Strictures?

Anyone had a stricture? If so, how far post-op were you, what reason were you given that you had one and how did they fix it?

I am TERRIFIED of getting a stricture. I really think I obsess about it to the point it is keeping me from adding new foods to my diet. I lay in bed worrying if I took enough Prilosec, if the turkey I ate had too much spice, if the one bite that didn't go down to easy is going to mess something up, etc, etc.

GAH! I was never this compulsive in my thinking before surgery. 

I remember waiting for the shoe to drop too... our guts are rearranged and even gas feels a little different for awhile, and noises are odd, louder or maybe there is less cushioning so they seem louder LOL... but try not to worry. 

In reality, strictures even though they are the most common complication post-op the highest stats I've seen are 15% and more often in studies they say 3%... so reality is probably somewhere in the middle of those and still very much in your favor but... it's generally easily resolved.

If they happen they happen, not a whole lot more than following your normal Dr's orders... it's a narrowing... generally scar tissue formation, sometimes a stitch/blood flow issue, mostly before the 3 month mark but sometimes after... it's not pleasant for sure vomiting, intolerance to solids even water if you let it go without treatment but they fix you up outpatient usually.

Hope that helps a bit! Best wishes to you on your WLS journey... best gift I ever gave myself, hope you will soon say the same!

~Shelly

There isn't anything that you can do to avoid getting a stricture.  It is NOT in any way related to how quickly you advance to solid foods or how spicy the food is, or anything else you do.  It is just how your body heals and if it develops excess scar tissue.  

They are most common during the first 2 months, but they can happen later than that if your body continues to generate scar tissue.

Relax and quit making yourself crazy oover something you have absolutely NO control over.  Instead, focus on the things that you do have control over!

Edited it add that the standard method to treat a stricture is to put you under twilight sedation and use an instrument that goes down your throat to either dut away excess scar tissue, or -- much more commonly, since cutting creates MORE scar tissue -- just stretching (dilating) the opening of the stoma.

Lora

I had an issue with both strictures that began around my 6th week post op. (I had my surgery 7/1/13.) In addition to the stricture, I also had gall bladder problems so the stricture wasn't diagnosed until about six weeks beyond that (about 3 weeks after I had gall bladder surgery). By the time my stricture was discovered, it had almost completely closed, and I couldn't even keep down fluids. The doctor said that nothing I had done would have caused or prevented it. They just happen sometimes. I was sent for an outpatient procedure to stretch (dialate) the stricture then put on a liquid diet for 3 days, followed by a soft food diet for a week. Because of the severity of my stricture, I had to have the procedure done on four different occasions over a period of 4 months  This was due partly to the delay in discovering mine. 

The symptoms for the stricture were quite simply the inability to keep down anything. I had gotten along marvelously the first 6 weeks post op then suddenly got to where I was throwing up pretty much anything I ate. Once the gall bladder surgery was done it didn't stop so we knew there was another problem. It was the same every time it reoccurred. I would start with pain that was in my stomach after I ate followed by throwing up. It usually started out with more solid food but over a week would become a problem with pretty much anything I ate. You will know something is wrong. I still have issues with eating because I think it's still partially blocked. I just don't want to have the dilation procedure again because the last two times I woke up during it. I pretty much stick to soft foods and make sure I chew up everything to a pulp. I also take a LOT of Nexium. 

Strictures are a risk of the surgery. I'd still do it again tho. To date I'm still 140 pounds lighter. One perk of the stricture issues is that I will prolly keep most of my weight off permanently as I just can't eat like most people 2 years out can and prolly never will be. It's a pain for sure but it makes me behave. Which is good because I can't really exercise a lot due to bone issues in my feet.