Surgery Stigma

I know it can be hard to fight upstream of people's opinions, but really their opinions only matter as much as you let them. I have been open from the beginning, with everyone, unequivocally.. and the positive feedback has massively outweighed the negative. Hang in there!

I'm not as open as some about my surgery. That is, I am with my family but not many of my friends or with most acquaintances. Reason is, I have already had those comments made to me like "oh, you took the easy way out" or my favorite.. "did you loose it with diet and exercise or did you have the surgery?" WTF! WLS isn't like they take a giant vacuum and suck the excess weight out of you and you are magically transformed into a non-obese person! You have to diet! You have to exercise! You have to change your lifestyle permanently or you WILL beat the sleeve and you WILL halt you weight loss.. or worse yet, revert back and gain back everything you have lost!
So Readers Digest version now... I say fuck'em, why do I need to explain it to anyone and stand there trying to open closed minds?
Just my own $.02... Craig

I tend to agree with Craig.  I have told my friends and family, but not the whole world.  I would tell any obese person who asked in an appropriate situation (not at a conference table with 8 other people, that has happened).  But I don't say to everyone who compliments me, "Thanks, I had surgery."  It feels really personal, intensely personal in a way.

I guess i never cared who knew... and i do know of the stigma attached to obesity and wls all too well. I hear my sister & sister in law try all the time LOL to say.."you dont need it you are doing so well all by yourself"  Frankly they see the results of the hard work, sweat, tears ...they are not there in the hard times...so when i see my sugeon  in the next few weeks and then have surgery before xmas, I will gladly have the VSG and hope he is able to fix my hernia along with it. I still have more to lose..and i will take any tool availiable to get me to my goal an keep me there.
If others cant understand that...that is their problem not mine....i am moving forward and onward to healthiness!!! (my wait time is so long here in NS due to governent funding...so i followed the program a person would do with WLS and lost just as much ...think what i could have done with the sleeve!!)

Getting ones stories out there in the media helps. i have already been on the front page news in 2 papers here in ns... and have had a few other interviews, one ready to be on tv in a few weeks and another with the H&SF.  People need to know that there is help and hey "HEALTH IS WEALTH"!!!!! i feel a million bucks!!!  and everyone can feel this way!!!!!

I told all my family and very close friends. I don't offer the information to others, but if someone asks how I lost the weight, I tell them about the surgery. Most people have never heard of it, so I'm happy to educate. I usually find that people think I'm going to tell them about some new, sure-fire diet that got me thin, and are disappointed to learn I had surgery, since they're not overweight enough to qualify.

I will say that my family has been awesome. They tell me I'm an inspiration to them. I feel weird when they say that, b/c I know I had a tool that made it possible that they don't have. I'll take the compliment, though.
Eileen