Every time I tell someone about getting the surgery, they give me this look and say, are you sure you want to do this? And proceed to give me reasons why I shouldn't get it. I mean I'm not telling everybody because I learned that lesson when I told my best friend but I had to see a doctor and get a physical today and even she gave me the look and questioned me! It just gets old! I've thought about this for years and this is the best decision for me. Why do people feel the need to try to change my mind?

I've been very selective about who I've shared my plans with. Told my boss and the HR person who is also a friend. I told most of my direct reports and a couple of friends. I figure with time off work and fairly rapid weight loss it will be obvious something is up, and I'd rather they have the truth than wild rumors. It helps that another person where I work had very successful VSG surgery a couple of years ago and people can see the results.

As for family, I told my mom and my sister who were both very positive. Although to be fair my sister works at the bariatric center so she better be supportive! :-)

I also set up a consultation and spoke at length with my PCP about my plans. We walked through my history, the recent and long term studies and results, and in the end he was very supportive of my decision as well.

I've found that most people know nothing about bariatric surgery, and in particular about VSG. If I spend a couple of minutes educating them they realize it makes perfect sense to pursue it and generally are supportive.

Edited August 31, 201511 yr by shriner37