krasher

Second Time Around
I’m new to this forum.  I had a Lapband for one year which worked nicely. I lost 62 pounds. Then I started having trouble eating some of the time.  Over the next year I lost about 5 pounds.  Suddenly there was intense abdominal pain that sent me to the ER.  After multiple tests they removed all the fluid (a great relief) and scheduled the removal of the band for two weeks in the future.  All went well. That was May 2014.
I was hoping that with the training I had with the lapband I could maintain my weight.  Delusional!  I gained back about 30 pounds in 6 months.  I saw the writing on the wall of soon exceeding my highest weight. Decided to have the gastric sleeve. The insurance monster entered. I was scheduled for surgery, the approval was delayed.  This happened twice.  Then my employer changed administrators from Aetna to Anthem so I had to wait until the first of the year causing another delay. The one good thing this accomplished was that I made peace with not being able to have the surgery. I set a date 3 weeks in the future and Anthem was great about giving the approval.  I had the sleeve done on January 28, 2015
One of the interesting aspects of this is that the first MD said I was too old at 72 to have anything except a lapband.  Yet when I returned at age 75, to another doctor in the same practice, I was ok to have a bypass which is all Medicare will pay for or since I am using private insurance, could have the sleeve.
My surgery went well.  There was basically no pain from that.  Sleeping on the hospital bed was a definite cause of agony. 
My medical needs for the sleeve are numerous.  Many years ago I was sitting on a bench when a car doing 50+ MPH hit me from behind.  My walking ability is minimal, at best.  I use a scooter the majority of the time. The only exercise I can do is water aerobics which has been a lifesaver.  That has been gone for a few months now since I tore my rotator cuff at work. Now that the sleeve is in I can start aerobics next week. My shoulder has calmed down and can do the aerobics as long as I don’t go idiotic.
When I had the lapband I did not divulge to my co-workers because I didn’t want to be the topic of the gossip mill.  This time I will need to divulge because I took just 2 weeks off as PTO. I picked up some type of diarrhea that is horrible.  The doctor extended my time off to 6 weeks and put me on disability.  When I go back to work I know there will multiple questions. I’m in a quandary as to how to answer them. Even at my age I guess I am still not wanting judgment from others. For the rest of my life situations I am very open.  I guess there is still shame surrounding this disease and me. How have the rest of you handled this?