Question:
I think I have a stricture.

I threw up yesterday for 8 hours straight, and 5 hours the day before. Went to my surgeon today, he wanted to admit me right away-but I asked if I could wait till tomorrow. He was concerned about dehydration, and possibly a stricture. I'm 4 weeks out, and have increasing difficulty eating anything and taking my pills. Tell me everything you know (or have personally experienced) about strictures. Thanks.    — Cathy S. (posted on February 27, 2003)

February 27, 2003
I had Lap RNY on Nov.26, 2002 and on December 28, 2002, I thought I had gotten some fish stuck. I burped & felt fine. I had been noticing that whatever I ate would feel like it was getting stuck but after a few minutes, it would go down & I would feel better. On this day, I felt fine for about 2 hours. I then started having a burning sensation in my stomach along with cramping. After about 45 minutes, I threw up and my night of hell started. For 14 hrs this pattern continued. At first, I would feel relief after vomitting, but after about the 2nd time...the burning & cramping was continuous. We called the dr about 4 hrs into this and he said that I could come to the hospital & have my stomach pumped & an upper GI done or stay at home & not eat or drink for at least 12 hrs then see how I felt. Of course, I opted to stay at home. The dr called at 8:30 the morning of the 29th to see how I was & when he found out that I had been vomitting all night long (every 40-45 minutes), he said to come straight to the emergency room. They put in an IV and did an upper GI and found that where they had run my intestines through a hole they made in my colon to reattach to my new pouch, a stitch that was supposed to keep the intestine intact had pulled loose and about 6 inches of my intestines had loop through & knotted up. I had emergency lap abdominal surgery through the same scars from the RNY. I was in the hospital for 2 days (same as my rny) and the recovery was about the same. In the hospital, they had me back on a liquid diet, but once home, the dr said I could pick up where I had left off. Of course, I was scared to death to eat anything! I still won't eat fish! I had had fish 3 times in the 2 days before my sick spell!! I HATE FISH NOW! Please have the dr check you out! I feel your pain, but after getting it fixed...you will feel so much better! God bless & good luck!
   — leighsme

February 27, 2003
At 4 weeks out you are a prime candidate!! I had 2 strictures, you can read more about them on my profile. I know its miserable, but there is relief in sight!
   — Cheri M.

February 28, 2003
Don't wait before checking it out! Do it now! It may not be a stricture, which can wait, but something much different. As an early post-op, I started vomiting everything that went in my mouth to include water. Got very dehydrated very quickly, rushed to the emergency room and it turned out I had a kinked bowel caused by a hernia. Then I had to have an open surgery to repair. So, please, don't mess with it. Determine if it is a stricture or something more serious right away.
   — Cindy R.

February 28, 2003
My weight was slowed because of the striture I had. Get it taken care of right now. I had problems with chicken and most meats from around 3 to 8 weeks post op. Eating was becoming an obligation that I'd rather not fulfill, but I had to. I was calling my surgeons nurse every other week. They kept telling me things like, "oh, that's normal" and "everyone heals differently". I knew what I was going through wasn't normal, I was experiencing pains that I never experienced pre op. But I decided to be patient and let my healing take its course. The condition seemed to worsen, food begin to stick in my esophagus no matter how small of a bite I took, especially chicken. Not only that, I begin to develop severe cramps in my back and abdomen. I got the feeling it was intestinal, but I'm not a doctor so I couldn't be sure. Again, I called my surgeons nurse, she asked me if I was throwing up, I told her no, because I wasn't at that point, so he(my surgeon) diagnosed that I was having muscle spasms and prescribed 3 different medications. The spasms or cramps dulled in intensity, but still remained. Finally, I began to throw up 5 days in a row, it was only then that an upper endoscopy was ordered by my surgeon and it was discovered that I had developed an ulcer or stricture around the opening of my small intestine that was attached to the new pouch. The procedure was quick and painless. And guess what? I could eat chicken without any problems for the first time since my surgery!!
   — aprilbaree