Final story to tell boss..............does it sound feasible!?!?

[Meggie]

...........please help me as I've decided I'm going to tell my boss I have gallstones and I'm possibly going to have my gallbladder out. What tests did you have to go through and how many appointments did you have before having your gall bladder out? I'm guessing she won't have that many questions to ask about it all but I want to be prepared for questions just incase!!! Also, what kind of symptoms did you have before your op???

Thanks

 

[phatmomma]

I had mine out about 9 years ago and all i had was an ultrasound scan before i was diagnosed with them.

Symptoms? Pain worse than giving birth to an 11 1/2lb baby (i kid you not), vomiting, back pain like i've never had before. Felt like my stomach wall and rib cage had collapsed and someone had given me a good kicking. Couldn't lift my baby or anything else, couldn't eat or drink.

Removed via keyhole surgery with an overnight proceedure xx

 

[Meggie]

What about the start of gallstones? Sounds like a stupid question I know!! I have had a lot of back pain and shoulder pain recently so can use that as an excuse! But I haven't had time off work because of it. I don't want to be caught out lying but don't want to tell her the truth about my bypass either!!!

 

[quetiapina]

Hi Meggie, I will be happy to help you create an acceptable lie.

The pain of Gallstones starts bad. It is intermittent and for a while you may have no clue as to what it is. It radiates under the right hand set of ribs and goes through the stomach, into your back and is a crushing pulling wretched pain that as has already been said is worse than child birth. Yr poo may become very pale and stinkier than a normal one.

The pain gets worse when the gall-bladder gets infected. If you try to imagine your Gallbladder, which is a small reservoir for Bile trying to push stones out through a tiny tube so it can get the bile out ready for digestion purposes, the healthy tissue is soon going to become infected with scraping, pushing etc. NOTE: It is highly unlikely that you would have yr gallbladder out when it is infected as it would fall to bits like an old tissue ( or so my specialist told me). Sadly the pain when infected is unimaginable and indescribable, it would be great to have it out then. You will be given anti-biotics. I was teaching at the time and rarely had time off but when I did I had to have pethidine (which was very nice).

Gallstones are diagnosed through ultra-sound scan or, if they are very small, through MRI scan or one of those things with a little camera on the end. You can see a picture of my Gallstones in my album.

Once the op date is set (ie your by-pass) you can expand the amount of time you need off by having complications with the amount of bile in your blood, pancreas swollen, liver problem, gallstone fell out and went into bile duct etc.

I actually had about a month off because I had complications with the anaesthetic.

After Gallstone op you will expect to have a number of scars - my main one is just below my port scar, mine is quite large as my gallstones were huge. I kept them in a jar.

Hope this helps
Jen x

 

[phatmomma]

Antibiotics? Flipping heck the only pain relief i ever got never did buggar all for me lol... Good luck with the story xx

 

[swizzlestick]

Heya Meggie

Can you not say your having laproscopic surgery and leave it at that? I am supposed to have my gall bladder out at some stage, although oddly enough, it hasnt been bothering me recently. I know tendersage also had to have hers out recently as it flared since the wls. As long as you are certain you do not have gall stones and there isnt a chance you may need to have it removed in the near future. The only problem with that is that if you need a cert from your gp at any time in relation to the wls, they can be non specific about why ie bariatric or laprscopic but they wont lie and say you had something done that you havent.

Good luck with what you decide Xx

 

[Meggie]

Ok, final story............ulcer, possible diabetes and heart palpitations....................other tests could have happened cos an ulcer can be a symptom of a more serious issue! Plus, like that I may need an op with shortish notice. Does that all sound feasible??? Please be honest if you think it doesn't sound genuine!!!!

I decided against the gall bladder option as I'm never in that much pain and they know that.

Swizzlestick...........I'm hoping I won't have to elaborate but my boss is nosey and will think that by not telling I'm lying. I need something prepped as I'm easily caught out otherwise!!! I will say as little as is humanly possible!!!

Thanks

 

[swizzlestick]

Blimey Meggie

this is a difficult one, I thankfully didnt have this problem, not sure what I would have done to be honest. Try and keep it as simple as possible and as near to the truth as you feel you can. And yes I agree, say as little as humanly possible lol. How long are you intending to have off work? Im not sure what kind of work environment you work in and how they operate but it might also be a good idea if you check the terms of your cntract regarding sickness etc.

Xx

 

[Sambucca]

Hi Meggie,

This is a difficult one and something that comes up time and time again on here. I too was unsure about telling my employers as I was relatively new to my job when I got my op date.

Thankfully my bosses were supportive and I'm glad now that I was honest as the rapid weight loss is impossible to hide.

Having said all that, I totally respect your right to privacy and if you dont want to tell people, then you dont have to. End of.

I would be inclined to say bowel surgery as that will stop the questions. No one wants to talk about bowels. And if they do ask you, you can say you have digestion problems and thats why you find it difficult to lose weight.

Its too risky IMO saying it is your gallbladder, as you may end up needing that out in the future as a result of the rapid weight loss.

As for the Ulcer, diabetes, heart problems..... I hope you dont mind me saying this hun, but be careful what you wish for.

I hope you find the right solution for you hun. All the best xx

 

[phatmomma]

Hi Meggie,

This is a difficult one and something that comes up time and time again on here. I too was unsure about telling my employers as I was relatively new to my job when I got my op date.

Thankfully my bosses were supportive and I'm glad now that I was honest as the rapid weight loss is impossible to hide.

Having said all that, I totally respect your right to privacy and if you dont want to tell people, then you dont have to. End of.

I would be inclined to say bowel surgery as that will stop the questions. No one wants to talk about bowels. And if they do ask you, you can say you have digestion problems and thats why you find it difficult to lose weight.

Its too risky IMO saying it is your gallbladder, as you may end up needing that out in the future as a result of the rapid weight loss.

As for the Ulcer, diabetes, heart problems..... I hope you dont mind me saying this hun, but be careful what you wish for.

I hope you find the right solution for you hun. All the best xx

I personally would go with Sam too. Abdominal surgery and bowels all in the same sentence is enough to stop 95% of the nation being inquisitive. You don't need to be specific when questioned, a vague answer should suffice if they have a sicknote in front of them with a diagnosis on anyway.

Most of us know when you tell one small lie it escalates and grows and more are told. You need to have a fantastic memory to be a good liar, if not it could come back and bite you on the backside.

Good luck xx

 

[stripeytop]

I was planning on a fairly vague ' upset tummy'. (As I work in the food industry this is taken quite seriously.) Also I won't have to go into too much detail. I don't want to lie but like you, Meggie, I don't want to have to tell everyone.
My only worry is that I will need a certificate of fitness for work from the doctor before I can go back.
Having said that I'm planning on a band so I'm hoping that my time off will be minimal.

 

[sukay]

hi. I`ve just had bypass and am concerned about this too. My sicknote from the surgeon says `abdominal surgery` and that`s prob what i am going to stick to. I do have IBS and have had time off for that many times. So i plan on not going into detail . However part of the bypass is bowel surgery anyway. Very complicated. Ut i cannot start a definite lie cos i am useless at it. And it will proably snowball knowing my luck . Good luck with everything and remember that although your boss might be nosey you have a right to your privacy

 

[swizzlestick]

Great Idea Sam, momma and sukay....bowel/abdom surgery is what I would plumb for (excuse the pun)...at least that way any certificates you may need will match your story and people often shy away from asking too many questions about!

Let us know what you decide Meggie Xx

 

[jan23uk]

Hi, i had my gall bladder out about 10 weeks before my band was fitted. No tests to speak of just a scan to confirm stones, iregular pain lasting about 8 hours and it took me to my bed. I had about 3 lots of this awful pain and ache before i went to docs. And my boss knows!! All bosses are different fortunately mine was very understanding.

Tale care
Janx

 

[Caroline101061]

Meggie

If I were you, I would be totally straight with them and tell them the truth. Whilst you should be back at work fairly swiftly, there is a chance you just might not and you will need time off for follow up appointments and you will be losing weight at a rate of knots. I think that honesty is the best policy. If you lie, you might trip yourself up and then how would it look. Weight Loss Surgery is all the rage now and people are fascinated by it. Also, if you are anything like me, once you start losing weight, you will want to tell the world!

 

[slimmersal]

Hi
ive just had a band fitted and also had a hiatus hernia repair, my doctor gave me a sick note that said gastric surgery.

as it happened they did know about the band at work but the hernia the surgeon decided last minute to do. I took 2 weeks off work and have just gone back to work this week.

you could say your having gastric surgery that covers all sorts of things

sallie

 

[phatmomma]

Meggie

If I were you, I would be totally straight with them and tell them the truth. Whilst you should be back at work fairly swiftly, there is a chance you just might not and you will need time off for follow up appointments and you will be losing weight at a rate of knots. I think that honesty is the best policy. If you lie, you might trip yourself up and then how would it look. Weight Loss Surgery is all the rage now and people are fascinated by it. Also, if you are anything like me, once you start losing weight, you will want to tell the world!

Well said, i have told my boss and a few people but i also am letting them know it is very private to me and I AM ONLY TELLING CERTAIN PEOPLE this information.......

Your employer has to keep your confidentiality! If you want to justify your wls you could say you were in danger of getting diabetes and other co morbidities as you cannot shift the weight on your own (like the rest of us) xx

 

[quetiapina]

Yes, Bowel surgery. That's a good idea - also if they had to remove some of your bowel, it would explain weight loss x

 

[quetiapina]

Antibiotics? Flipping heck the only pain relief i ever got never did buggar all for me lol... Good luck with the story xx

Pethedine was a wonderful pain killer, I still had some pain but I didn't care - too spaced! x

 

[phatmomma]

Pethedine was a wonderful pain killer, I still had some pain but I didn't care - too spaced! x

I found the best cure to be pregnancy, your hormones stop the attacks... Unfortunately you still get the pain but you wait 9 months and get something nice to keep after xx