Today I added some new “weight loss surgery pride” items to the Bariatric Brat store, mostly because of a patient encounter last week. Creating the new items was extremely cathartic.
The patient asked, “Is there any way that you could write on my FMLA paperwork that I had something other than weight loss surgery?”
“That isn’t possible. Your employer’s paperwork requires diagnosis codes and procedure codes,” I said. “Our return to work forms and scrip pads also have [the name of our bariatric practice] on them. Why do you ask?”
“I haven’t told anyone at work that I am having the gastric bypass. I am not so worried about Human Resources, but I want to keep it a secret,” he said. “I don’t want people talking about me and scrutinizing everything that I eat.”
“Have you thought about what you will say when people see you losing 20 - 30 pounds a month?”
He grinned. “I’ve already got that covered. I am going to tell them that I have been dieting and exercising, because it will be true!”
I took of my glasses. “It is always a very personal decision whether or not to tell your colleagues about your decision to have weight loss surgery. I know that I was so ashamed to admit that I needed surgical intervention to control my weight. Your co-workers will be talking about your rapid weight loss. They’ll talk about how little you are eating. What if you dump on something or don’t chew well enough and vomit? I’m afraid that they’ll probably start thinking that you have some horrible disease.”
I have been thinking about this man all weekend. He has been a model patient, doing everything that I have asked in a very timely manner. He is excited about weight loss surgery and more importantly, about his new life. In the waiting room, he is so animated and very knowledgeable about the gastric bypass. I see a lot of my pre-operative self in him. When I had my gastric bypass, I couldn’t shut up about it. My colleagues, with few exceptions, were very supportive. I was so thankful, because we spend the majority of our waking hours at work. I think that keeping such a huge lifestyle change such as weight loss surgery secret would be exhausting. But that kind of openness depends on the patient’s personality and how private they are.
To tell or not to tell? It is your decision. But just remember that people talk - just ask Star Jones.
