Stricture 3 weeks after gastric bypass

[Laura M 10]

Hello Everyone,

I'm terrified that I have a stricture, as I've had a couple episodes of food coming up. But the last two days I have become more and more full as the days wears on and it feels like my stomach stays full. Tonight I could not get in enough food before my stomach started hurting. Does this sound like a stricture? If so, I've read an EGD and dilation is done. Does your bariatric surgeon do that? I ask because mine is on maternity leave so I'm scared of what will happen. How soon would this surgery take place? I'm hoping I can at least take Protein Shakes but I'm burping after every sip. Any advice or information from those who have gone through this would be great.

Thanks.

Laura

[Tomo 1,137]

In the beginning I was very tight and had foamies if I didn't chew to a liquid. I was told if I "can't drink or keep Water or liquids" then to come in right away, they will fix the stricture, and it is done in the office and didn't take long. Since I was able to drink all the Water and liquids I wanted, I did not have a stricture. That's about all I know without googling it. I am sure others can share their experiences since it is rather common.

[Laura M 10]

Hi Tomo,

Thanks for your reply. Are you saying you went into the office to get this taken care of? Did they put you under aneathesia?

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[Tomo 1,137]

Hi Tomo,

Thanks for your reply. Are you saying you went into the office to get this taken care of? Did they put you under aneathesia?

No, it turned out that I didn't have a stricture because I was able to drink Water and keep liquids down. They told me when I can't drink water without it coming back up to come in ASAP.

[Laura M 10]

Do you remember how far post op you were when that happened? Were you still on liquid only? I've started to transition to hard food and this is when it has happened.

Thanks for the information.

[catwoman7 10,864]

I had two - one at four weeks out and one at eight weeks out (they almost always occur within the first three months post-op. They're very rare after that). My clinic sent me over to the hospital to get an EGD (the doctor who did it was not a bariatric surgeon - he was just someone on the hospital staff who does EGDs). They knock you out - you won't feel anything or know what's happening. And I felt 100% better afterward.

when I had mine, I first noticed I had what seemed like acid reflux, which I thought was odd since bypass usually cures that. A couple of days later, I was having a hard time keeping food down, which is when I called my clinic.

if you're able to keep fluids down, they may not get you in right away - it may be a couple of days. If you can't keep fluids down, either, then that's critical - they'll get you in ASAP. People can live without food for a few days (or longer...), but not fluids.

[BigSue 1,320]

Please call your surgeon's office. Most of them have an answering service where they can direct you to someone on call after hours. You do not need to wait until your surgeon returns from maternity leave. I bet your surgeon made arrangements for someone else to see her patients while she is on maternity leave. This is urgent and another doctor can help you.

[Tomo 1,137]

I had two - one at four weeks out and one at eight weeks out (they almost always occur within the first three months post-op. They're very rare after that). My clinic sent me over to the hospital to get an EGD (the doctor who did it was not a bariatric surgeon - he was just someone on the hospital staff who does EGDs). They knock you out - you won't feel anything or know what's happening. And I felt 100% better afterward.
when I had mine, I first noticed I had what seemed like acid reflux, which I thought was odd since bypass usually cures that. A couple of days later, I was having a hard time keeping food down, which is when I called my clinic.
if you're able to keep fluids down, they may not get you in right away - it may be a couple of days. If you can't keep fluids down, either, then that's critical - they'll get you in ASAP. People can live without food for a few days (or longer...), but not fluids.

@Laura M, read@catwoman7 post, it was extremely helpful when I thought I had a stricture. It's good to hear from other's who actually had the experience and went through procedure. Mine was a false alarm.

[Laura M 10]

13 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

I had two - one at four weeks out and one at eight weeks out (they almost always occur within the first three months post-op. They're very rare after that). My clinic sent me over to the hospital to get an EGD (the doctor who did it was not a bariatric surgeon - he was just someone on the hospital staff who does EGDs). They knock you out - you won't feel anything or know what's happening. And I felt 100% better afterward.

when I had mine, I first noticed I had what seemed like acid reflux, which I thought was odd since bypass usually cures that. A couple of days later, I was having a hard time keeping food down, which is when I called my clinic.

if you're able to keep fluids down, they may not get you in right away - it may be a couple of days. If you can't keep fluids down, either, then that's critical - they'll get you in ASAP. People can live without food for a few days (or longer...), but not fluids.

Thank you so much. I'm not vomiting Water or all foods yet so they want me to back down to pureed for now. Still feel like I have a rock in my stomach. I hope it digests soon. Thank you so much for your response, Will be interesting to see where things progress.

[Laura M 10]

12 hours ago, BigSue said:

Please call your surgeon's office. Most of them have an answering service where they can direct you to someone on call after hours. You do not need to wait until your surgeon returns from maternity leave. I bet your surgeon made arrangements for someone else to see her patients while she is on maternity leave. This is urgent and another doctor can help you.

Thanks for the advice, they want me to wait and back down to pureed foods. If I start vomiting food and liquid I need to go to ER. I hope things don't progress to that point.