Any advice?

[achieng]

I had my surgery on Tuesday and have had a few surprises:

1--I am hungry. I had not anticipated that. I am also having a hard time getting though 3 protein shakes a day. Jello and soup go a bit better, but....I really thought I would not feel hunger.
2--I am not measuring right now, but in the hospital, my blood sugar was really high: like 150-200, even without having eaten anything for a few days. Any idea why? Will that calm down?
3--Heart Rate--to my knowledge, I have never had an issue with this before, but while in the hospital, my resting heart rate dipped below 40 several times. It caused some concern. In looking at my fitbit, I can see it is often 60-63 in the last few years. Any ideas?

Thanks for any ideas or responses. I am feeling a bit doubtful that this will work for me.

[MikeMo]

Welcome to week one of gastric sleeve recovery! The first week, and particularly the first four or five days is a absolute joy to behold, as you're noticing. What you're experiencing is pretty normal. I had my operation mid March, and it was a real party.

Not sure if you're on clear liquids right now, but I found my own experience was that getting protein drinks down was pretty much impossible for me. I had two brands, and both reminded me of the drink you have to take before a colonoscopy. Not appealing. If you're able to get three of those down in a day, you're ahead of me. I maybe got three down in eight days before being released to full liquids.

Hunger is a funny thing. I know mentally I had cravings, but the thought of eating anything was another thing. As you get down the road, you'll find that portion control is now being handled by your stomach, and she's a real bitch about cheating. So don't worry too much about long term success, eating in 2-3oz increments tends to fix cravings long term. Know too that your digestive system probably is well configured for lots of things you won't be eating. Give it time, and things will change.

On blood sugar, not so sure what exactly is up with that. With what little I understand about the medical side of significant reductions in caloric intake, your body is busily metabolizing blood sugars, fat, and whatever else it can find out to keep the party going on inside you. Maybe some of that is an issue. I'd keep in touch with your doctors on that front to see if they feel a need to do something, but I suspect it'll be transitory as your body adapts. What I've figured out thus far is if I am going to get to my protein goal each day, that really crowds out a lot of other things that I'd like to eat but can't without missing the key protein goal. And protein and vitamins = hair, and I don't really want to be bald all that badly.

Heart rate could be several things, again would talk to your doctor. Are you getting your full water allotment in every day? Are you sleeping a lot. Heaven knows I could have slept 22 hours a day that first week, no protein really did a number on me.

Hope some of this helps, and keep asking questions. There's a group here that really knows this stuff, and things I may have missed they'll know all about. Don't get discouraged, though, this is a good process and procedure and will really help you out in the future. Right now, this first week in particular, can feel pretty discouraging. Know that it does get better, and we'll all be rooting for you!

[RehabNurse]

I had my surgery on Tuesday and have had a few surprises:

1--I am hungry. I had not anticipated that. I am also having a hard time getting though 3 protein shakes a day. Jello and soup go a bit better, but....I really thought I would not feel hunger.
2--I am not measuring right now, but in the hospital, my blood sugar was really high: like 150-200, even without having eaten anything for a few days. Any idea why? Will that calm down?
3--Heart Rate--to my knowledge, I have never had an issue with this before, but while in the hospital, my resting heart rate dipped below 40 several times. It caused some concern. In looking at my fitbit, I can see it is often 60-63 in the last few years. Any ideas?

Thanks for any ideas or responses. I am feeling a bit doubtful that this will work for me.

Increased stomach acid production often mimics hunger...just FYI. Stomach acid production is increased while your sleeve heals.

In diabetics, any type of bodily stress (e.g. surgery, infection, trauma) often results in elevated blood glucose levels. Elevating the blood sugar is the body's classic response to stress. Even when you don't eat, the liver kicks in and produces glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis. As you fully heal, your blood glucose readings should return to normal.

The heart can also elicit a response to stress on the body. My heart rate increased to 120+ in the immediate two week post-op period. I followed up with a cardiologist who wasn't too worried. He said, "Your heart is reacting to the surgery. Your heart rate will be back to normal within a few weeks."

And he was correct.

Good luck to you.

[MikeMo]

Good point from Rehabnurse -- are you on any sort of acid inhibitor? My doctor put me on Omeprazole, 40 MG 1 - day right off and told me to keep on it for at least until my 6 month appt. Might be worth a check.

[Christie13]

As mentioned above....stomach acid. You can ask your doctor for a PPI. It usually only lasts for a few months. And it is very hard in the beginning to get in your protein and fluids. It took me months before I was regularly hitting both goals.

[Aussie Girl]

Most folks don't completely lose their hunger - this too I discovered after the 2nd day post-op! My surgeon told me our ghrelin is located all over the stomach not just where it is cut out. But when you get on whole foods (protein) you will feel full quickly and feel satisfied (something I rarely felt pre-op). I noticed I had to eat every 2 hours at first, now I eat every 3 hours of so. Don't worry this is a great tool to get the weight off!!

[sraebaer]

Do not feel doubtful this will work for you. It will. Get that positive attitude going, that's how it will work for you. You just had surgery, of course you will have a few issues. If anything seems serious, call your surgeon.

[MikeMo]

One other thought... have you considered tracking what you're eating daily? I'm a big fan of My Fitness Pal, which is an android app. You can scan in barcodes from what you eat, or search a massive on line database. What I've figured out from this, not that I need to do it, is that a typical day for me is around 900 - 1100 calories, and what I internally think is a "pig out" day is 1200 - 1300 calories. Again, that stomach is a major gatekeeper. If you go to a site and load in your daily calorie consumption you'll see you are running a major deficit more likely than not. In short, as others have said, don't worry, it will work, just work the program and relax. You've taken your body (and particularly your stomach) for a wild ride, it's pissed and wants you to know it. But give it time and things will start recalibrating and it gets much easier. Hang in there, and keep reaching out!

[achieng]

Glad I'm not the only one!

[Sealover]

Achieng, I am on post op day 3 and feel hunger too. I was told that I needed to get my fluid intake up to 64 ounces before I could start a blended diet. I am writing everything down that I put in my mouth for RD review in a couple of weeks. And I was told I would get a call from my doctors office this week to see how I am doing and to report my total intake. I don't have any blood pressure of heart rate issues, just concentrating on not getting dehydrated. I seem to do better with warm sips like herbal teas and broth than with the protein shakes. Its been sip sip sip for me with everything and I can actually feel the fluids flow in my stomach, sometimes I get a spasm type wave. I have on a couple of occasions taken a huge gulp of water and thought nooooo, that's not right, I forgot to sip! Hah! Hang in there, I truly believe it will get much better!