too because I have been struggling to get back on plan & stay on plan since the holidays.  Today was the start of my new week and I feel that going back to basics helps best.  This means dense protein to fill me up.  An hour after every meal I drink at least 3 cups of water to keep hunger signals at bay.  Most of the time we are not even hungry.  Because we got off plan, that is the reason we want to just eat all the time.  We have to detox so to speak to get back on track.  We can do this.  It's tough for a few days but if we can get there, we can stick to this!!!

I never thought about consuming that much water after a meal. I just wait the hour and take a few sips. But I'll have to try that.
Thanks!

Look, I know you don't like me and I really don't give a **** about that. We are all here to support each other. So, here it goes.

1. PPI - that kind of hunger says acid reflux to me. Make sure you are taking a PPI.

2. The 6 month mark is a HUGE mind **** Everyone talks about the romance period and, yes, it is there, but it doesn't have to be "the end." It hits us all differently, but usually it has something to do with what we didn't get done in those first 6 months. Here's the thing. The SLeeve is for life. So is what you are trying to do for yourself. So, now it's time to figure out what you want the NEXT 6 months to look like.

3. Take a good hard look at your life and figure out if a new stress is messing with you. It sucks, but you've got to find something to do to alleviate the stress. My drug of choice is karate, because let's face it, hitting stuff is fun.

4. Coffee/caffeine - maybe you do, maybe you don't. Coffee can really mess with a SLeeve. If you drink it, you might consider cutting what you drink in half.

You've got to get to the bottom of what is really bothering you. The core thing that is eating at you. Once you figure that out and start to deal with it, I'm willing to bet you will get this going in the right direction.

Good luck to you.

1. Ha! Never said I don't like you. So thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my post anyway, lol
2. I did get back on a ppi..it's helped a lot with churning and griping. But not so much with hunger, which is good bc taking care of the stomach churning has helped me to start isolating the true causes of the hunger.
3. I don't disagree totally about the 6 month thing, except the "type" of hunger I am experiencing is what has me worried. It's the kind I've had after taking a med or a vitamin that gave me a nervous hunger that lasts all day. Of course pre-vsg I would eat a lot of heavy fatty carbs to quell it and get it under control. Now, that's not a viable option. None of my meds/vites have changed so im not sure where tjis is coming from
4. Not a coffee or caffeine consumer
5. Thank you again for reading and replying

Just want to chime in on the acid thing--there are many different proton pump inhibitors..and sometimes you need to take a double dose. That type of hunger REALLY sounds like acid, so I would encourage you to try a different PPI or talk to your doc about doubling the dose for a while...

Lizanne

Trying a new ppi maybe a start, I have considered that as well. I'll take your advice about doubling the dose before switching. Thank you so much for replying!

Couple other ideas:

- Sometimes when simple carbs creep back in, they can cause our tummies to feel more hungry than usual. You might have to start figuring out what carbs are messing with you. I had some weird ones. Carrots - wtf. Celery.

- You might try drinking some teas. Cammomile is wonderful. Mint tea can calm tummies. Hot or cold.

- It really sound like a new stress to me. Stress - coming for anything - can seriously mess with our tiny tummies.

Good luck. I hope the new PPI works for you.

Not every ones hunger goes away with this surgery.  Can you try eating the right things, just more often?  

I'm only 5 weeks out so I haven't experienced what you are going through yet but my family doctor is making me see a psychologist so (she says) whatever my reason was that made me that way in the first place doesn't sabotage me later. Have you tried that? If not, maybe ask your primary care doctor if this is something you should consider. Just a thought. As I said, I'm not nearly as far out yet so I haven't had your experience YET. Good luck.