Just got home from my second endoscopy. (stricture)

[pik 262]

I went up to the surgeons office yesterday because in my opinion, they were taking too long to get me in, and I was pretty upset. For a week they had been telling me they were doing it, they were doing it.

The dr came out and talked to me and he got me in this morning.

My stricture was back down to just one millimeter above what it was when they did it last time. He dilated it 5 mm just like he did last time and I am set to go back in 2 weeks to have it done again.

Right now I am just very sleepy feeling and I will probably conk out here in a few minutes.

[Beni 1,484]

Get some rest, you so deserve it. What a battle. If I understand correctly the first endoscopy only stretched the opening from the stomach into intestines by a millimeter? That's a lot of effort for such small gain, no? Isn't the opening supposed to be the size of a dime?

Hang in there, this too shall pass!

[pik 262]

Get some rest, you so deserve it. What a battle. If I understand correctly the first endoscopy only stretched the opening from the stomach into intestines by a millimeter? That's a lot of effort for such small gain, no? Isn't the opening supposed to be the size of a dime?

Hang in there, this too shall pass!

It was 5 mm. He did 5 mm again this time. The last time he went from 14 to 19 and this time he went from 15 to 20.

So it all came back, for the most part. I took a two hour nap with one of my kitties and now I am just chilling.

I am going back in 2 weeks to have another.

When I talked to him yesterday he told me he had talked with my surgeon who had told him I was doing fine. I bluntly let him know that my surgeons idea of doing fine and my idea of doing fine were two different things.

The dr who has done both of these endoscopies was not my surgeon. I actually did see him in the beginning and he recommended I have the lapband, and when I got a 2nd opinion, the second one recommended I have bypass.

They are both from the same group and both hardcore wanting to do different surgeries on me. The lapband would be bad for me because of my Rheumatoid Arthritis. My cells would just attack it all the time which would leave me in horrible pain, so I knew I couldn't do that.

The funny thing is that ever since my surgery, whenever I have been back inpatient or in need of these endoscopies, it was the initial surgeon who has taken care of me other than routine follow ups.

I am not certain exactly what the opening should be, but in the pictures, mine is obviously closed both times.

[Beni 1,484]

I understand much better now. The god news is 20 mil should allow drinks through nicely. I was told the opening at first is the size of a dime because it is swollen, as it heals it will be closer to a nickel. Hopefully this endoscopy will hold. Or at least not amount to only 1 mil progress. I do agree that it is a bit odd that you get to see this other doctor. I also think it's odd that one doctor pushes for Lapband and the other for bypass. I know I may just be paranoid but it almost sounds like the first one is only qualified to do Lapband and that's why he pushes it and does the endoscopies in the practice. Both easier procedures.

If you end up back to square one, at some point you may want to consider a second opinion.

The silver lining at this point is you are so very close to the 200 Lb mark. Most people take 6 months to get there. Way to be an overachiever! Lol

[pik 262]

I understand much better now. The god news is 20 mil should allow drinks through nicely. I was told the opening at first is the size of a dime because it is swollen, as it heals it will be closer to a nickel. Hopefully this endoscopy will hold. Or at least not amount to only 1 mil progress. I do agree that it is a bit odd that you get to see this other doctor. I also think it's odd that one doctor pushes for Lapband and the other for bypass. I know I may just be paranoid but it almost sounds like the first one is only qualified to do Lapband and that's why he pushes it and does the endoscopies in the practice. Both easier procedures.

If you end up back to square one, at some point you may want to consider a second opinion.

The silver lining at this point is you are so very close to the 200 Lb mark. Most people take 6 months to get there. Way to be an overachiever! Lol

I have a lot of other health issues and I think the first dr was going for the band because it is something that could be reversed if need be. He does all of the surgeries. I somehow seemed to get him on call when I ended up back in the hospital a couple of times.

He did a friend of mines sleeve and her husbands bypass and they have done fine.

My dr just kept telling me to have patience because he felt like my hernia repair was a little tight and needed time to loosen but I felt like it must be a stricture. I even told him a couple of weeks ago things were tightening up again and he kind of acted like that couldn't be the case.

I am so thankful for the first dr. He is the only one that is listening to me these days! He is being pro-active at this point and even admitting that none of them appreciated the fact that it could have been a stricture so early in the game.

You know I lost some weight prior to the surgery and the rest after. I also had a 3 week stall.

[Beni 1,484]

I get it. Thank you for explaining. Glad you are doing a little better!