Alright, so I took the hour long psych test last friday. I go see the shrink on Tues the 12th to go over test. Can anyone tell me what to expect. Is it pretty simple or do they really want to go indepth? Any advice or experiences welcomed!

The psych I used went so ridiculously in-depth that my surgeon literally rolled his eyes and said, "So. That psychologist. A little 'special,' huh?" LOL

He did "approve" me for surgery, but for some reason felt compelled to provide a 14-page report and to tell me that he didn't think I'd do as well as most bandsters. I told him he was flat-out wrong, and asked him to identify what indication he had of that.

He first told me the conclusion was drawn from the "empirical testing" but then more or less admitted he thought I just didn't stick with stuff.

My surgeon knew this to be ridiculous--I can provide years of food and exercise journals to any doctor showing that I lose when I eat around 800 calories/day and exercise routinely---but gain when I eat more than 1000-1100 calories. Hence the need for the band.

Anyway, even though it wasn't the most fun experience I've ever had, my psych evaluation, it wasn't horrible. You just have to let anything negative go in one ear and out the other.

(Obviously, the psych was really, really wrong about me. Because less than a year later...well, look at my stats. The band was the missing link for me.)

My interview was 20 minutes long-- a complete breeze. We just had a conversation about whether I was currently experiencing any problems (I wasn't), and then if I had any concerns about the banding (I talked about exercise follow-through concerns).

I've done psych evals for other kinds of surgeries (specifically organ transplant), and so I can tell you that MOST psychologists who do these are just trying to make sure there aren't any huge red flags that would make you a poor candidate (I'm talking things like body dysmorphic disorder or current drug addiction, etc.). The real purpose is to give you someone to talk to about your follow-up self-care. Depression or anxiety are ok-- not anything to deny a surgery over.

Odds are, it is an innocuous loop you have to jump through so the surgeon can cover his butt in terms of liability. :biggrin:

So the psych exam was pushed back until today. And sadly it did not go well. It was like yours Betsy, told me he would approve me for surgery, but he didn't think it was going to do any good. :mad:

It was 2 1/2 hours of pure hell. I left that session in tears.:huh2: I guess this just means I work my butt off and show him just how wrong he is about me. :cursing:

Some stupid test and a two and half hour session doesn't mean that this jerk knows me. :tt2: