I have had the lapband for 6 yrs lost the
weight and now it is BACK!! I have not had a
swallow or anything to see if my pouch is dilated.
However I have had fills and with good restriction
(not throwing up). Should I ask for a swallow or
just let the doctors decide?
I don’t eat much and I try to watch what I eat
but the scales are not budging. I am considering
the gastric sleeve but if the lapband is not
working or I am not working, how do I know if
the sleeve is right for me? I feel like such a
failure. By the way I see a psychologist
regularly and we address emotional eating also.
Texarkana, TX
Answered by Dr. Ron Hekier
Texas Weight Loss Surgeon.There are many factors to consider and if you
have have regained weight after having good
initial weight loss, you probably need to start
from scratch.A swallow study, also known as an esophagram,
is a simple Xray procedure that will allow your
doctors to see the size of the stomach pouch
above the Lap Band as well as view the position
of the LapBand and the flow through it.
It might be helpful in your case, ask your doctor.The first thing I would suggest is to keep a
meticulous food journal. Record everything
you eat for 10 days. Every single thing! We suggest
a computer and phone based app such as LoseIt, which
is a free app for smartphones and available to use
on the computer for free at www.loseit.comBe meticulous and record everything you eat
for 10 days. I’m talking about being super
analytical about it. If you eat some chips, count
how many chips you ate or weigh them and enter it
in your online journal.
If you eat nuts, count them or weight them,
and then enter them on your calorie counting
app on your computer and/or phone.You should invest in an electronic kitchen scale and
you can usually pick one up for about $20.As you are recording your food intake,
review your intake, paying close attention to
the carbohydrates and the protein, aiming to eat more
protein than carbohydrates everyday.Lastly, my personal opinion is that in most cases,
switching to a different bariatric procedure such as
the gastric sleeve will not necessarily yield any success.
You have to refocus your behavior with the
Lap Band to regain the success you had.Here’s a brief commentary on that topic: Dr. Mark Watson: Sleeve to Lap Band?
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