Psych Evaluation...a Little Help Please!

[Flagstaffian 31]

Hey there boys & girls...

I have my psychological evaluation with Kaiser Richmond Bariatric Surgery Center tomorrow, and I'm kinda freakin out!

I don't have any idea of what they are going to ask... and I was supposed to lose 10 lbs in 4 weeks (since my last appt), but I've only lost 4#!! I did call them to let them know, and they said to come anyway but....I'm afraid they're going to be mean about it. Maybe this is just the same old self-loathing fatty guilt I've been dealing with my entire life... Am I crazy?

I have not been following the meal plan. It is very rigorous and...I'm not going to make excuses here. I just haven't been following it, but I HAVE increased my exercise and decreased my caloric intake, and therefore have lost 7 lbs so far in my journey. So, I'm feeling guilty and I am worried that since I have not lost 10 lbs in 4 weeks, they are going to assume I am not 'ready" for this...and deny me. Or that maybe I'm "incapable" of making changes or too psychologically "weak" to do this. I'm not weak though! I'm STRONG...but I just have no idea what they are going to ask or what I'm supposed to say? What do they want to hear?

I know this surgery isn't going to magically fix me or all the problems in our lives but- it should make a huge difference in how we feel, how we act, and maybe even how we are treated by society at large...and that might make all the difference in the world! PLEASE... your thoughts?

[fluffylibra30 323]

I can only speak for myself and what ive read from others but its a little info. They asked me about my support system, family, they make you fill out a questionare about depression, sucicide, your moods. Do you think you will be able to handle it after surgery, how are your relationships. Do you have an eating disorder. Just basic questions about your life. He did ask me if i was sure i was ready and if i would be able to handle the restrictions after. He told me in the 10 years he had been doing evals only 2 had not been approved. One was completely crazy and one had an eating disorder. After he treated the disorder they went on to have the surgery a year later.

Good luck, dont stress about this part too much! It will be done and over with in an hour!

[fluffylibra30 323]

also the diet for the first month after surgery is really tough!! And i would reccomend trying really hard to go by their diet, they might reschedule the surgery if you havent lost the weight they reccomended. Good Luck i know it is really hard! We all have been through it!

[Flagstaffian 31]

also the diet for the first month after surgery is really tough!! And i would reccomend trying really hard to go by their diet, they might reschedule the surgery if you havent lost the weight they reccomended. Good Luck i know it is really hard! We all have been through it!

Thank you so much for responding. I tried to search for other topics in the Forum that covered this, but my search yielded no results! One thing I worry about is like, Do I have an "eating disorder"? I'm 130 lbs overweight! I am an overeater, you know? It's like, I KNOW that "overeating" is not in the DSM-IV, but it might be in the future. So...anyway, thank you so much for responding. It's always nice to know you're not alone

Sarah Flag

[fluffylibra30 323]

Please let us know how your appt went!

[littlebit 2]

I just met with psych yesterday. I've seen her before and it's all great! She and I are working closely on med regime to help me get ready and be ready. She's all in for the surgery for me. Amazing, but true I'm lower BMI than qualifies, but am really fit and active, eat as well as I can...but am a sugar addict! No gloss on that baby...I've been mainlining sugar since the breast. I don't drink alcohol any longer, not using anything. This is the final addiction frontier for me.

You go to the app. and tell it like it is, be true and be ready to advocate for yourself. You deserve this!

Let us know how it goes. Good luck

[PreciousCargo 55]

The first time I started my journey I was interested in the Lap Band which also required the psych evaluation. I meet with him and he required me to lose 5 pds in one month which was successful. When I began my journey for the sleeve I had to revisit another psych. It was much harder, there were several test required. Anyway, the psych was a bear and, well I will be nice. She said things such as I was a emotional eater (duh) and my test indicated I didnt like to take orders, etc. Anyway, I was required to go to counseling which I first resented, however I do like my therapist now and she has helped through this journey. I was also required to start taking depression medication which has helped after it being switched several times. I also do believe it will help me through this adjustment of the surgery and what is to come. My advice is to jump through whatever hoops they need you to, it might help you and it will be required for insurance purposes. Good luck.

[thinoneday 445]

my psych eval was over 4 hours long. A million repetitive questions and then after all that, a hour "chat" with the psychologist. Mine went great, are you trying to get your surgery through insurance or are you self pay? I was self pay so I guess they just past me anyhow regardless. I had the psychologist answering a lot of my questions as well.

[Flagstaffian 31]

my psych eval was over 4 hours long. A million repetitive questions and then after all that, a hour "chat" with the psychologist. Mine went great, are you trying to get your surgery through insurance or are you self pay? I was self pay so I guess they just past me anyhow regardless. I had the psychologist answering a lot of my questions as well.

First of all, thank you ALL for your responses...you're such a huge help!

My appt is at 3pm today, and I will definitely report back. So, I have already been approved for the surgery by Kaiser Permanente and had (2) classes, blood tests, and the preliminary consultation with my surgeon. I am actually within 6 lbs of goal weight for surgery (!!) which, Dr. Baggs set at 255#. They wanted me to be at goal weight today, so they could schedule the next "hoop", which is a meeting with the Case Manager...they won't do that til I'm at my pre-op goal weight.

The VSG surgery is being covered almost completely by Kaiser (HALLELUJAH!). I just pay co-pays for each of the pre-op appointments.

[hadouni 301]

I had to fill out a three page "finish the sentence" form. Then I talked to the Psychologist for about 1.5 hours where he basically said "tell me your story". It wasn't bad.

[Mimi77 6]

Had mine today and it was awful. After asking me some basic questions, the therapist launched into her recent certification in traditional Chinese medicine posture practices for weightloss. She went on and on about this for probably twenty-five minutes, and about how it would be much less invasive to my "vessel." She ended the session by saying we were out of time, that she hadn't gotten everything she needed to complete my eval, so I would have to come back for another session. I thought I was going to have a stroke! I paid $130 for the visit (she doesn't accept insurance) and took half a day off work to make the appointment. It totally sucks that she used half of MY time to talk about her Eastern medicine classes...not to mention starting the appointment 15 minutes late. This is my last hoop to jump through, too. Got 6 months of MSWLP and nutrition consult and such. Very depressing b/c I thought I'd be done today! O suppose I will live but how aggravating!

[Tana_Q 20]

Mimi77 I am burning with anger for you!!! You are the client and especially with self pay that therapist should not be self promoting! You need to complain. You also need to tell her that you will not be paying for another session as she basically wasted YOUR time. If this is someone your surgeon is referring you to I would also let them know. That is so inappropriate.

Seriously, you need to have a conversation with her about this. Bring up the 15 minutes late thing too. Between 15 min. and the 25 min. she spent talking about herself you could have easily been done with your part. How annoying!

Good luck and do not let her intimidate you. Remember you are paying her, she is working for you.

[M2G 1,836]

Mimi77 I am burning with anger for you!!! You are the client and especially with self pay that therapist should not be self promoting! You need to complain. You also need to tell her that you will not be paying for another session as she basically wasted YOUR time. If this is someone your surgeon is referring you to I would also let them know. That is so inappropriate. Seriously, you need to have a conversation with her about this. Bring up the 15 minutes late thing too. Between 15 min. and the 25 min. she spent talking about herself you could have easily been done with your part. How annoying! Good luck and do not let her intimidate you. Remember you are paying her, she is working for you.

Totally agree. That is awful.

My physch eval was great, I had to self-pay for it (even though my surgery was mostly (well $5K out of my pocket) covered thru insurance) but thank goodness she did NOT just hand me a 200 page questionairre. She actually got me talking, asked questions, mostly about my upbringing, my family and support system, and most importantly of all that I understood this surgery was a tool and not a magic bullet. She was nice, normal and she did all the work (ie. wrote down notes, etc.) instead of just giving me a form to fill out. I really liked that part because all I had to do was talk. Something I'm good at.

[Mimi77 6]

Just an update...I had another psych consult last week and this one went great! The counselor was super supportive and gave me some good points to ponder and even clarity on a few issues. I was there about 2.5 hours- a major change from my first "consult." I paid $130 for the first and $180 for the second so this got expensive but now Ive jumped through all the BCBS hoops (I think!) and submitted all my stuff to the surgeon's office.

Thanks for everyone's responses and I will keep y'all posted!

[Flagstaffian 31]

Hi guys, just a quick update.

I had my psych eval last week and it went great. The psychologist for KP Richmond is a very nice lady in her late 60's. She looked at my 8 page questionnaire and basically asked me the same questions that I had already answered, maybe to see if my answers were consistent?

We talked about triggers, family background, and most importantly, she wanted to gauge how realistic my expectations are in regards to what the sleeve can and cannot do. She also recommended some support groups. She told me that they don't usually deny people based on the psych eval, and she also slipped in a few horror stories of "VSG's gone wrong"...like the family that went to Mexico to get their 11 yr old sleeved...ouch, it did NOT go well for that poor child. All in all, it was about 90 minutes, cost $15 on my KP plan, and left me feeling better about my decision to have the surgery. Pretty painless!

((HUGS)),

SF