What to tell coworkers?

[BurBur 113]

Don't tell anyone at work if you can avoid it. Even close work friends have a tendency to forget to be quiet about it. I chose to tell my work friends, my boss, everyone at work and I'm sorry I did. There are a lot of very supportive people, but there are a few who are toxic. I hate it when I wake up in the middle of the night and instead of rolling over to go back to sleep, a nasty comment they made to me pops in my head! Last comment was: "Oh look at you! Getting so much smaller! You are going to have so much skin to remove!" I know this, I think on it enough without someone who cares little about me say it to my face. My feelings were Iron clad before surgery--now they are tender and easy to trample. If only I'd understood the mental changes better.

So, what to say when people ask how you're losing weight so fast. You tell them, "Everything, I'm doing everything." If you want to elaborate, say you're eating way less, eating way better, and moving a whole lot more. It's simple...and...it's the truth. Good luck!

[Buonnatale 22]

I gave 1000 different responses to nosey coworkers... anything from hernia repair to vaginal rejuvenation.... eventually they got the point lol

[rebchief 52]

Told my crew that I will be out on vacation. Of course it's up to whomever to guess what that vacation might entail......

[MissSimpson 81]

On 7/23/2018 at 12:09 PM, apositivelife4me said:

Why 2 weeks? I recovered in 3 days.

Lucky you! I needed more than two weeks.

[MissSimpson 81]

Just tell them you're having surgery, and that's its very personal to you. Social workers should understand that. I'm a teacher, and several others at my school been sleeved. I'm lucky that I could be open about it. After the surgery, I had to tell my students because I was getting used to eating again. I would have to run out of the room to throw up. They were extremely supportive for a group of 4th graders. They even helped me watch what I ate, and at lunch would make sure that what I had wouldn't make me sick.

[beingdina 64]

2 hours ago, chelsey211 said:

Since I talked to you this morning about FMLA, I looked into it and I also will not be eligible. My 1 year is not until February. How did you learn about the state medical leave? That is something I may need to check into.

I sent an email to HR directly and asked at what point would I be eligible for protected medical leave. They can't really talk about that with my supervisors so I felt comfortable about that. They told me I was eligible at my 6 month anniversary for the state medical leave (Oregon) and then told me at 1 year I would be eligible for FMLA. They seem incredibly similar and I double asked if this would be enough to protect my job if I needed to take 2 weeks off and they said yes. I would encourage you to send an email directly to whoever handles the medical leaves in the company you work for to ask. My 1 year is in February too, with my 6 month being 8/20 so I made sure my consults won't be until after that date too.

[Dubbs 37]

I would suggest keeping it private. I’ve found that saying I had a hernia repair usually stopped the conversation. When people ask how I’ve been losing weight I usually use the answer of eating less, working out and limiting carbs. Or if I’m in a smart ass mood I say I have a tapeworm😉

[Wendyfm 494]

I told every one. I work in a school and had it done over summer break.

[chelsey211 21]

Don't tell anyone at work if you can avoid it. Even close work friends have a tendency to forget to be quiet about it. I chose to tell my work friends, my boss, everyone at work and I'm sorry I did. There are a lot of very supportive people, but there are a few who are toxic. I hate it when I wake up in the middle of the night and instead of rolling over to go back to sleep, a nasty comment they made to me pops in my head! Last comment was: "Oh look at you! Getting so much smaller! You are going to have so much skin to remove!" I know this, I think on it enough without someone who cares little about me say it to my face. My feelings were Iron clad before surgery--now they are tender and easy to trample. If only I'd understood the mental changes better.
So, what to say when people ask how you're losing weight so fast. You tell them, "Everything, I'm doing everything." If you want to elaborate, say you're eating way less, eating way better, and moving a whole lot more. It's simple...and...it's the truth. Good luck!

I love this. I will definitely not be telling any coworkers the truth. Thank you!

[chelsey211 21]

Lucky you! I needed more than two weeks.

I'm really hoping 2 weeks is all I need!

[MissSimpson 81]

41 minutes ago, chelsey211 said:

2 hours ago, MissSimpson said:

Lucky you! I needed more than two weeks.

I'm really hoping 2 weeks is all I need!

I hope you need less than that to get to feeling better!

[chelsey211 21]

10 hours ago, MissSimpson said:

I hope you need less than that to get to feeling better!

Thank you!!

[AshMarie794 165]

I agree with that it is a personal choice. Just know if you tell one then I am sure most will eventually find out. For just the time off work you don't have to tell them anything. Just put in your time for personal reasons, vacation or what ever you want really.

Even if you don't tell people at first down the road when they see your progress you can then if you feel comfortable tell them that you had bariatric surgery. Don't need to give details or anything that may make you feel uncomfortable.

At the start of my journey I did not tell anyone. I had already gone through my 6 months once before and was originally scheduled for surgery in Feb of 2018 but two days before my insurance denied me. But right before I was due to go off work and I didn't know about my denial yet I did tell two of my coworkers. Kind of felt a off when I didn't have it and I told them I was but they didn't treat me any different. But again it all depends on the person. So now that I am due to have surgery next month they are supportive.

So in the end it is your choice and whatever you feel comfortable with. Just know once they know they may ask questions so be prepared for that whether it is a positive or negative response.

[NYJenn 1,464]

My advice; don’t tell coworkers. You tell a couple, soon everyone knows. So unless you are comfortable with everyone knowing. Just don’t

[Someday 42]

My surgery is in a week and I've told EVERYONE! Friends, family, coworkers, total strangers, and everyone is super excited for me. Luckily, I teach sex ed for a small nonprofit, so we're all pretty open about our bodies. I even have a coworker who had the same surgeon as me! The only unsupportive person I've come across is my neighbor who is even bigger than I am, and I think that's more due to jealousy than anything else.