Ok, next week is my surgery date and I have not mentioned anything to my co-workers that I will be out for two and a half weeks. I work at a lab and it's only three of us in the office, they will get some help, but what do I say when I come back. What did you say?

If they don't know you're leaving, why don't you just say it's a stay-cation vacation? Time to relax and get things in order before the holidays? I don't plan on telling anyone at work why I'm having surgery. None of their business and I know I'll be judged in a heartbeat! I'd rather just focus on positive thoughts of healing from those few I have told so far

I kept my surgery 99.9% private. I only told my husband. The rest of the world thinks I had a hiatial hernia repaired (it is also the truth because I have one lol). Recovery is similar. Since I started this journey 5 months ago I told people I was seeing a nutritionist and following a high protein diet (all true) so that when I start to lose weight there will be no question.

If you want to keep your surgery private, do so. You are under no obligation to share anything with anyone. You owe NO ONE an explanation. You can say you were tending to a medical issue and you are feeling better. Thanks for asking and change the subject.

Take your journey the way that works best for you. If you want to sing it to the world, do that. If you want to keep it private, that is your right as well. Remember, just because someone asks you a question, you are not required to answer it.

Good luck! You will love your sleeve!

Thanks everyone, I know whatever I say I'm going to be judged. Judged for trying to better myself in losing weight or judge because I was approved to have so much time off. Either way they're going to say something. I am thinking about the hernia repair or gallbladder surgery. I have to come up with something with all the time I'm having off...Women can keep up SO much mess.

Edited December 11, 201312 yr by ladyd728

Ladyd728,

I didn't tell my own father that I was having Bariatric Surgery! He is 89 years old, judgmental of my weight, so he was told I was having a hiatal hernia repaired. (Which I did). He didn't needed to be burdened with the information and I didn't need to be burdened with his comments.

It has been a win win situation for all!

I told everyone, I have a I don't care what you think mentality. Some people are like why I'd you do that ? Others are like can you talk me through your process I want to do it or my family member wants to do it. If you don't want to tell don't.

There are many threads on this very subject and they all mostly come to the same conclusion. .. if you want to tell, great... if you don't... great - nobody's business. But dont flat out lie. Dont say you had your gallbladder removed or you have cancer. Lying always come back to bite you in the arse. Good luck

I haven't told many people about surgery, and I pre-planned my time off as a stay-cation for 3 weeks. Best 3 weeks of my adult life! I hadn't had a vacation in 4 years and well, it was like having the surgery was a bonus. No one questioned it at work (and they still haven't many weeks later) and everyone was happy to see me when I returned. Best decision ever.

I told some, didn't tell others. Like one of the first posters, I had a hiatal hernia repair also done, so if someone wanted details that I didn't feel comfortable sharing, I just left it at that. The post-surgery diets are quite similar. It has been fine.

This was a big deal to me before and right after my surgery but now it's not such a big deal. In fact, my father doesn't even really know that I had surgery. (My mother does, and what kind.) But I saw them over Thanksgiving. He looked at my plate and commented that I should put salad on it, and I started with the words, "I'm recovering from an abdomi…." and he said, "Stop! I don't want to hear any details." And that was that.

Now it's starting to look like I've lost weight, and so I'm hearing about that…but strangely enough no one really seems to care much or want to know how. I am still maintaining the belief that knowledge about how I chose to do this is on a need-to-know basis only. My trainers at the gym? Need to know. The 60 volunteers I work with? Not so much.

I kept my surgery 99.9% private. I only told my husband. The rest of the world thinks I had a hiatial hernia repaired (it is also the truth because I have one lol). Recovery is similar. Since I started this journey 5 months ago I told people I was seeing a nutritionist and following a high protein diet (all true) so that when I start to lose weight there will be no question.

I have 4 other techs in my office and I have only told my friend whom I work with. Everyone else thinks I had a hernia repair and that I am just trying to change the way I live. I don't think they need to know any more than that. Especially if you aren't very close with your co-workers. You should defiantly tell them you are going on vacation if they don't already know.

lol you must work with the same messy ass women I do!!! lol

I made the choice to only tell a few close family members and a couple of friends. I am in no way ashamed of having the surgery, but this was a choice I made for myself. Over the years that I was researching the options of weight loss surgery I heard a lot of negative comments from friends telling me to not take the easy way out and that I can do it myself I just need to try harder. Let me just say having the surgery in defiantly not the easy way out. It's just a great tool in my tool box that has helped me achieve my weight loss goals.

Good luck on your journey and I wish you a speedy recovery.