My Body Talks To Me

Isn't it strange how our bodies will figure out a way to send you a signal when it wants (or doesn't want) something? During surgery the nerves in my stomach were cut in order to create my new pouch. Those nerves were used to signal the brain when my body was hungery or full. It takes several months for those nerves to repair themselves and regenerate. Some people never get the full use of those nerves again - some people start feeling those signals very soon after surgery. I personally never feel hunger like I did before surgery - that gnawing, rumbling feeling in the pit of your stomach. It's refreshing not to have that overwhelming feeling anymore. But when my body needs food it lets me know.

 My new hunger signal: lightendedness, slight headache, an "empty" feeling My body also lets me know when I need to stop eating. I don't have that over-stuffed full feeling that I used to get with a normal sized stomach. Well, technically I can get that over-stuffed feeling, but it can happen after just a few bites or it can happen when I have something stuck. But my body tells me when I need to stop eating before that over-stuffed feeling comes along.

My new full signal: a cross between a hiccup and a burp, kind of a tiny, quiet, rumbling mini burp After gastric bypass surgery it is very important to drink 64oz of water everyday. Water is absorbed in the stomach -- and since most of my stomach is bypassed now, I need to be sure that I get all my water intake everyday to make sure the rest of my digestive tract has the chance to do the job my stomach used to do. But if I neglect drinking my body tells me about it.

 My new "must drink" signal: my ears plug up - like what happens when you're on an airplane. Until I drink about 20oz of water in the morning my left ear will be clogged up. Finally mid-morning it'll "pop" and all is right with the world again.

 So even though we have to learn what our new signals are - our body will figure out a way to talk to us after surgery. We just need to pay attention and listen to what it's telling us.

~Pam