Hi friends!

As I sit here on my second week off to recover (RNY was last Tuesday, exactly a week ago!), focusing on my fluids and protein intake, I can't help but dread going back to work. And it's not because I'm physically ill still or anything. I wouldn't mind going back to some other activity, just don't want to go back to this one. I've been meh about my career for years but ya know...pays the bills, has the insurance that pays for the RNY, etcetc.

So...just curious. Do we have any dramatic tales of rejuvenating one's life after surgery, saying "screw it" and marching in a new direction?

Just now, linlew said:

Hi friends!

As I sit here on my second week off to recover (RNY was last Tuesday, exactly a week ago!), focusing on my fluids and Protein intake, I can't help but dread going back to work. And it's not because I'm physically ill still or anything. I wouldn't mind going back to some other activity, just don't want to go back to this one. I've been meh about my career for years but ya know...pays the bills, has the insurance that pays for the RNY, etcetc.

So...just curious. Do we have any dramatic tales of rejuvenating one's life after surgery, saying "screw it" and marching in a new direction?

This surgery can drastically change your life. I took 2 months off from work (for both my WLS's) coming back here has been so totally different after dropping so much weight than it did before hand. Folks I interacted with when I was heavy, are treating me differently now, they don't even realize they are doing it because some of them don't realize I'm the same person they interacted with previously. Those that do recognize me are really nice about it, and even they treat me differently than before. It's been a very interesting "experiment" in the social realities of overweight people. I legit would get ignored by some some of the resident and nursing staff, now they acknowledge me in some way, the female staff say hi and smile or smile and do the hair brush over the ear thing. Some of the male residents posture now, puffing up and whatnot, I love watching the subconscious actions we have play out.

It's sad, but overweight people get an unfair (sometimes unconsciously, sometimes not) break when it comes to employment. However, once that weight comes off, if you wanted to do so, you'd be able to get into something new with much more ease than before hand.

5 minutes ago, Matt Z said:

This surgery can drastically change your life. I took 2 months off from work (for both my WLS's) coming back here has been so totally different after dropping so much weight than it did before hand. Folks I interacted with when I was heavy, are treating me differently now, they don't even realize they are doing it because some of them don't realize I'm the same person they interacted with previously. Those that do recognize me are really nice about it, and even they treat me differently than before. It's been a very interesting "experiment" in the social realities of overweight people. I legit would get ignored by some some of the resident and nursing staff, now they acknowledge me in some way, the female staff say hi and smile or smile and do the hair brush over the ear thing. Some of the male residents posture now, puffing up and whatnot, I love watching the subconscious actions we have play out.

It's sad, but overweight people get an unfair (sometimes unconsciously, sometimes not) break when it comes to employment. However, once that weight comes off, if you wanted to do so, you'd be able to get into something new with much more ease than before hand.

Thanks for the reply, Matt!

So, here's where things get a little complicated. I've always been more confident and comfortable than most obese folks, I think, and as a result I don't think my obesity has held me back in many ways. I'm in sales, so it's more of a "you get back what you put in" type gig. Again, I'm good at it but pretty unenthused by it. At my current gig, I also work remotely (which is nice for continued recovery!), so I don't have to worry about different reactions from my coworkers, spare my two cats being like "don't care...where's my food?" as I walk by.

I've definitely heard to brace myself for the unsavory reality that the entire world will start treating me as more of a human though, so I've already been in talks with my therapist about that. You bring up a good point though...even though I don't feel held back in my current career path, I wonder if a new one might reveal itself to me once I'm in my new Phoenix-y form!

Following this thread!

Nothing to add...

Following too. Also nothing to contribute. But that's how I roll...

3 hours ago, Matt Z said:

This surgery can drastically change your life. I took 2 months off from work (for both my WLS's) coming back here has been so totally different after dropping so much weight than it did before hand. Folks I interacted with when I was heavy, are treating me differently now, they don't even realize they are doing it because some of them don't realize I'm the same person they interacted with previously. Those that do recognize me are really nice about it, and even they treat me differently than before. It's been a very interesting "experiment" in the social realities of overweight people. I legit would get ignored by some some of the resident and nursing staff, now they acknowledge me in some way, the female staff say hi and smile or smile and do the hair brush over the ear thing. Some of the male residents posture now, puffing up and whatnot, I love watching the subconscious actions we have play out.

It's sad, but overweight people get an unfair (sometimes unconsciously, sometimes not) break when it comes to employment. However, once that weight comes off, if you wanted to do so, you'd be able to get into something new with much more ease than before hand.

It is true. I have noticed that people I interact with at work and socially are more inclusive with me now and talk more often. @Matt Z you are right that women and men do notice and act differently than pre surgery. I also wonder how much we changed as well not only in attitude, I for one dress up a bit more than I used to as well as changed my hairstyle from short spikey never combed to a nice style with a fade.

18 hours ago, linlew said:

Hi friends!

As I sit here on my second week off to recover (RNY was last Tuesday, exactly a week ago!), focusing on my fluids and Protein intake, I can't help but dread going back to work. And it's not because I'm physically ill still or anything. I wouldn't mind going back to some other activity, just don't want to go back to this one. I've been meh about my career for years but ya know...pays the bills, has the insurance that pays for the RNY, etcetc.

So...just curious. Do we have any dramatic tales of rejuvenating one's life after surgery, saying "screw it" and marching in a new direction?

Yes, I have experienced this twice. I seem to go through big changes in my life when I go through big physical changes. I previously had a lap band that took 6 years for me to start losing weight with. Once I did, my marriage fell apart. My marriage that I thought was super strong, to my high school sweetheart. Once my weight got down and I was maintaining it, I upgraded my job. I have always been in sales based interior design but now I was seeking and getting multiple job offers for a lot higher paying jobs with better benefits. I even got a promotion to manage my own design firm within 3 months of working for the company. Next was my tummy tuck and through that process I decided that I was tired of working for others and missing out on things in my kids lives. So I decided to open up my own business and work from home by the time I was done with my FMLA leave. My band failed & had to be removed and I gained back most of my weight. I just had the sleeve and although I don’t want to change my job bc the lifestyle it affords me is too good to pass up, I just don’t have a ton of interest in it right now. I am consumed by all things bariatric surgery.

I’m not sure that helps you but short answer, yes.

2 hours ago, JessaK said:

Yes, I have experienced this twice. I seem to go through big changes in my life when I go through big physical changes. I previously had a lap band that took 6 years for me to start losing weight with. Once I did, my marriage fell apart. My marriage that I thought was super strong, to my high school sweetheart. Once my weight got down and I was maintaining it, I upgraded my job. I have always been in sales based interior design but now I was seeking and getting multiple job offers for a lot higher paying jobs with better benefits. I even got a promotion to manage my own design firm within 3 months of working for the company. Next was my Tummy Tuck and through that process I decided that I was tired of working for others and missing out on things in my kids lives. So I decided to open up my own business and work from home by the time I was done with my FMLA leave. My band failed & had to be removed and I gained back most of my weight. I just had the sleeve and although I don’t want to change my job bc the lifestyle it affords me is too good to pass up, I just don’t have a ton of interest in it right now. I am consumed by all things bariatric surgery.

I’m not sure that helps you but short answer, yes.

Glad to hear you've had some positive changes, Jessa! And I hear you. It's seriously hard to imagine focusing too much on anything other than recovery and success with post-op stuff right now. I don't even know how I'm filling my days now, but it's all surgery-related for the most part (researching recipes, tracking liquids, etcetc). Best of luck with your sleeve!

2 hours ago, linlew said:

Glad to hear you've had some positive changes, Jessa! And I hear you. It's seriously hard to imagine focusing too much on anything other than recovery and success with post-op stuff right now. I don't even know how I'm filling my days now, but it's all surgery-related for the most part (researching recipes, tracking liquids, etcetc). Best of luck with your sleeve!

Tons of positive changes! I guess when I’m going through changes, I just change everything!

Yeah, trying to explain my days right now is hard! You too, dear!

The way I’m utilized at work has changed. There’s a lot more putting me in front of clients, bringing me to pitches, asking me to attend events. It’s interesting; I’m certainly aware that my increased attractiveness (for lack of a better term) has increased my sales value. I’ve been useful in that role before, but now I’m getting pulled into fringe efforts as well as the ones I’m directly involved in, and I think that’s a bit of window dressing

And the people around you change a bit too. Last time I lost a lot of weight I was horrified because a lot of people treated me a lot better, and it was so obviously due to my weight loss. It felt like that was the main metric they used to value me and that made me hate EVERYONE. This one round has been different, mostly because I’m in a professional position where people around me already treat me well because of my status. So now their improved treatment comes off a lot more benign, since they already treat me pretty well and even if I gained everything back overnight, they’d still treat me well because the professional status won’t change.