Hello...

Hi everyone, My name is Greg and I've just begun this whole process. I must admit to lurking on these forums and reading about your experiences, trials and tribulations so I thought I would finally introduce myself. I've scheduled my first appointment with the WISH center in Auburn for Jan. Both my wife and I are planning to have the surgery after many years of failed dieting together. We are both ready to have this done to improve our health and our standard of living. What I would like is any advice on dealing with family members who are totally against this type of surgery. My mom, sister and brother are all naturally skinny and have never had any problems with weight. In addition, my mother is a nurse and works in the surgical floor of a hospital in Spokane so she has seen some of those surgeries that have gone wrong or had complications. My mom has actually tried to "forbid" me to do this and refuses to even talk to me about it. My wife also has had a lot of resistance from her family and they are all mostly overweight as well. Did any of you have these types of problems? How did you deal with them? Thanks, Greg

i would just put it out there. you have researched this, and ultimately it is your decision. if your mother and family can't understand that, you can't make them, they are either with you or against you, they don't have to support the way, just ask them to support you and your choice. i hope this helps

Hi Greg! Welcome and so glad you introduced yourself. :D I expected a lot more guff than I actually got. Some friends and family were slow to come around. Some were for it from the onset. Some chose to be supportive simply out of loyalty, even if they were not actually for the surgery. I think what was most helpful was giving people time. I didn't wait to tell them about considering surgery as an option. This gave them time to settle into the idea. It also gave me lots of time to talk about my research. The flow of facts and information helped soften people to it. Ultimately is was trusting God along the way that helped me and my loved ones. Blessings and best of wishes for you and your wife! Keep us posted! Nancy

Thanks everyone for the information and the welcome, It's much appreciated. I do have the opinion that it's my life and my decision to make and I've even mentioned that if they don't agree then don't say anything. In the end, I have to give them the benefit of any doubt and assume that they are only scared for me and my health. My plan for now is to include them on the dates for surgery as they come up but not seek their approval any longer. If they choose to support that's great, but if not I need to do this for me. Besides, like I mentioned before, my wife and I are both preparing for this surgery so we will ultimately have each other for complete and unconditional support which is priceless. I look forward to being more active in this forum as I proceed down this path and thanks again. Greg

Hi Greg! Welcome to the Washington Board and OH! So glad to have you here! It's a great place for tremendous support and a wealth of information I'm sorry to hear about your family not supporting your decision. I have a teenage daughter who was very resistant to me having WLS. However, the way we overcame her fear was to educate her. She sat down at the computer with me and went thru this site and others, regarding WLS and we educated ourselves together. She attended a few doctors appointments as well as one seminar that I went too. Eventually, the Doctor I chose for surgery had a discussion with her about the risks vs. the benefits of the surgery compared to obesity. I don't know if your family or your wifes would be willing to do any of this, but I wanted to throw these suggestions out there because they are what worked for me. Also, having them attend a few of the support groups might help as well Ultimately, it is your decision... and its a very personal one... I will keep you and your wife in my prayers, let us know how it turns out!! XoXo~ Kimanne ~50ish lbs

hey greg!! Im from port orchard. I went to south kitsap. I mooved to texas a while back but im so homesick i could cry, My brother dennis is still there though. He has the same lst name as you. welcome to the board!! Elsa