Letter to inform family & friends

[Lannie 135]

I am approved for surgery and have decided to tell immediate family and select friends. These forums were helpful as I considered if I should tell people and who to tell. Since many of my friends are overweight as well, I decided that that I owed it to them to be upfront about having surgery. Hope this helps as other consider how to tell.

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Hello Family & Friends,

I have decided to have a type of weight loss surgery called the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (or Gastric Sleeve). This is something I've been thinking about and looking into for nearly a year now.

This is not a quick fix, or the easy way out. The sleeve is a permanent tool to assist with making life-long changes. I've been morbidly obese for nearly 20 years and right now I am at my heaviest. I have tried countless diets and medically supervised plans but have had limited success in managing my weight. I have reached the point that that I am no longer willing to accept the physical limitations of my weight. When my insurance agreed to cover the procedure – I decided I needed to take advantage of this opportunity.

I have done a full investigation into this surgery and my surgeon, gone through all of the seminars, and have finished all the required testing. My surgery is scheduled for June 13^th. The hospital and my surgeon is a Bariatric Center of Excellence. If you would like to look further into this surgery and the program I chose, please visit http://denverbariatrics.com/

At this point, I am only telling a select group of family and friends. I do not want this to be a secret however I also do not feel the need to publicly broadcast personal medical information. Your discretion with further disclosure is appreciated.

I’m excited about this next step in my life and your support would mean the world to me.

[blizair09 3,250]

Good for you! I have been completely transparent with anyone and everyone about my entire journey, surgery and all. It has served me well...

[_Kate_ 2,224]

Perfect !

[JT2002TJ 170]

It might be helpful for them to know who you told, and who you didn't tell. This way, when they are around you and have questions, they will know if it is "safe" to discuss.

I was with a buddy who a VSG, and didn't realize that the other friends we were with didn't know.

[Newme17 3,444]

That's awesome!!! I love it.

[Ashley Griffin 0]

I like it! I'm also in the Denver area if you are looking for a local buddy.

Sent from my SM-G925T using BariatricPal mobile app

[MBird 298]

Well done!

[VSG_Man_Vs_Food 55]

My wife and I sent our families this article which helps explain why we are doing it...
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/well/why-weight-loss-surgery-works-when-diets-dont.html?referer=http://m.facebook.com


HW: 329 lb
SW: TBD
CW: 313 lb
VSG, Dr. Jawad, Orlando, FL

[rlsanch2005 7]

22 hours ago, Lannie said:

I am approved for surgery and have decided to tell immediate family and select friends. These forums were helpful as I considered if I should tell people and who to tell. Since many of my friends are overweight as well, I decided that that I owed it to them to be upfront about having surgery. Hope this helps as other consider how to tell.

-----------------------------------

Hello Family & Friends,

I have decided to have a type of weight loss surgery called the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (or Gastric Sleeve). This is something I've been thinking about and looking into for nearly a year now.

This is not a quick fix, or the easy way out. The sleeve is a permanent tool to assist with making life-long changes. I've been morbidly obese for nearly 20 years and right now I am at my heaviest. I have tried countless diets and medically supervised plans but have had limited success in managing my weight. I have reached the point that that I am no longer willing to accept the physical limitations of my weight. When my insurance agreed to cover the procedure – I decided I needed to take advantage of this opportunity.

I have done a full investigation into this surgery and my surgeon, gone through all of the seminars, and have finished all the required testing. My surgery is scheduled for June 13^th. The hospital and my surgeon is a Bariatric Center of Excellence. If you would like to look further into this surgery and the program I chose, please visit http://denverbariatrics.com/

At this point, I am only telling a select group of family and friends. I do not want this to be a secret however I also do not feel the need to publicly broadcast personal medical information. Your discretion with further disclosure is appreciated.

I’m excited about this next step in my life and your support would mean the world to me.

I too am having my surgery in Denver at Rose Medical. I am scheduled June 28th. The letter is a good idea. I hope you find your friends and family to be supportive. Best of luck.

[Lannie 135]

On 5/22/2017 at 9:46 AM, JT2002TJ said:

It might be helpful for them to know who you told, and who you didn't tell. This way, when they are around you and have questions, they will know if it is "safe" to discuss.

I was with a buddy who a VSG, and didn't realize that the other friends we were with didn't know.

That's a great point! I sent the letter as a group message so they could all see who was on it. I didn't consciously think about that...but will consider if I tell others.

So far the response has been overwhelming positive. I didn't realize how nervous I was to tell people until after I sent the message. As soon as I hit send...I had an overwhelming sense of peace.

[Meguone 72]

Oh wow, that is really good. I haven't told anyone yet except for one person who also had WLS done. I'm in Aurora Colorado. I had thought about going to Denver Bariatric, but the cost is making it so I'm waiting for Kaiser to give me the final ok

[LeaninLanc 83]

That is one perfectly composed letter! I told only my closest family and friends along with one co-worker who would be covering for me. I spent months thinking about how I'd tell people on the periphery. Closer to surgery I realized that it wasn't necessary to tell anyone else. I had visions of being on the receiving end of many questions. I'm 3.5 months out and almost 70# down from surgical weight and not one person has asked what I did to lose weight. I've received lots of "You're looking great" though. Your approach was well thought out!

[Lannie 135]

@rlsanch2005 - Good luck on your surgery. The staff at Rose were wonderful. All bariatric patients stay on the 6th floor in private rooms.