Daisee68

No unfortunately it turned out to be a very tight stricture. I think possibly a small piece of the peanut may have blocked the small opening from my stomach to intestine (yes the hole was that small. The pic is unbelievable!). I did vomit peanut 12 hours later (still a discernible chunk) and then continued to vomit for 72 hours afterwards. Not sure how the peanut triggered the Hoke thing but appears to be a coincidence. Not sure how long the stricture has been there. Have bee referred to GI Dr who will have to do balloon dilation a couple of more times. Will know more once I visit with him. Meanwhile I am back on liquid only diet.

I am so sorry that happened! What a horrible thing to say! Unbelievable! I'm enraged for you! I hope you have an opportunity to tell her that was inappropriate some day.

A bit off topic but so far, my least favorite question post-op is "do u feel better?". I know they mean well and although I was 326 pounds, I felt and functioned just fine so 70 pounds down I kind of feel the same. I mean getting up off the floor is a little easier but otherwise I sort of feel the same....

I have also used the gel. I did ask rheumotologist and she assured me it should be fine since it doesn't process through your stomach. It is the possibility of NSAIDs causing ulcers in your new stomach that prevents the use. I haven't asked my bariatric Dr that question yet tho I suppose I should just to be on the safe side.

​Did you not have a NUT (nutritionist) prior to surgery? If not, you need to find one ASAP. There are a lot of different stages and each dr / NUT is different. It concerns me that your dr wouldn't give you a book or instruction on what to eat. Most say liquids for the first week or 2, then pureeds for 2 to 4 weeks, then slowly on to solids.

Have you tried Fairlife Milk? It is lower in sugar. That might be an option.

​That seems very excessive. And remember that the hospital bills an amount to insurance, but it isn't necessarily the amount insurance agrees per contract (assuming you are using in-network hospital). You will only have to pay your share 30% of the approved amount. I would also check in to out of pocket max too. After that is met, then insurance usually pays 100%.

​I don't have any advice but just wanted to say so sorry you are going through this - especially the 2 big things at once. I also had EGD today (12 weeks post-op) and they found a VERY tight stricture. Not sure how I was able to eat what I was able to eat (until these last 3 days where I couldn't keep anything down). I did want to say hydration is very important. (I have to stay on a liquid diet for a week but mine is not the same as yours.) I am using my medicine cup again and setting my timer to take a small sip every 5 minutes to make sure I get at least 4 ounces in per hour. I am getting in more than that but that is minimum. The rare times I forgot to set my timer, I would forget to drink and it would be 30 minutes later without a sip. I hope you get answers soon!

@@SybrgreenTX - Had my EGD / dilation today. You were right it was painless. I was asleep maybe 15 minutes. No throat pain but I do have sinus pain. I guess from the oxygen in my nose or something. Anyway, I have a VERY tight stricture. Like maybe pin hole sized. Dr. was shocked. She was able to enlarge it slightly but has referred me to a gastroenterologist who will have to do the procedure another couple of times. She called it "serial dilations"? Haven't quite figured out what that means yet other than seems to mean each time it is with a slightly larger balloon. The good news is that I feel much better already! I have to stick with a liquid diet for at least a week but I was finally able to get a Protein shake in finally! I have to really concentrate and take tiny sips but trust me I will take that over the last 3 days of vomiting any day! Hoping to move on to pureeds again after one week but she said we will just have to see how I do. Meantime, I have to give my esophagus / stomach a rest for a little while. I am SO relieved that this was not all in my head! I know that sounds nuts but after a day in the ER where they pretty much just sent me back home without an answer, I was thinking I was just a hypochondriac! My surgeon didn't do the procedure, but the dr that did even said right before the procedure that it was likely just a learning curve issue in learning how to eat. In a weird way, I was so glad to prove her wrong!! Apologies to OP for hijacking your post!

I understood the cause to be scar tissue. Common though it doesn't happen in everyone. I will know more after seeing the GI Dr. Not quite sure when that will be or how I will know if I can move on to pureeds. Still a bit confused about that but I do know Dr was worried enough to recommend liquid vitamins if I could find them so I don't thi K it will be a wait and see. My guess is I will see the GI Dr relatively quick with a copy of the pictures from the scope so he can determine a plan of action. It is apparently a GI Dr that my surgeon works with / refers to / has faith in so it appears he does this often enough that he will know what to do next.

Procedure went really well. Very fast. Maybe 15 minutes. I have a very tight stricture. Like maybe a pin hole size space for food to get through. She was able to widen it a little but only to about smaller than a dime. She is referring me to a GI Dr who will have to repeat the procedure likely more than once. Liquids for the next week and then if I'm lucky pureed. GI Dr likely won't repeat for 4 to 6 weeks. I am very happy with the outcome though. It is so comforting to know it was not all in my head!! I have done liquids before. I know I can do it again. At least I can have protein shakes now albeit very very small sips. She said I will likely lose weight much faster than expected! LOL! Not the way I want to do it but hey at least it will come off and at least I will (eventually) feel much better!! PS thanks for the prayers and good thoughts!

@@SybrgreenTX this is good to hear! I am supposed to (hopefully) have this procedure today. I haven't been able to eat since Monday. So hoping this is the fix.

Thanks all. Up early a bit anxious to hear that for sure it can be done today but thankfully not sick right now and was able to hold down tiny sips of water last night so I know I'm not dehydrated. Can't have anything this morning though since there should be procedure today. @@Faithoftheheart I am 12 weeks post-op. Your symptoms sound very familiar. Appreciate the prayers. Will keep you posted.

​Thanks @@Djmohr! At least I feel like we are finally getting somewhere with it all!

Well my friend. Seems you may be right. They found nothing on the CT and sent me home last night. As long as I don't put too micron my stomach, I'm OK. Pills go down. But a few sips of chicken soup at lunch, not so much. They are going to schedule an EGD and see if there is a stricture. Very common at 3 months and I am 12 weeks today. Hope I don't have to wait over the whole weekend but if I do, at least now I know what it likely is and that it wasn't all in my head!

Also the sugar fre Popsicle's have 4g carbs surprisingly. May not be a big deal in the scheme of things but I noticed it one day when I had 2 Popsicles and my carbs seemed high so I thought i would mention it. Otherwise yes the fruit is high carb

Wow. Mine was a bigot a beatdown but not near that bad. I did leave there beyond frustrated though

Congrats! Know that is a great feeling!

Thanks for the info. Mine allowed nuts so I wasn't too worried. I thinking is something else. I ended up in the ER because just couldn't hold anything down. They gave me some IV fluids and just did a CT scan tinder if they could find anything. Waiting on the results. Maybe it's just a weird virus? All my bloodwork came backbone so they just don't know. The IV med and nausea med helped. Maybe I just needed help getting on top of it. Not sure. Waiting on Dr to advise CT results

Maybe it's something else. I've been vomiting off and on for 40 hours now. Can't keep protein down at all. Not sure what to do. Dr office to let them know if I can't keep water down. Trying that now.

Mine was 7 days. First 3 days are the worst. U have to just power thru. Swanson's Mexican Tortilla Broth was a life saver for me!

That is great news!! Congrats!!

I agree it IS hard to believe but given I was vomiting peanut pieces 14 hours after eating them, I believe I clearly didn't digest it. I am 12 weeks out tomorrow. I continued to vomit (at least 20 tines yesterday) and again this morning after only a few sips of water and my Synthroid. I'm feeling a little better now and sipping slowly but if I can't keep this water down, I am going to have to go to the ER. Thanks for the advice on timing of food. It was around 8 pm when I ate them but I will definitely be more aware of that in the future! Praying water stays down now and I don't have to go to ER. Hopefully I finally dislodged or digested it.

Assuming I read you correctly that case manager works for the insurance company? If so, I would ask for everything in writing first and foremost. Secondly, ask if you have to use a Bariatric Center of Excellence and/or do they have someone in your area they would refer you to. Regarding the timing, not sure when your insurance renews, but if it is on a calendar year (i.e. renews 12/31), then you might consider trying to get it done this year. If the policy changes when it renews at 1/1 (and there are no guarantees it won't), then anything they tell you now could be completely different.

Yep eat slower and smaller bites. Set a timer of 1 1/2 to 2 minutes and wait that long in between. I am almost 12 weeks out and I am still having trouble with too much meat. Just got to 1 oz at a sitting last week. That pain means you are full. It is just a different full. I really struggled with this so I stayed with puree for a LONG time. I don't know if it was because my stomach just needed longer to heal or if I was just too lazy to chew correctly. Either way, staying on pureeds longer is not a problem as long as you don't get stuck there forever. if you feel like you are eating slowly and small bites, go back to pureeds for a few days and then try again. Definitely call your NUT too with food logs in hand so you can be specific and see what they say - but don't be afraid to try pureed again for a little while. It will get easier.