hello

nanis527

Hi I have a Question
i just had the sleeve gastrectomy surgery about 2 months ago, and all I have lost is 40 pounds, is it normal for me to feel hungry and axious most of the time? I feel terrible, I feel like they did not close my stomach enough. I have constant graving for food I really do not know what to do! :-(

candacet36

In my experience.....I still crave things....I still get very hungry.

This surgery does not choose what or how you eat...only how much. I find that if I chew gum and drink water it helps with the cravings and I KNOW when I should and should not be eating.

I try to focus really hard on getting in all the things I need and then there is really no room for want.

Mangopickle

You are likely experiencing head hunger. You have become accustomed to eating certain foods at certain times in certain places and when you are in certain moods or situations. WLS does nothing to cure food addiction. I woke from surgery with head hunger but I knew to expect it. I my opinion the greatest favor you can do yourself is to let go of Trigger or Kryptonite foods. These are foods you crave excessively even when not hungry. I no longer eat wheat, rice, or potato. I recently added corn tortillas to my list. I always found these foods impossible to portion control. If I ate them I obsessed about them. After surgery when I felt cravings I would ask myself, sometimes aloud "Why are you thinking about food? You just ate your proper healthy meal". I also noticed I was only craving high glycemic carbs which are not part of the lifestyle. I quit medicating with food almost a year before my surgery. I realized that food wasn't a reward, it wasn't medicine and It definitely was not comfort. I never got more than 3 min of pleasure before humiliation kicked in. Now when death and destruction come into my life, I pray, I grieve, I deal, I do not eat. That being said I still had Trigger foods that I had to choose to let go. I can cook with a few tbsp of these items but it can't be the main ingredient. It sounds like with your anxiety that you still want food for comfort. I really recommend support group or working with an addiction specialist. As a Catholic I go to Mass and confession a lot. I take all my problems to God for Grace and guidance in dealing with my life instead of my old habit running to food for comfort. WLS is not the "easy way out" as you well know. It is a huge mental battle to choose to follow the new lifestyle. Talk to your nutritionist, take in your MFP protein, carb and calorie reports. Mine was wonderful to get me back on track in the hard days at the beginning. My surgical group sees me every month for labs, nutrition and psych evaluation. Bring your concerns to them, maybe your nutrition is off balance or your meds are too high. They took me off everything but reflux meds. Praying for you, God bless.

millermom41

Thank you for writing about your experience. I am having my sleeve surgery on Wednesday, I am so excited and also doing a lot of praying. I have been searching websites for liquid ideas for post-op and having a hard time locating that. Do you have any suggestions?
thank you!!