June 2013 Sleevers GROUP

[Museum-Mama 196]

Hello all! If interested, I started us a June 2013 Sleevers group so that we can all go through this process together! Hope you will all join and let's lift each other up.

Thanks,

Museum Mama

[southernsoul 773]

Hey, Museum Mama! I'm planning on June 19th. I have a 5 day window between summer classes to wedge it in. What's your date?

[Museum-Mama 196]

Well, hey there! I am penciled in for June 1 pending I get all my tests in and such. I'm not worried. I wish I could go tomorrow because I am sooooo ready for this.

[southernsoul 773]

Me, too! I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited. I have some pretty severe mobility issues, and I'm so hopeful that this will help me be able to walk with less pain. I just joined this site today, but so far I like it!

[Museum-Mama 196]

Fantastic! I am still learning my way around the site, but find it pretty great. You can friend me too ( click on my profile and the button wille in the top right.) that way you can find your friends pretty quick and message them directly if you need to. Keep the goal in mind and stay focused. We WILL be better in sooo many ways!

[melegge 17]

I am in the process of being ready for a June surgery. I am hoping to have my approval the end of May/ beginning of June to get scheduled. I am to the point where I have very little worry and am very excited to get my journey started. I would love to keep in contact for support. I am currently meeting with the bariatric nurse, dietician and psychologist. Good luck!

[southernsoul 773]

Hi, melegge & welcome to the June group! I have my last appt with the psychologist next week. My surgeon will submit for approval in April & I hope to be cleared by by birthday on May 3rd. I will have to til June due to class scheduling & a family trip, but that's OK with me.

[Jules24 3]

Hi everyone! I'm hoping for a mid June date. I have my first psychologist appointment April 1st

[Jules24 3]

Hi everyone! I'm hoping for a mid June date. I have my first psychologist appointment April 1st

Sorry- I hit send too fast. I am wondering what I should expect in the psychologist meetings, I am a bit nervous about this part of my journey. Any thoughts? I look forward to this journey with all of you!

[southernsoul 773]

Hi, Jules! I'll try to answer your questions about the psych eval. I was actually pretty excited about this part of the pre-op stuff because I am currently working on a masters degree in mental health counseling. I'm a psych geek, so while the patient part of me was thinking "please let this go OK", the psych geek part was going, "Yay! New assessments to learn about!!" Basically, the evaluation is to rule out issues that would indicate difficulty in maintaining the post-op diet & other requirements. For example, an addiction to food can easily translate to an addiction to somnething else if the underlying issues aren't addressed. Some depression or anxiety surrounding weight/appearance/social interactions is fine, but someone in the midst of a major depressive episode (as defined by the clinical criteria) will probably not have the emotional fortitude to cope with the process & changes post-op. Also, someone who has very unrealistic expectations (i.e., it will be a breeze, everything in my life will be perfect after) will likely struggle when they come up against reality.

The psychologist will give you some assessment tests & questionnaires. They will also talk to you about some family history, the life challenges that you have coped with, the support network you have in your life, etc. Personally, I think it's a good requirement. This is a big deal & food is an integral part of our lives. None of us would be here in the first place if we were super great at managing our relationship to food, right? Our bodies and our lives are going to be changed forever, and even good changes can be stressful transitions at times. I don't know if psych evals are required with self-pay patients, but insurance companies want to know that if they are shelling out the $$ for this surgery, the person has a good chance of long-term success.

Feel free to message me if you have other questions. We're on the same track, and I think it will be really helpful to have a group of us in the same stages.

[Jules24 3]

Thanks Southernsoul! I really appreciate the information. I feel a little more at ease after reading your response

[ElaineB 207]

Hi All,

Thanks for starting this group Mama. I clicked Follow. Does that mean I have joined or do I need to do something else. I'm not very tech savvy.

I am hoping for a June date. Appointment 5/6 will be April 15th. My last appointment will be May and God willing, I will be approved and scheduled for June. I have done all of my other requirements. The psyche eval was no big deal Jules. It didn't last but 40 minutes and was actually pleasant. I had a friend who was given questionaires and asked things like, True or False, "I like hurting animals and people." I wasn't asked anything weird at all. The therapist was very nice and just seemed to want to know if I had thought this through and had realistic expectations about what it would be like.

I am excited for us. We are on our way.

Elaine

[Museum-Mama 196]

ElaineB- here is the link to the Social Group I started for us June sleevers:

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/forum/368-june-2013-sleevers/

I started it, not realizing there was a forum for June sleevers. :/ oh well. you can join either, yes by following this forum topic, or by clicking the "Join Group" button in the Group I created in social groups.

Jules- I had no real problem with the psych eval either. I filled out a 4pg questionnaire and then was later called by the psych-doc to talk for about 20 minutes. It was a breeze. I agree with a previous post that said they want to make sure you are going to keep up with this, are not clinically depressed, etc. Don't worry too much about it.

COME ON, JUNE!!

[melegge 17]

My psych eval consists of three 1 hr visits and 2-3 hours of psych testing and that is just the standard procedure. Crazy that it can differ so much from place to place.

[southernsoul 773]

Mine was 3 visits, too, plus the testing. My last visit is next week, and I'm thinking of asking her if she would consider taking me on for my internship, which will happen next year. How about that...maybe I'll get extra mileage out of my eval!! )