Late Term Strictures

[mousecat88 2,279]

More surgery for meeee..

I've been vomiting up stuck food a lot... for a long time (several months but it is far more frequent the past 3 months... nearly daily)... went to the surgeon today and they suspect a late term stricture. He said the regular treatment with dilation through endoscopy may not work since I am over 2 years post-op but they're going to try. Appointment on the 27th for the 1st round. They try it 3 times before they go in and "widen" it manually. If it isn't a stricture, they're also checking for a hernia that may have pushed my pouch into the wrong spot or esophageal dysmotility. That test is in February. Sigh. Siiigggh. It doesn't make sense though because sometimes I can eat anything fine and sometimes it gets stuck. I could eat a burger fine, but then cottage cheese gets stuck. I dunno... to be continued... you'd think if it was a permanent narrowing from scarring, it wouldn't be discriminate. I have a history of a hernia and an ulcer so he thinks I am high risk for the stricture. And yes, I still smoke. No, I don't need a lecture on that.

Can anyone that's had a stricture give me any insight? Did food sometimes go through and other times it wouldn't?

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[bufbills 314]

No insight, but I'm sorry you are having issues.

[catwoman7 10,964]

yes - that IS late, if that's what it is. Those usually show up 1-3 months after surgery. Let us know when you find out...

[mousecat88 2,279]

yes - that IS late, if that's what it is. Those usually show up 1-3 months after surgery. Let us know when you find out...

Yeah thats why he suspects the dilation won't help =/ argh.

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[Foxbins 625]

I had an esophageal stricture, and yes, sometimes stuff went down and sometimes it didn't. It would be frustrating to eat solids one day and be unable to swallow Soup the next. My stricture was due to GERD and so when I converted from sleeve to bypass I had a myotomy to cut the stricture because the EGD dilation didn't work all that well.

[TheMoxieMama 47]

I'm so sorry you're going through this. Hope you feel better soon.

[2Bsmaller18 436]

I went to a new surgeon for follow up since mine is far away and I had some questions I wanted a second option on.

I told him that I take my Vitamin at night with Water but sometimes in the morning I can still taste it or burp and taste it. I said I have to eat all day to get in my 1400 calories and purposely eat yogurt and lots of milk as slider food. There's no way I can eat a cup of food 3x a day.

He did a barium x-ray and said I have a bigger than normal pouch which was surprising since I feel like I can manage 1 cup of food at the most and often less but that it takes longer to empty. I am not sure if that is a partial stricture or just normal.

He also said that I have a hockey stick or candy cane that comes off of the pouch and it is almost the size of my pouch. He said his practice does surgery different that the "old standard" and takes more of the blood supply form the top of the stomach as they have found that it can sometimes lead to the candy cane issue. He said it is normal for some people to have a blind area in their intestine like I do with the candy cane off the pouch. However he said we will watch it and that sometimes they have to go in and remove that portion. Could this be your issue? Did he do a barium x-ray?

I have gotten sick maybe 5 times total in 2 years.

[catwoman7 10,964]

1 hour ago, 2Bsmaller18 said:

I went to a new surgeon for follow up since mine is far away and I had some questions I wanted a second option on.

I told him that I take my Vitamin at night with Water but sometimes in the morning I can still taste it or burp and taste it. I said I have to eat all day to get in my 1400 calories and purposely eat yogurt and lots of milk as slider food. There's no way I can eat a cup of food 3x a day.

He did a barium x-ray and said I have a bigger than normal pouch which was surprising since I feel like I can manage 1 cup of food at the most and often less but that it takes longer to empty. I am not sure if that is a partial stricture or just normal.

He also said that I have a hockey stick or candy cane that comes off of the pouch and it is almost the size of my pouch. He said his practice does surgery different that the "old standard" and takes more of the blood supply form the top of the stomach as they have found that it can sometimes lead to the candy cane issue. He said it is normal for some people to have a blind area in their intestine like I do with the candy cane off the pouch. However he said we will watch it and that sometimes they have to go in and remove that portion. Could this be your issue? Did he do a barium x-ray?

I have gotten sick maybe 5 times total in 2 years.

candy cane syndrome is pretty rare these days - the surgery is done differently than it was several years ago.

[Lilfootie 82]

I don’t know if this is helpful or not, but I used to do swallowing with acute care and inpatient rehab patients as an SLP, and we saw strictures all the time with non-Bariatric patients (they were usually esophageal strictures). It might not be related to your surgery if it is this far out. Have you seen a GI? I do think that having an upper GI (barium ex-ray) would tell a lot. Hope everything turns out ok!

[mousecat88 2,279]

Thanks everyone. Will keep posted. The upper GI is scheduled Feb 16 and endoscopy in 2 weeks. I've eaten fine the last 2 days no issues. It's just... random.

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[2Bsmaller18 436]

On 1/12/2021 at 10:31 PM, catwoman7 said:

candy cane syndrome is pretty rare these days - the surgery is done differently than it was several years ago.

When I found out from the new surgeon I was pretty upset. The new surgeon made it sound like it was the standard old technique and that the new technique his office has been using the past 8 years resolves the issue. My surgeon is fairly old (60/65 I am guessing) so I assume that's how he was trained and not that it is a medical error. I am just hoping that it wont result in another surgery down the line. It does make me regret the surgery a little and gives me anxiety that something major can go wrong now.