Such mixed emotions!

Hi there, I am new to posting on this sight, but I need to talk to someone before I explode. I have been approved by my insurance and had a date scheduled with Dr. Wallace at Froedtert for Feb 12th. I have so many emotions going on right now I haven't slept a wink since I got my date 2 days ago. I really really really want to have this done, but I am having a very hard time telling my daughters and my mother. My husband knows and is supportive, but I feel I have to tell my kids and my mom that I am having surgery, just in case something happens. I told my employer that I needed medical leave in Feb and he just said "I hope it's nothing serious", so I didn't tell him what I was actually doing. My hubby says I should tell people because they will guess anyway after the rapid weight loss. Any advice from anyone on how to get through the next 27 days would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

I can so identify with your mixed emotions. I don't have any children so I can only advise you on telling your older family members. There is no easy way to tip toe around it so I found it easiest to just say it and then answer their questions. Fortunately, most of my family were very supportive and were eager to ask questions and to listen to the answers. My mother was the only one that wouldn't allow me to talk about it at first and therefore was ill informed about the entire procedure. She had so many misconceptions and was fearful for me but until she allowed me to tell her about it, there wasn't anything that I could do. When she finally relented, and allowed me to tell her all about it, the fact that I had done so much research on the subject really helped. My advice to you is to call a family meeting of sorts, and tell them (with your husband) what you are planning to do. Be sure to have any literature or research that you have done with you so if you can't answer their questions, you will be able to look it up. The most often asked question I ran into was..."That's pretty drastic. Aren't you scared?" And my answer was always.."Sure, I am. But not as scared as I am being 33 years old and 350 pounds" Generally, if they see you going into it with a positive attitude and like you are now taking an active role in your health, they will think positive, too. It also may help to tell them about this site. Both my sisters checked it out and found it very informative and encouraging as they could see all the success stories. Good luck! Melinda [email protected]