TO TELL OR NOT TO TELL

Hi All - I also had a co-worker who had the surgery openingly at work 2 years ago. I started to talk about it and a few people knew. We have a schoolwide email to about 80 people and the gal who had the surgery asked if she could post that I had surgery on the email. I didn't realize she was going to be so specific...she asked me Day 2 in the hospital and an email went out. Carol had weight loss surgery and is doing great! OH!!! I was a little freaked but you know what in the long run I think I can handle any negative responses. I'm 12 days out and went to my complex's pool and a lady eavesdropped and said oh what kind of surgery did you have? I could have lied but said gastric bypass. She replied "Oh I don't know what to say!" I told her "Congratulations" or "I wish you well would be nice." Well that kind of shut her up and then my friend tried to educate her. It is no different then the 'you've got such a pretty face' etc Carol R

Dear Carol R, We had the same discussion in our post op support group seceral months ago. The innate feeling was to be honest. People never quite understand the fact that obesity in whatever form and whatever the cir****tances that caused it is a disease. It is like any other addiction. We want what we want when we want it. When people say something so absurd as to not necessitate a response, I am reminded of my favorite quote from Shakespeare, who in Act5, Scene4 of "McBeth" said: "It is a tale, full of sound and fury, told by an idiot, signifying nothing." Works for me. Continued success and best wishes. Just past my 6 months last week and all is superb. Be well and take care. Warmly, Alan

Once I made the decision to have surgery, I told everyone & anyone who would listen. The way I saw it, my coworkers had been watching me kill myself for 10 years. Getting bigger, and bigger. Any of them that cared about me would and were so happy that I was finally doing something about it. Yes, I was met with some negative people, but they were the same negative people who gave me a hard time about being obese in the first place. My only suggestion, is listen to your heart. When someone asks you about your losing weight, you'll know how to answer. But for me I screamed it from the roof tops, and haven't stopped in exactly a year today. Good Luck, Heather