Bad day.. frustration with amount of food intake...

[StarIzInkd]

So my fiance had the Sleeve surgery. Everything has been pretty good so far. He is starting to feel a bit better. He is 18 days post surgery and over 40 lbs down! He has been able to get down everything he has eaten so far. Some things bothered his stomach but no throwing up or anything like that.

Yesterday was just a crappy day overall I guess. He was already in a bad mood and come dinner time, I made him mashed sweet potato and he had it with a side of some baby food. He had just a few bites and was done. He seemed incredibly frustrated and burst out with "When the hell is my stomach going to stretch so I can eat again!?"... I know he DOES understand that you wouldn't want your stomach STRETCHED or what was the point of all of this. I explained to him that this is all mental. His stomach is full and that's great. It's his mind that wants more satisfaction. I'm trying to be supportive and helpful without acting as if I have a clue what he is feeling ya know? I imagine it is frustrating and annoying as he said all the prep work to make dinner and clean dishes for 3 or 4 bites. He felt like it wasn't even worth eating.
I assume others have gone through similiar thoughts or feelings so if anyone wants to share that would be great!

[drwatsonjd]

I can understand both your frustrations. Being on the sleeved side of things and just starting to eat soft foods, I have had the same thought in the past 48 hours. In fact I was telling a friend, there has to be some kind of happy medium between eating 4 slices of pizza and one sitting and being able to eat 1/4th of one piece of pizza. The sleeve is pretty extreme and it really takes some getting used to. For me the pyschological aspect is harder than the physical one. I've been told that it gets better. But as I sit here with 1/2 of ONE egg left, I can say that I'm probably as frustrated as your fiance' is.

[Shaneece28]

I am 9 days post op and starting to wonder wth have I done to myself?

[Lmtjude]

I had the same feeling at the stage you are at. I am 7 weeks post op and I still struggle with getting enough protein, etc. . The issue for my husband is that he has lost his eating buddy. He understand that there are some places I just cannot go now. It is not worth paying for the little bit I eat. We used to go out quite a bit and that has just about stopped. It was our recreation time. I am happy with my decision to get the sleeve. For me it is more a head game. It does get better.

[mdeerberg]

I am soooooo going through this right now. I just want to chew something. I'm frustrated and even cried the other day. It was my fabulous husband that pointed out that I had already lost close to 30 lbs and it took me 20+ years to get that way. Therefore I cannot expect to change overnight. He also pointed some to NSV's that I hadn't even noticed (ie: not getting short of breath with simple things, saying that he doesn't hear my knees pop on the stairs, and seeing my strength in getting through this). He reminded me sweetly and politely to be patient. It's 3-5 months of a struggle----with HUGE BIG TIME results. I can handle it for this short period of time.

Keep supporting him!!! He needs you....I couldn't get through this without my spouse

Hang in there. I'm glad you are on here. Its a great support structure for you as well.

[caraboo11]

It TOTALLY gets better! I'm 5 months out and can eat a significant more than I could at the beginning. At first I could barely eat a 4 oz yogurt but now I can eat a 6 oz yogurt with 1/4 granola and some blueberries thrown in. Today at lunch I ate the good part of a half size apple chicken pecan salad and 3/4 of a small cup of chili from Wendy's. ( I know not the healthiest choice, 1st time I've eaten there since being sleeved, but we've been out of the house all day). I remember at his stage sitting down with my family and being annoyed that I would eat a 1/2 cup of soup while they had something delicious (that I probably cooked for them). I'm down 55 lbs now and wouldn't change a thing!

[SethP]

I am one year out and while it does get better you will never eat as much as before. I can sit down and eat about 6 ounces of a sirlon steak at this point. I can manage a very small grilled chicken breast at a meal also. I know the frustration he is feeling because when I was 3 months out my family was begging for me to cook some ribs on the pit. I spent 6 hours smoking them ribs to perfection to eat ONE rib. I was mad as hell but I made this decision and it is all on me. Today I can eat 3 ribs and that is alot more satisfing then eating a whole rack with all the fixins. Godspeed on your journey.

[StarIzInkd]

This is awesome for me to see what you guys are saying so I can relay it to him and also know what he needs to hear.

SethP.. that was like a convo we had today. We want to have a BBQ but I am afraid he is going to be upset not being able to eat what he cooks. However, he says he'll be okay. We just got our first place together after 11 years!!!! We are looking forward to having friends and family over and enjoying summer with a BBQ so maybe in a few more weeks when he can eat a lil more than now. As if not being able to eat FOOD FOOD isn't bad enough.. not being able to drink either I'm sure is not making him happy. I just gotta keep reminding him how great he is doing and why he did this in the first place.

[tlwebb]

Tell him not to worry...he WILL enjoy food again! Promise! It took a while but the biggest hurdles are in the first few months...once you learn your new eating limits is when you can really start to have fun with food again. Its just a learning curve for now. Tell him to hang in there...I'm two years out, at my goal and generally the only time I get a little (very little) disappointed because I can't eat more is when it is a very favorite food that I haven't had in a really long time. Good luck to both of you.

[Lee6Lee]

I'm about 45 days out and can eat absolutely anything my family eats, if I want it. Just a whole lot less. Today it passed my mind that I'd like a size serving of what I used to eat...but it won't fit in! It takes time to learn how to operate our sleeves.

[Lmtjude]

The good thing for me is that I can have a few bites and I am full. When I think I can sw tone more bite, I try to stop before I eat it because it will make me I'll. prior to surgery, I would eat and eat before I had the full feeling. It is great to feel satisfied with a few bites. I hated that bloated feeling. Big NSV - my husband has been calling me skinny! Woohoo.

[redbeard]

This too shall pass. Tell your him that he will start enjoying food again. I eat maybe 1/3 of what I used to eat (or less) these days. Can eat about half a rack of ribs, now (I want to say that's about 5 or 6 ribs?) and I am 5 months out from the surgery. I can eat a single burger over the course of a 30 - 35 minute session.

His time will come. It does for all of us.

FWIW, I was the opposite of him. I could eat a fair bit early on and was wondering what the hell was happening. I actually eat less now than I did 3 months after the surgery. Believe it or not.

[lil_lisa]

It is hard at the beginning cause the amount is so small, but like 4 months, 4 ounces, 6 months 6 ounces, and maybe in a year 12 ounces. Doesn't seem like a lot but 6 ounces feels more like a meal now to me. A protein and like 1/4 cup of vegies does it. Or oatmeal. Or I can even eat a sandwich now if I decide I want one. So you don't have to give up everything, just big portions. I know big portions seem to fill up not just the stomach but the emotional need. Have to figure out how to fill the emotional needs as you go along.