Dilatation after 3 1/2 weeks....

Well I finally realized that all the pain and vomiting after eating and drinking wasn't from something I was doing wrong. I called the surgeon's office today and have to go in for a dilatation tomorrow morning. I'm not really worried about it but wanted to get some input.

If you had to have a dilatation what was your experience afterwards? Were you abe to eat and drink comfortably. I have been miserable and just chalked it up to me not chewing well enough or eating too fast since this is all new. After taking a step back to Full Liquids and vomiting up water I knew I had a problem.

I have my 1 month post op follow up on Tuesday and was going to wait until then to talk to the doc but the pain is getting worse and I had to take care of it now.

Hi April,

While it isn't common to develop a stricture is not rare either. I have not personally had to have a diliation, but my mother who never had WLS, had serious issues with GERD that caused significant scaring and resulted in strictures. She had to have dilations. They would give her a 'twilight' medication to sedate her and provide her with an anesthetic, then perform the dilation. She didn't feel or really remember the procedures. After the procedure, she had some hoarseness and some minor discomfort that was managed with Tylenol. She also had significant relief. 

I hope that helps.

 

Hi Barbara,

That does help and I did have some pretty bad GERD prior to the WLS and a hiatal hernia that was never caught. I'm wondering if either of those things have anything to do with it or if possibly I ate something I wasn't ready for. I have been extremely careful when choosing what to eat and how to go about it but as you probably know this is completely new to me and sometimes we can forget. My sister-in-law had to have a dilatation when she was 1 month post op due to a phizer and then again the next month because they weren't able to open it all the way the first time. I'm not terribly worried just wanted to see what others had to say about it.

Thanks for the info

Hi April,

Actually, your hiatal hernia may well have been 'fixed' during your surgery and the GERD should abate since you won't have the acid issues that you had before, but many surgeons put their patients on an acid reducer like prilosec for at least a year post op. It is my understanding people that have significant GERD may have more stricture issues, but I would ask your dr about it. 

Wishing you all the best!