embarrassed by wls?

Privacy was my biggest influence.  NOW?  Ha.  I could not give two you-know-whats. It's kinda hard to run a support "meeting" in your own neighbourhood and be private about what it's for. So, screw it. I'm proud of who I am, how I got here, and who I was and who I am today.

Deal.

Oh... by the way.  When are you travelling my way?  I feel the need to hug the hell out of you.

Good idea,
Just need to find time between full time job, part time grad school and the kid. Not to mention this very patient guy I've been married for the last 16 years.

Hi DNA, I'm almost at 3 months and it's been quite a journey - mostly very positive.  I still have difficulty with portions, forget sometimes to slow down and chew - then pay for it.  I do better on days when I have mostly liquids , soups, etc.  My energy level is juuuust starting to feel normal again.  I had very high energy bf surgery and was tired afterwards - probably the diet and healing from surgery.

I don't check in on this site as much as I'd like, but when I do it is reassuring to see that I'm doing ok, thank you everyone for sharing your experiences.  I'm in awe of some of the success stories. 

 i think talking about weight is an issue for most people..In my family it was....at first i didnt tell my family about me having surgery because i honestly didnt know how they would have reacted and to be honest i didnt care because i knew having rny was my only saving grace from an early grave....in my family we have issues with weight..i am extremely morbidly obese and my sister was anorexic so we are at opposites spectrums of the "scale" (lol) and i thought she couldnt possibly understand that dieting was  not going to help lose so much weight that i have....to my surprise she has come around and understands why i did it and is thrilled that it is working for me...all she wants is for me to be alive and if surgery will do that then she is thrilled....now i openly tell people that i had rny...and so far i have had postive responses...and even if i had negative ones , who cares...it was MY choice to fix MY body and health no matter how...
Mary

I can relate to your family situation. I come from a very skinny family - mom used to wear size 2. Sister and all cousins range from 0 to 4, and here I come with size 6x too tight. With all that, my obesity was hereditary - two fat and diabetic grandparents, both died from it at the age of 60, and  I've got their genetic hit, the only one out of the entire family.

When I told my dad about the surgery, I simply started with statement "hey, did you know that docs found a cure for type 2 diabetes? well, it's a weight loss surgery and I just had it. Woohoo!"  His response was "real cure? congratulations!"

We often over-think and underestimate our loved ones. they can really surprise us.

I struggled with shame and embarrassment when deciding whether or not to have WLS.  I used to scoff at the idea and tell myself I could do it on my own. Well, I tried this and that and then a bit more of this and then some of that. I had some short-term successes, sure, but I want a long-term life, kwim?  So one day I had a "Come-to-Melissa" chat with myself and said "Lookit, Melissa, you're important to so many people, you are loved, you are needed, you have tried for years to conquer your weight, you need help now. Admit it, accept it. Stop making excuses. Get over yourself."

So I got over myself. I felt free. I felt I had options and finally a real chance at success. I tried for months to get a family doctor simply so I could get  a referral. I hope that doc gives me a referral next week.  So even though I'm in the early stages of this journey, it has taken me awhile to get here....to a place where I can accept the idea of WLS without feelings of shame and/or embarrassment.  I certainly never thought it was the easy way out...I was just ashamed to admit it to myself.

I have told a few people that I am hoping to have WLS and the responses have been positive. I think it is seen as a proactive step, taking responsibility for my health and doing what I need to do to maintain and improve my health.