Terrible Psych Eval :(

[Stacy_wls 135]

I'm really frustrated. I met with the psychiatrist today. We spent about 30-45 mins with her handing me paperwork and me filling it out. Then she sat down and asked me a few questions, she did not look me in the eye and even cut me off a few times b/c she just wanted yes / no answers.

Then she said, well I'm not sure you are a good candidate for this surgery. I asked her why and she said, oh well because you are an emotional eater and as you said you tend to "fall off the wagon". I said, yes that is why I am in this situation. If I could stick to my diet for life then I would not need this surgery.

She kept saying she was concerned about safety, but when I pressed about the concern with safety, she said b/c I would want to go out and eat a big meal when I got sad. I told her I understood that I could not do that, and am doing the surgery to get that restriction.

At the end, I am setting up time with my therapist, but am extremely frustrated. I am self pay and paying someone $300 to not look at me in the eye and tell me i'm not a good candidates based on some forms is hard. After I see my therapist, I am going to call her back. I probably will also call the surgeon's office.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Thanks!

[cherbear33 288]

I had one who said I was not a candidate for the sleeve but refused to give a reason why. Matter of fact she was in the same office as the surgeon I was going to use & I had to pay cash to see her, honestly I think they just wanted more money by making me have to keep paying her until she felt I was a good candidate for the surgery plus the doctor said my insurance did not cover the sleeve so i would have to have the lap-band which i refused to have. I then went to a seminar with a friend & felt more comfortable using that doctor plus had a psychologist that would accept my insurance & was approved immediately for the sleeve & low & behold my insurance did cover the sleeve! I am so glad I found a better surgeon & office personnel that was just wonderful!!!!

[Stacy_wls 135]

She made me pay cash as well & was recommended by the surgeon.

Was this Dr. Holliday by any chance? It just felt so odd.

I have been reading other people's experiences and they say the pysch eval is just to see that they understand the surgery and are capable of making the decision.

Thank you for responding.

[rensterness 375]

I see your situation is pretty common. I am now five weeks post op from the sleeve and attend support groups every Thursday and it seems the eval is a bigger deal then people would think. Find a therapist on your own, and ask them PRIOR to meeting them there actual opinion on barometric surgery. You will be surprised to see how honest they are and you can get a feel from their response and their tone. That's what I did and it went just fine. Best of luck to you!!

High weight:270

Start weight:252

Weight at day of surgery:232

Current weight:182

[Stacy_wls 135]

Thanks. Reading on here people seem to say if you understand the surgery and have things together it will go fine. I definitely fit those two criteria, but this women was very vague but discouraging. Ugh.

I'm meeting with my therapist today and will follow up with the psychiatrist on the phone. I absolutely will not pay that women any more money as I felt she was completely unprofessional. I guess if needed I will need to get another eval from someone else.

I don't understand how you can tell someone they may not be a good candidate without clear logical reasoning.

[Batt4Christ 5]

Psych eval for a SELF-PAY? Really? Is this a surgeon requirement? The only required psych eval I am familiar with are due to insurance requirements (hoops) to get them to pay...

Indeed, what you reported above sounds like exactly what surgery is needed for. Dieting that works but then Fails because we cannot maintain... Restriction (or even restriction and malabsorption like an RNY) help to "force" the issue as a tool.

[rensterness 375]

The Psych evaluation can be done by your current therapist, your own, or one that the doctor recommends. I looked around and found one that was covered by my insurance. It's required by the program and the insurance, but only one is needed. Hope this helped.

[SuperFab 689]

My psych eval could only be done by the psych the bariatric clinic uses. The clinic uses only their own. I'm bipolar and see a psychiatrist on a regular basis and that wasn't acceptable. I had to use my weightloss clinic's psych. And of course she didn't accept either of my insurances. So that was $300 charged to my card. But.... My psych was open, friendly and said I was a good candidate (my bipolar disorder had to be stabilized for at least 6 months, and I've been stable for well over a year) for the sleeve. The only thing she wanted was a letter from my psych faxed to her answering 7 questions about diagnosis, emotional stability, etc. I hear all these horror stories about psych evals with jerks for a psych and consider myself lucky. April

[Stacy_wls 135]

Well despite the horrible meeting with the psychologist, after she received paperwork from my PCP and my therapist, she has approved me.

My surgery date is December 9th! OMG this is really going to happen