Question:
Anyone afraid when they go back to work?

I will be returning back to work after being off for 20 weeks. I am very nervous because I know alot of people will be staring at me because I will have lost 85 lbs. Just thinking about it makes me feel queasy to my stomach!! I have waiting for this moment to happen and now I am a big chicken!!! Any Advice?????    — Laura G. (posted on April 12, 2002)

April 12, 2002
I was only off work for 5 weeks, so most of my peers and customers didn't notice a difference right away. But I was still afraid of the inevitable questions that were bound to come as the weight came off. I just decided to graciously thank people for their well-intended comments. When they asked how I lost weight, I told them "high protein, low carbs and exercise," which is all true. It just wasn't the full truth. My decision to have WLS was and still is a very personal matter and I have chosen to keep it quiet except for those to whom God leads me to share it with. <p>I am now 7 months post-op and have lost 100 pounds. People still comment on my weight loss and they even ask how much weight I've lost (really an embarrassing question to me), but I just thank them and just go on about my business. I realize most people don't mean anything by it. They are just curious. But some of those same people would be very judgmental about my method if they knew I had surgery. I know this to be a fact because I've heard some comments in secret about another coworker who had WLS. Yet they act very supportive to the coworker's face. <p>You'll just have to make that decision before you go back to work and then live with it. Some people choose to tell and others don't. I'm one of those who has chosen not to tell. <p>May God bless you as you return to work.
   — artistmama

April 12, 2002
I TELL THE WORLD, or at least everyone I can. The info might filter to nother needy MO, and save their life as well. Not telling only leads to speculation and rumor, cancer, aids, etc all cause similiar weight loss. WLS nothing to be ashamed of. I can see not telling pre op because of horror stories.,.. but post op whh not? My customers who I see perhaps twice a year are amazed, many dont recognize me. Startb weight 313 now 180:)
   — bob-haller

April 12, 2002
I'm with Brenda Z. I go back to work next week after 9 weeks off, and am sure people will notice, eventually, the weight loss as the months go by. I'm all ready with my true story-small amounts, high protein, lo carbs, lots of water, and exercise. Its nobodies business that I had WLS and hopefully I can keep it that way. Besides, the workplace isn't the place to discuss such personal issues. When people ask you how much you've lost, just tell them "alot" and leave it at that.
   — Cindy R.

April 12, 2002
What is wrong with just telling the truth. That is what I have done. Now that I am back to work and 6 weeks post-op and down 48 lbs, people tell me that I look great. If anybody asks, I tell them I had bariatric surgery, (most people already know because I told many beforehand). I tell that that I did it because I was having serious weight related health problems, and that it was a matter of life or death. That is the truth. And nobody has been rude, given me any qualms about it or anything else, and I work in a fairly large office. As long as people getting WLS are embarrassed about it, then the stigma will likely remain. I am also very thankful that Sherry P., my wifes co-worker who had surgery about 1 1/2 years ago, was honest and upfront about the whole thing. If it wasn't for her dramatic weight loss and willingness to tell her coworkers about it, my wife, who is about 1 yr. post-op and down 100 lbs, nor I would have known about this life saving proceedure. By not telling the truth, you are then just going to create a hotbed of rumors and people talking behind your back. Why not just tell the truth, and maybe you might just be the one who helps somebody else learn about this lifesaving proceedure.
   — Dell H.