Stricture Question

O.K this may sound dumb, but what exactly is a stricture? can you have one for a few months before getting it fixed and what are some of the symptoms?

I had a stricture twice during my life. It happens when the opening to your stomach from your esophagus shrinks, often as in my case, when acid scares the tissue. I lived with food getting stuck for a long time. It finally closed up so that I couldn't even ge****er through. The pain when food gets stuck is bad and the only way I could get unstuck was to stick my finger down my throat and cause myself to vomit. They fix this by using an endoscope with an inflateable ballon on the end to stretch the tissue back out. 

Hi there, Not a dumb question! Our friend above explained it well. I too have had 2 strictures both well after WLS surgery and both were VERY painful for me. As far as waiting to have them fixed please do not! You do get to a point where nothing passes through and you begin to dehydrate. Its very harsh on our bodies post WLS. Some symptoms are not being able to keep food and fluids down, a burning sensation because of continuous food/fluid overload and also keep in mind you will damage your esophagus over a period of time if its not treated. I strongly encourage you to call your doctor and get this checked immediately.