Question:
Psych eval?
I have my psych eval in a week and they want me to bring a diet history to that, which I find a little odd I thought the surgeon would be the one to want the diet history? Also please anyone one know what type of question's she'll ask or written test you have to take is? Any help is greatly appreciated! — HAILEY (posted on January 25, 2006)
January 25, 2006
THis is a hard one. SOme may not answer becuase the psych eval is such an
important part of the work-up process.
Every psych dr is different. I went in and filled out about 10 pages of
questions. Questions that help uncover possible eating disorders, such as
do you eat in secret or after everyone goes to bed- kind of stuff. But then
there was lots of heart to heart. How informed was I. DId I understand the
risks, was I willing to face possible serious complication etc. It was very
good. There was also quite a bit of talk about how I felt as a child,
acceptance issues etc.
Let me warn you however. I did first see a Dr that was supposed to do my
eval and then he said he needed to see me 2 more times. He ended what was
supposed to be a 90 min eval and said he does it over 3 visits. Not what It
was supposed to be at all. I found out later that day he had called my
insurance company and go 26 visits certified before I ever went to the
first visit. I never went to the 2 other visits. I immeidately got into
someone who did the eval as it is supposed to be done. Some Drs try to make
a case out of you and get the money from insurance compaies. If you see
this happening- ditch. I went to a different Dr and passed- I am now 10
months post-op and glad my instincts directed me right.
But the eval itself is not bad. Just basically looks for depression, eating
disorders etc. Those are really important factors because there is some
natural depression and food issues that arise after surgery. If those
exsist before- recovery is difficult.
— ppaige
January 25, 2006
When I set the appointment, I went with who the surgeon recomended but she
told me it would be about 2 hours, I've read several profiles on here and
alot of them mention something about a icd9 or is it a Minnisota test
something like that and was curious what that was?
— HAILEY
January 25, 2006
{to PP icd9 is a diagnosis code}
I went with who the surgeon had on staff and I do remember filling out a
yes/no questionnaire. I also remember feeling like he didn't really delve
too deeply, which I was glad about. I am now approved for surgery with a
different surgeon but used that eval to get approved. Part of me wants to
say just be yourself and be honest, because you technically should not go
ahead with surgery if your really aren't mentally ready - HOWEVER, we all
do what we have to do to get approved and there is no guarantee no matter
how much we think we know ourselves ... HTH xosm
— Gi G.
January 25, 2006
The psyche eval is basically to find out if your reasons and expectations
are realistic. It is a test of your personal strength and will. They want
to know if you can be counted on to live with the new lifestyle the WLS
will present. They will want to know if you are super fearful or overly
optimistic. Yeah, they want to know how you have dealt with your weight
over the long haul. A weight history is easy to obtain if you see a doctor
regularly. Just get the weights from your past visits on your doctors
letter head.
Well, that's all it took for me. It was amazing to see how my weight went
up and down over a four year period and by looking at the dates and my
weight at the time I could figure out for myself what was going on in my
life according to my weight.
Anyhoooooo, if you have doubts do not hide them. This would be the time to
discuss them. If everybody close to you is against the surgery this would
also be a good time to discuss it. If you are thinking the surgery is
going to give you the body that looks like Pam Anderson instead of a meat
sack, you might consider getting your own therapist to help you work out
this particular thing because you are not going to be pleased with your
naked post weight loss body, especially if you are really HUGE because the
truth is, you will look like a meat sack and for a while too. A thinner
meat sack but a meat sack nevertheless. Some people do fail the psyche
eval but it is nothing to be afraid of.
If you are worried, find a therapist to be your therapist and to help you
deal with all of your life issues. I did and it was one of the best
decisions I have made in my life because, I had issues that went hand in
hand with my weight and my inability to control it. Good luck.
— Voonfrundle
January 25, 2006
hi , on my pscyh eval , they asked alot of questions about my family ,
childhood, if i was abused physically, mentally ,emotionally at any time
during my life time, what were the reasons that made me over weight , how i
deal with stress, saddnes, angry , happy, etc, my appointment lasted about
a hour , but first i got there a hour bfore to fill out the 20page
questionair , it seemed like that many pages but it was like 12 but alot of
questions.
hope this helps
rebecca basra
— LUVROSE4U
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