My plan was to have the surgery on Friday and be back to work by Tuesday. Plans have changed and I'm thinking I will be out for the rest of the week. The only person that knows the real reason why I was out is my manager. I told her to please do not tell anyone, even her director, which happens to be the HR Director. She told him I was having a procedure done on the off chance something went wrong and needed to go on short term disability. I guess for HR purposes.

Well, since I didn't return Tuesday and think I might be out until next Monday I'm afriad this will may cause a lot of questions. I'm wondering if I should just let people know I have been sick. A real nasty bug that knocked me out for a week. Do you think that will work? I'm just not ready to tell people, besides family and a close knit group of friends.

What has everyone done when it comes to co-workers, especially when the weight starts coming off?

Personally I don't believe in lying like that, but it's up to you of course. If I didn't want to tell anyone about the band, I'd just tell a "little" of the truth....that I had elective (or abdominal) surgery but am now on the mend. That can also explain your post op diet, if that is necessary (if you lunch at work etc)

Hello Minnah:

You legally do not need to tell anyone at work the details of your medical issues. You are protected under HIPPA and you do have the right to take FMLA. Of course your co-workers are going to know your gone, but they don't legally get to know why. Your HR department should be aware of that. (There are some requirements to qualify for FMLA, talk to your HR department or do a Google search).

I did not tell my co-workers. I went on vacation for two weeks and had the surgery. I had my bariatric doctor complete my FMLA form, so I could take time off work to go to my monthly doctor appointments. I requested that my doctor not use her stationary or any identifying stamps that stated bariatric on it. It is my right to protect my medical information.

My weight loss has been slow and gradual, which is why I chose this procedure. People are now commenting on how great I look. No one has asked what am I doing to lose the weight.

I thank them for the comments and tell them the truth. I work my butt off. I am now jogging on my treadmill for 60 minutes on an incline at least five times a week. I count calories, get plenty of rest, cut back on my portions and stopped the snacking.

I have had many surgeries and I have never felt compelled to discuss those procedures with my employer and co-workers. Personally, I believe keeping my personal matters and job matters separate. When I go to work, I don't talk about my personal life and when I go home I don't talk about my work life.

Anyway, just my thoughts on the matter.

Best of luck to you!

i only told my boss. she's pretty supportive of doing anything to get healthy, and i thought it important to tell her in case i needed more than a week to recover.

I told my boss, who was the owner and the only person who really needed to know, lol. Because I was out for a week. The rest of my coworkers, I just told them I was going out of town and wouldn't be in, I said I was taking vacation time. Which was somewhat true. I tried to keep it vague so they wouldnt' ask too many questions, lol. Do whatever feels right for you.

I did the same thing as you. I only told my supervisor, who is very trustworthy. I am a female and told anybody questioning me that I had a female surgery that was personal. I said" It was female stuff. It's personal." That shut everyone up! It's all true. I'm a female, I had surgery, and it was personal

i go to beauty school 40 hours which is a full time job. i decided to be straight forward with them and tell them exactly what was going on with me. i didn't want people to speculate and start rumors since a lot of them are high school age. lol i was plesantly surprised that they were all very supportive of me.

I would not tell them. I only told my boss and my boyfriend who works with me. No one is a mind reader so they wont know. Just tell them that you are sick. I am telling people that I am just taking a few days off. As far as the weight loss goes I have been telling people that I kicking my butt back into weight loss gear in February. I am eating what I want until then - and then I am getting serious about it.

I told everyone I work with. I have been very open and honest about everything. I am the only female and I work with guys who are all between the ages of 18 and 23. One of my bosses is the same age as I am and thats it. I felt I needed the extra support and everyone has been super awesome. They even all sent me a bouqet of flowers the day after my surgery.

I guess it is a personal decision and you have to make it for yourself. =)

Well, I just starting seriously considering the LB almost 2 weeks ago. I spoke to my hubby about and told him that if I go through with it, I don't really want people to know what I did. I will tell close family members, but I don't feel that it is anyone else's business. As for work, I don't think I will tell anyone. I will certainly accept everyone's compliments as the weight comes off, but I really don't want people to keep asking me "how much did you lose this week" and asking me how the band is doing.

I told the coworkers in my office because there was simply no keeping it from them, but not anyone I work with at any other locations.

I didn't tell any of my co-workers, or any of my extended family. I just took a week vacation. Some asked how my vacation went and if I did anything etc. The weather here was awful the week of my vacation so I just said with the weather, I stayed home and caught up on a few things. No one really questioned me about it. It's a personal decision. Do whatever you feel comfortable with.

I am a teacher and I told all of my coworkers about it. I have been very open about the situation and I have gotten a TON of support. My school even sent me flowers the day after surgery! My principal had gastric bypass 4 years ago and has been open with her journey as well, so it really paved the way for me to do it as well. I am always a pretty open person though and it really is a personal decision on who to tell and who not to. There is no right or wrong way to do it. It's just what you feel comfortable with.

I told my co-workers, mainly because I discuss most everything. I took three weeks off for my surgery and several of my co-workers filled in for me. I am the second person in my office to have a lap-band. The other co-worker had hers about 2 1/2 years ago and being able to discuss all this with her has been a godsend.

My co-workers have all been very supportive. One of them even came over the day I got out of the hospital and brought my hsuband and son dinner. You know your co-workers best and will know what to tell them when the time comes. I personally had no problem admitting to anyone that I needed help getting back on the road to a healthy lifestyle.

Good luck with your surgery and journey.

Thanks for sharing your experience! The team I work with is fairly new and I'm not close enough to share with them yet. I did tell my supervisor, but I've know her for over 5 years now. I plan on not saying anything, but if anyone asks I think I will go the route of I had surgery and I was on the mends and it's personal.

I didn't tell anyone at work. I am a fairly private person and didn't want people at work talking about something so personal to me. I also didn't want everyone to be watching what I'm eating all of the time and commenting about it to me or to others.

In retrospect, I am VERY GLAD that I didn't say anything -- the weight loss is slow (though steady!), and I wouldn't have wanted anyone to say things like "I can't believe you did that surgery and aren't losing weight!" while I was in Bandster Hell.

I let a few people know that I'd be out for surgery and, when I told them, I started by saying that I was keeping it on the DL because I didn't want people to ask me questions about it. That definitely stopped any questions (in what I think was a nice way), though I think people may have thought I was having OBGYN issues!!

Unfortunately, the one thing I hadn't realized is that my Blackberry would work in Mexico while I was there for the surgery -- and that (since my firm pays my bill) the people who deal with the phone bills would know where I was because of the LD and roaming charges. Given how much people talk around here, it may well have gotten around that I was in Mexico while I was out for surgery.

I didn't hear anything about it though. I'm a lawyer, so the people in my firm know they can't ask me about medical issues. They were a little pushy about wanting me to sign an FMLA form. However, since I was only out for 5 days (plus, I was using vacation time), I was able to refuse.

Also, after I got back (and had been in the office for most of a week), they wanted some kind of doctor's note saying it was OK for me to return to work. I was able to get around that, thankfully, since giving them my doctor's name would have basically told them exactly what I had done.