WLS should NEVER be considered shameful or frowned upon!

maybe the denial is not about deinh ashamed but just simple privacy....

I, for one, am telling NO ONE, except my husband

I wouldnt tell anyone if I were getting a hysterectomy...nor would I tell if I were gettign an abortion.... nor would I tell if I were getttign a liver transplant...

its simply my right to privacy... 

I dont feel the urge to educate anyone else on the stereotypes of WLS or the struggless and successes of obesity
I dont feel the urge to answer questions on who, what, when, how & where when it comes to WLS...that is the paramount reason I joined an anonymous online forum

VOGUE-I agree-it is very personal, and nobody's else's business. WLS...ANY surgery, medical condition, etc, etc, is YOUR business to share/not share at YOUR discretion

This is true. I never thought of it that way. Surgery is also a very private issue. Good point.

MISS KITTY-I hope I didn't offend you, with my response to VOGUE..Personally, I drove everyone in nine counties crazy, talking about my WLS (this was 10 yrs ago-when hardly anyone, here in the sticks, ever heard of a RNY)..but I still believe a person's medical conditions-ANY condition-whether it be WLS/AIDs/Erective Dysfunction/WHATEVER is-and will always be-their OWN business...

As a 30+ yr nurse, I have seen people have their rights to privacy abused a million times-despite HIPPA laws..Sorta like that Office Mgr telling your business to the whole office, when they wouldn't serve you again-that was SO wrong..

But..anyhoo..back to your original post..yes.."Fat Discrimination" is alive and well..and we must fight it, for the good of everyone....and take out one bigoted idiot at a time...

No, you didn't offend me. Everyone has a right to their privacy and the thought of someone wanting it to be private simply didn't cross my mind for some reason. I had a nurse violate my privacy rights once. I yelled at her for it.....reported her.....and I was the one who was asked not to come back to that particular med facility! Go figure!

 Thank you Miss_Kitty for writing such an awesome post!  I totally agree with all of it and am right there with you.  I mean, when we are morbidly obese (yes that means dead fat) people ridicule us for  it saying  we our gluttonous, have no restraint, are pigs when it comes to food I've heard and seen it all.  I mean I can remember being in McDonald's one time with my five young children (I think the triplets were all walking at this point) and I heard a group of teenagers giggling in line behind me and one of them started going (beep, beep, beep) like when a big truck goes in reverse when I backed up when one of my children snuck in line in front of me.  I turned around and said "wow your mother must really be proud of how she raised you" His jaw dropped to the floor and he turned every shade of red.  He stuttered and stumbled over his words and appologized to me.  I cried in the car about this incident after and when I got home with the children.

I tell EVERYONE about my RNY surgery.  I love this tool.  And that is where people in general are mistaken--it is a tool--not a magic pill or whatever.  It is a tool that has rules and if you follow those rules and listen to your wls team, you will be successful.  I went through many years of therapy, both before and after surgery (and I still have a therapist to help me learn how to deal with all the attention I'm getting from people now and my body image) and I think it should be a requirement for ppl who have any kind of wls to get a therapist before surgery to begin the process of learning to have a better relationship with food.  The surgeons operate on our stomachs not our brains.  I still after nearly 2 1/2 years postop from RNY surgery look in the mirror and see the fat girl.  I can only see my weightloss in pictures and thank God my fiancee likes to take them :)  Here is the latest one from a trip to Plymouth recently:

   

and my before:
 

Once again, great post!!!  Have a great day everyone!

Mallisa

 
Looking like a runway model!!!!!!!  You look fabulous 

You look awesome!  How many kids did you have?

Beep Beep Beep! (from car horns) "Hey baby, nice ass!!!!"

That's what they should be saying to you Miss Gorgeous Diva! Congradulations!!!

 Everyone has had great comments on this topic. The truth of the matter is everyone will handle it differently. Being only 24 I hear it all the time, Why dont you just diet? Why dont you jus****ch what you eat? Why dont you join a gym? Why are you doing this, Do you really think this is going to help? I have heard it all weather it be from my family or my co-workers or just plain ignorant people. This is something that I am doing for me and I would rather have people ask me about it then assume crap behind my back. I did not come out and tell anyone at work about the surgery except my boss which her response about sent me through the roof. When I told her that I am having WLS her first response was well if you quit eating the donuts you will be fine. 1st that was RUDE.. I had to walk out of the room out of fear of saying something I regret. 2. To put someone down like that after you know that they have struggled for so long...I seriously cried. 3. What business is it of her's what I did and didnt eat. Sorry to rant but it really gets me going now to know that people run their mouths about a topic that they know nothing about.