Hi, I was just banded yesterday. Is it normal to not "feel" the presence of your band? I can certainly feel the incisions and port site but I can't really tell any difference as far as my stomach goes. I can feel a very slight tightness in my chest between my breasts and that is all and a lot of times I can't even feel that. Is that the band? I thought it would be a lot more noticable in there, at least at first. Thanks.

I can press on my port and feel it, but other than that, I can't feel that I have a band. The only time I can tell I have a band is when I've eaten something a bit too fast or didn't chew well enough.

Once you have healed, you will feel totally normal. The best thing is you will begin to feel lighter and lighter and lighter.......

You won't be able to feel the band or the pouch at all. Strange, huh. I couln't even feel my port til I lost 100 pounds. Makes you feel like sombody's played a trick on you,doesn't it. And you'll really feel that way when the swelling goes down and you are hungry and you can eat just as much food as you could before surgery. Remember that your band is not really in operation til you get a fill or two or three and you get some restriction. Best wishes to you.......

Actually.. I have always been able to feel the port, from the inside and outside.

And when I lay on my stomach, I have a pain on my left side where I image the band is.. I asked my doctor about it last time and he said it's likely the band pushing on something. So I do feel that..

And when I eat, sometimes I get a gurgling or glug glug glug as something moves down, so I feel the band from the inside.

I don't constantly feel the band, and except for the pain of laying on my stomach, it's not significant..

When my port was on my abdomen, I could push and feel every side of it.. now it's under my left boob, and it's on a not-so-fatty part of my body, so it feels like it's right under the skin.

I don't feel the band at all. I asked the nurse during one of my pre-op visits about feeling it and she said that there aren't any nerves on the outside of the stomach and that why you don't feel it. Dont know how true that is. I do feel pressure when I lay on my stomach on a firm bed but other than that I don't feel anything!! Sometimes I forget I have it.

Your band should not be felt. You'll feel it enough the first time you do something bad. I do feel my port - from the outside, but also inside if I move/twist wrong. For a long time I thought I could feel my band itself from the outside, and would get some uncomfortable pressure if I was in a particular position. My surgeon explained this as scar tissue (being the "lump" I was feeling) and scar tissue/band pressing on other things being the discomfort.

Maybe that's what I feel then. They weren't sure, but said it could be the band pushing on something. But it's only if I lay on my stomach, it's painful in the 'banding area'.

I know this is off subject but is a little bit of clear oozing from an incision normal?

kind of.. if it's a lot of ooze it can be infection.. but the body is producing blood cells to heal it and can leak sometimes.

I'm not a doctor! If it looks weird or hurts or anything, call your doc :confused:

Normal. As long as it doesn't smell really bad.