Stricture?

What does a stricture feel like? I was eating lean ground beef and it got stuck before going into my pouch. It feels tight and I get sharp pains in my chest where it's stuck. I'm seeing my weight loss doctor tomorrow...

It's more likely it was just dry or that beef isn't going to be well tolerated yet. I didn't eat it until 12 weeks because I had heard so many accounts of people having issues with it. Ground meat is full of all the really tough cuts/grizzle.

^^^^^^^^ This.

Strictures feel like tightness and cramping right where your ribs meet your belly, right in the center. For me, NOTHING would stay down, not even saliva. I thought I was just having bad gas (REALLY bad) because I was only 3.5 weeks out. I spent the morning sitting on the couch, spitting up into a water bottle--yes I know that's gross, but it was that or sit next to the toilet, and I decided sitting on the couch was better. I tried water first. That came up. I tried a bite of a sugar free popscicle. That came up. I tried a swallow of hot tea. That came up. I tried to stand up around 1pm and felt like someone was twisting my stomach in their fist. I called my surgeon and she sent me straight to the ER.

At the ER, they tried to do an EKG but it was wildly erratic because of the pain. I couldn't sit still because when I tried to sit the cramping got worse. My blood pressure was through the roof, because of the pain. I had to very slowly pace the room while they took my information, then they got me to sit still long enough to give me an IV and get a mild tranquilizer into me. We went into the CT scan room, they made me swallow a mouthful of barium, we did a REALLY quick scan, and when I was slid back out I sat up and spit it all back up. They looked at the scan and said it was "just sitting there, not going down at all." By this time it was 5pm on a saturday, and the person who could have done an endoscopy had gone home and was not on call (?). So I was admitted.

The next morning they did my endoscopy really early, stretched me back out, and once I woke up I felt immediately better. Once I proved to them tha****er would stay down, I was released to home. They told me that my anastamosis was 3mm, and they had been about to "about double it" but didn't want to stretch it any further all at once. So about a month later I had another one done. The average anastamosis is 12-15mm. 3mm was REALLY tight! My surgeon said it comes on quick, usually. One day you're fine, the next day you need to be stretched. She ALSO says that once you pass your 3-month mark your risk of developing a stricture drops to just about nothing.

It sounds like you got the ground beef stuck. In the wise words of Grim, "if fluids are staying down, it's not a stricture." Use that as your guide. Don't try to drink 8 ounces of fluid on top of dense protein! But if you give it your half an hour, try some liquid and it stays down, it's not a stricture.

I just looked. You had surgery Jan 8th?? GIRL I would SO not be trying ground beef yet! Even the thought makes my stomach hurt in sympathy. By that point (3 weeks out) I could handle soft eggs and refried beans. I didn't try ground beef until WELL after my second stricture, around about the 4 month point I think. Think SOFT at this point. Your stomach tissue HAS NOT HEALED YET. The new cells don't need to be tested yet, and cannot tolerate it. Stomach tissue is not like skin and muscle. Specialized cells in the body need more time to fully heal. Be gentle. SOFT foods.

Good luck! Feel better!

Thanks guys. My doctor suggested ground beef, but obviously I need to back peddle.

Has your surgeon/doctor had this surgery? Keep in mind that everyone heals differently, and my experiences of two strictures with dilations in two months was the way my body was healing. I needed longer with soft foods. You may be fine with faster transitions, just chew chew chew. And sauce is your friend, at first. Be careful of BBQ/sugary sauces, but Thai, Indian, Mexican, any non-sugary sauce is a good option to try.

And remember also that it's not forever. Not being able to tolerate ground beef now doesn't mean you won't do fine with it in a month. In fact, beef is my go-to, "this will definitely stay down" food. Meatballs are my friend. Three of them and I'm good and comfy for hours!

Just remember: the body heals as fast as it heals. You cannot ru**** You don't need to speed through this time. Enjoy the ride!

Ground meat is crappy meat. There is no way I could have eaten it 3 weeks out. I didn't attempt anything that dense until after 8 weeks.

Deli meats, sliced very thin, are moist and go down much better. I nice beef tenderloin will go down better than ground beef.

Thank you for the suggestion:)