Pre-Op Reactions

I’ve been hesitant to tell people about the surgery before the surgery.  I want to be upfront and honest about my weight loss, but there’s still a part of me that fears how other people will react and treat me.  Will they say that I’m taking the “easy way out”?

I wasn’t sure if I would tell anyone before the surgery other than my husband and my kids.  I thought I would tell my mom, but that I would wait until a week before the surgery.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to tell my boss.

I decided to tell my mom.  She was actually pretty good about it.  She wasn’t judgmental and she didn’t overwhelm me with her worries.  She does have concerns, but overall she understands that I have been researching this and thinking about it for a couple of years now.  I think her biggest worry is that I may be giving up some foods permanently.  She doesn’t like that idea.  She also worries about family get-togethers since they are usually heavily based around a meal or food.

I also decided to tell one of my friends.  I know that she has struggled with food, but she is doing extremely well right now.  She did Ideal Protein in the past and looks fabulous.  She was super supportive and very excited for me!

Today I reached out to my sister-in-law who is a doctor.  I had brought the idea up to her about a year ago and I felt like I got a really negative reaction.  One of her friends has a lap-band, and has not been very successful.  The friend with the lap-band will sometimes eat foods and then purposely vomit so she can eat off limit foods.  Obviously that isn’t a healthy way to handle it.  So I felt that my sis-in-law was skeptical in the past.  So I emailed her and told her about my decision and offered that I’d be happy to answer any questions.  She was also super supportive!  She asked about my surgeon and making sure I would have post-op support.  Yay!

I still need to work up the courage to tell my Dad.  He is a guy who believes in will-power.  So I’m worried he will think it’s a bad idea.  But who knows, he may surprise me.  If not, then I know he will eventually come around when he sees me healthy and happy.

I will also tell my boss.  I want her to know in case there are any complications and in case I end up needing to take more time off.  I’m hoping I can work from home for a couple of days towards the end of the week I’m home.

So far, so good on the reactions.  Let’s hope people continue being so supportive!