Where do you feel food fitting?

I currently have a lap band and am looking to revise to a sleeve or bypass.  One of my major concerns is where the food sits when you have a bypass? With my band when I eat, the food sits high in the stomach and kinda feels like the food is sitting behind my breast bone.  The food slowly drains down to where it would be normally and then travels on from there.  So my question for those with a bypass or a revision do you feel a difference from your original stomach's location keeping food vs after the surgery feeling like it's sitting elsewhere.  If you over eat where do you feel pain from that?   

The reason I'm asking is the feeling of food sitting on top of my band has always personally bothered me and lead to me eating softer foods which are not good for me.  So it's important for me to know what to expect from a revision.

just so you know,everyone's stomach is high in the abdominal cavity,even without WLS. The stomach is in the upper left quadrant of the body. Your intestines are in the lower half of your body where you think just eaten food "normally" goes. 

Anatomy wise yes, but with the band it feels like you have food behind your breast bone which for me at least feels much higher than pre-band.  It'd be hard to describe to someone unbanded except that your food sits well higher than before until it slowly travels to where it sits normally.  All I can say is it feels weird to have food sitting just under the esophagus and I was hoping that revision to a sleeve or RNY would make that feeling go away.

I am 5 months out and I can honestly say, I have not felt my food anywhere yet. I feel hiccups differently than before. But my food has no feeling other than in my bowels. I avoid all sugar and carbs to avoid the horrible complications with those things. I weigh all my food also.

I only drink water to avoid any stretching of my pouch, purely personal choice. But, I don't feel anything in my "stomach" at all. It's amazing.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.  For me its important to not feel the food up high where I feel like I cannot breath so I'm wanting to do my homework about which is my better choice. 

I have never had the band, but I think I may understand what you are talking about.

When I first had the RNY, if I ate to quickly or a food that was too dense, it would feel very uncomfortable.  The reason is that I was still swollen from surgery, and the food was slightly "stuck"before the opening of the pouch.  I hate that feeling.  I think that is one of the reasons that most of progress from liquids, to puree, to soft and then dense foods after our surgery -- and this was the case for me.  This to me sounds like what you are describing.

As I healed and learned to slow down and chew my food, that "stuck" feeling became less and less (and to be clear, it wasn't every time I ate or even every week) -- and soon, I didn't feel that at all.  Once in a great great while now -- if I really eat fast or gulp something without chewing it correctly -- I will feel that slightly "stuck" feeling -- and it IS right behind my breast bone --- and it bothers me terribly.  I can't really remember the last time that happened.  

My stomach feels like food is in the "normal" location and that is NOT a feeling I have without doing something stupid.  Also, I do not eat soft foods, but rather dense protein 99% of the time.

I hope this helps you.

Thank you very much for your reply this help me a lot.  The band puts and keeps the food there in your stuck area for a prolong period to "work".  I'm very happy to hear that both RNY and sleeve patients have a stuck moment now and again but it's not normal. (I did ask the same question on the other board as well)

You're welcome.  I can't imagine having that feeling all the time -- that really must be miserable.  

I am almost 15 years out from RNY and the only time I "feel" my food behind my breastbone is when food is stuck and I have to lean to the left or have my boyfriend tap my back to get it to move and even then sometimes, it doesn't work.   As long as you eat slow and chew your food well, you shouldn't have that feeling.   

Nik

HA!  I have asked my husband to do the same.  If that is the feeling she has all the time with the band -- man, I would want it out asap.  I hate that feeling.