I had a stricture!

And really, it wasn't all that bad. I was out of town last week for a Christian conference on poverty in DC. When I got back (on Wednesday night) I had not been feeling too well. I had been unable to keep food down for about two weeks. Even liquid made me sick. So anyway I went back to see the surgeon on Thrursday and discovered I had a stricture. It was not a big deal, the next day, I went to the hospital to have the EGD with dilation. It went smoothly and I was back at home within four hours. Now I can eat what I want, but my appetite is still not where it should be. I have to remind myself to eat and drink and I have not been doing a very good job of it as late. I can tell I am getting dehydrated, so I need to put myself on a schedule. On a happier note, I have noticed my weight loss (finally!!) I am down to 262, which according to the surgeon, means I have lost 22% of my excess body weight!!! In only 6 weeks!!! I am down from a size 26-28 to a 22, and those are becoming loose as well.

howdy T J i'm so sorry about the stricture, were you able to enjoy Washington at all or absorb any of hte conference? Congratulations on the 22% of body weight gone i'm proud of you. Be Well and Be Healthy, ANDI

TJ, I had my stricture taken care of yesterday. I had been thinking that I was doing something wrong. Maybe eating too fast, eating things that I wasn't ready to digest. My surgeon had given me a heads up last Thursday to let him know if I was still having problems, since I had only vomitted twice. Well, I should have called him sooner versus Fourth of July at 8 am. Since last Thursday evening I was miserable and then by Monday noon I was a complete mess and was vomitting on water. I was so glad the hospital called in the necessary staff yesterday and took care of it. I'm just tired today. It was nice today to eat things and not feel sick! Congrats on your weight loss, you are doing fantastic. Diane

Yeah, I did the same thing, waiting for over two weeks until I did something about it. Partly becaue I am still nervous about sharing medical problems with doctors. So often I have heard,"well, if you would lose some weight, then this problem would be alleviated." Also as a woman, I feel our medical complaints are not regarded seriously sometimes. But I have been getting better about it. I am glad I can eat without feeling so sick though. I was not vomiting as much as some, but I had started to avoid all food and drink in order to not deal with it. That is not good either. So now I have to break the habit.

You poor thing!!! I'm glad you are better now. Can you please tell me what a stricture is tho'? It sounds horrible. Yay, way to go on dropping the sizes. Isn't it great when smaller clothes fit. I'm regaining loads of my wardrobe from clothes that I can now fit into again. Yahoooooooo

T.J., I'm glad you're feeling better. Can you tell me what you felt like when you say you weren't feeling well for a couple of weeks. I'm worried that I might be getting a stricture. I've had a terrible afternoon, with horrible pouch pain and finally vomiting. I'm not sure if I just ate something that didn't agree with my pouch or if I'm getting a stricture. For a while now, I've had pain upon eating and drinking. I haven't been vomiting until today, but it hurts sometimes to eat and/or drink! Thanks! JAMI

Jami... Sorry to hear about your stricture. I hope you're recovering quickly. For those that asked about strictures -- I'm nt Jami but I had one too and hopefully can help w/that answer. Strictures occur usually within 6-8 weeks (or so I was told). Here's how I felt: as if a chunk of food was lodged in my chest between my breasts. I also felt sick to my stomach and was unable to keep down even water. I was not brave like Jami and waited two weeks, I called right away (I'm kind of a baby..lol). Sure enough I had a stricture. An EGD cleared it right up. Strictures are a side effect that are one of the less complicated ones. EGDs aren't fun, but they're a lot easier than other complications. I hope everyone gets to feeling better! Lin