Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

How many people have you shared your lap-band experience with?  

3 members have voted

  1. 1. How many people have you shared your lap-band experience with?

    • No one or Only my significant other
      197
    • Limited number of people, closest friend/family members
      671
    • Most of my Family & Friends know
      173
    • Everyone & Their neighbor's Dog know
      165


Recommended Posts

so far, only told my spouse and sister, will tell our son & daughter, mainly b/c we need someone to watch the dog when I go to hospital. I may tell others as I go ( and success shows), but I don't want to tell people at work yet. I don't want the constant questions of how it's going, what am I eating, how much did I loose this week etc...I know there will be enough people with negative comments or people who expect I should immediately loose a lot of weight, it doesn't seem worth it to bother talking about yet.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I told whoever asked or whatever. I just didn't want it to be all taboo or feel like I was doing something wrong. I made sure everyone knew how hard I was working and how its not the "easy way".

Now I have a huge support base and everyone is helping me!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I tell everyone if it comes up for any reason. I see no reason not to and it does not come up frequently just because people know. The only people who ask how it's going are my immediate family members and my closest friends from time to time. I'm not ashamed of it and have no reason to keep it secret that I can think of. I have even told people who are practically strangers!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've only told my best friend at work, brothers, one of whom lives with me, my mom, who is coming from California to help me... and I think that is it. So the only people who know is anyone they told. And my medical providers. And I never go to California (due to my weight and planes. I mean I can go, I just do not want to be so uncomfortable in a tight seat) so I do not care what anyone says out there. my friend at work is tight with me so he won't say anything to anyone.

By the time I get to California again though, everyone will wonder where the weight went, but we will have so much fun no one will bother with it much!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I told my Sister too, OF COURSE! :thumbup:

The only person I told was my sister. She know exactly what procedure I had done. I was not planning to tell anyone, but the hospital insisted that I provide an emergency contact person, so that got me to thinking...what if something happens? What if I don't wake up from the surgery.

So I did the grown up thing and told my sister where to find my life insurance policies and how best to help my adult kids get through the worse should the worse happen.

My brother was the one who actually dropped me off at the hospital and picked me up from the hospital, but he does not know what type of procedure I had done. :confused:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't volunteer the information but if someone asks how I lost so much weight I tell them. Usually I get a "wow that's great" or "oh I know someone who is considering having the lapband, how was the recovery..."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So far two friends and hubby. I can't bring myself to tell anyone else. I'm just a really private person.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I told everyone. I think of this surgery as a blessing. When I was having surgery they found something else. This probably would not have been found if I was not being banded. I had another surgery and now I am on the mend and feeling great. I now have a friend that is thinking about getting banded.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh Boy do i regret telling people i got the band. Every friend and family member i have told has told EVERYONE they know. so now anytime i see anyone that knows me or of me give me a once over. I hate the pressure i feel to be losing large amounts of weight. people call me and the first thing they say is HOW MUCH HAVE U LOST; ARE YOU SKINNY YET....uggghhhh I am the posterchild for lapbanding now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Now that it has been some time since my surgery... I told everyone and their brother what I did....I now just say, when asked if I have lost weight.... Yes I did and it is a daily struggle to continue...... that is all they need to know at this point. To some closer friends I say medical intervention is a great thing!!! and they just laugh as I do too.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh Boy do i regret telling people i got the band. Every friend and family member i have told has told EVERYONE they know. so now anytime i see anyone that knows me or of me give me a once over. I hate the pressure i feel to be losing large amounts of weight. people call me and the first thing they say is HOW MUCH HAVE U LOST; ARE YOU SKINNY YET....uggghhhh I am the posterchild for lapbanding now.

And so the name............"I walk the line"!! Very appropriate. I told lots of people too. I just say "Yes, I'm losing, slowly, but surely like I'm supposed to be doing. I still have to work at it. It doesn't just fall off." Best wishes!! Don't feel pressured. You will do great anyway and everyone will be saying "wow" in a short time!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've only told my family and a few close friends. I've decided NOT to tell my colleagues at work..... I just feel that it's a personal decision and not really a "water cooler" topic - if you know what I mean.

Let them all notice in a few months that I'm losing weight and wonder..... ha ha

:thumbup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i really regret telling all the people that i told.

if i could do it over the only person that would know is my husband and best friend of 30 years. that's it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Those who aren't telling, what do you do after surgery when you go back to work? I eat lunch with my coworkers every day (one of the reasons I've gotten so much fatter in the last year, because it's hard to say no to them!). How do you cope when you're on liquids/mushy food etc if you're not telling people? Can't really say you're on a liquid diet...?

It is not so bad. Just tell them you are on a special diet to kickstart weight loss. Considering that I was obese at the time, no one thought it was unusual that I would be on a special diet.

I would also still go out with friends after but very occasionally and order Soup or something very light. Once I was on solids, a salad is good in that you can pick off the Protein and scoot it around your plate quite a bit.

All in all, there was only a single occasion in all that time where someone said something. A friend said, "Heather, you have been eating that salad for almost an hour and it doesn't look any smaller" . . . I just said I was feeling a little under the weather and that was sufficient.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Trending Products

  • Trending Topics

  • Recent Status Updates

    • KeeWee

      It's been 10 long years! Here is my VSG weight loss surgiversary update..
      https://www.ae1bmerchme.com/post/10-year-surgiversary-update-for-2024 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
  • Recent Topics

  • Hot Products

  • Sign Up For
    Our Newsletter

    Follow us for the latest news
    and special product offers!
  • Together, we have lost...
      lbs

    PatchAid Vitamin Patches

    ×