Hi all,

I just finished reading the article and subsequent comments on Huffington Post about the FDA encouraging lower BMI banding...boy, were some of the comments upsetting. I meet with my surgeon for the first time on Wed, and those comments just made a lot of my doubts come rushing back. Why is there so much hatred towards overweight people? Do people really think we sit around all day ordering food and watching tv? While I agree the band should be a last resort, I knew there would be some "interesting" feedback on a site other than ours concerning the surgery. So my question is this: have any of you faced ridicule or prejudice pre/post surgery, and if so, how did/do you cope? My confidence is beginning to wane...

This journey is a very personal one for each of us. We all have our own demons to fight and have to deal with it in the way that works best for us. I will admit that I stuggled a lot with the question of whether or not to tell people about the surgery. My husband thought I should just be open about it because there wasn't anything to be ashamed of and I did it to be healthy (he is amazingly supportive ) but my concern was (and still is) with a small portion of my family who never have a kind thing to say about anyone. I don't really care what they say about me but I don't want to be at family functions and have to deal with them watching every bite of food I put into my mouth and commenting on it (and believe me, they would).

In the end, I spoke to my therapist about it and he said "Why do you feel you have to tell anyone? It really isn't any of their business." Such a simple statement but it made me feel so much better about my choice not to say anything. In the end, the only people who know are my husband and kids, my mother and my mother-in-law. I ended up having to tell my mother-in-law because she came to visit us during my pre-op diet and I had to be able to explain why I was doing only liquids...and if I was going to tell her, I had to tell my mother. They were (and are) both extremely supportive of my decision. It is a bit strange because my mom knows but my dad doesn't (I chose not to tell him because the crazy relatives are on his side of the family and, quite frankly, he couldn't keep a secret to save his life ).

Right now, if someone asks what I am doing to lose weight I just say I am working with a nutritionist and exercising (which is technically true) but I have decided if someone comes out and asks me if I had WLS I won't lie about it...

To whoever posted that link..THANK YOU!!!!! I am not telling anyone yet, I'm too scared I won't lose the wt and then be made fun of just like I was for being obese...that was everything I was thinking and more and with me working in an er that recieves a lot of drunks, drug seekers/doers, sex addicts, and people that are obese to hear the commments my co-workers make about the "fat" people and not the addicts it always made me mad..I think I will post this on our board and perhaps be more open about my wls choice as many of my co-workers would benefit from it too