Terri, hi. I had my surgery on 12/19/02 and am only about 2 months out. I, too, cannot handle the protein shakes. Just plain icky. I don't know if I feel hungry all the time or what it is, but my "tummy" makes these little growling noises like I should eat something. I try to appease it by drinking water, but my tummy is not stupid, it knows that water is not food. Not exactly sure what to do.