So I was just calling some psychologists to make my appointment and of course only one answered. When she was explaining the exam to me, she said its 2 parts. The first part is a 3 hour psychological test and the second is a 90 min meeting to go over the results....is this normal?

I thought it was going to be a one time thing, that was mostly talking.

Also she mentioned money, she said the testing was like 200 and the write up was like 345...is that normal?

OMG

Insurance covered mine, no copay. I just chatted with the doc for about 30 minutes about my weight history. No tests or papers to fill out.

Like someone earlier mentioned, ask your surgeon who they usually deal with. It would be easier, and maybe cheaper, with someone who does this everyday.

$100 for me. I made the mistake of telling him I was a hippy in the 60's...for 2 years. The insurance company rejected me because of my "drug abuse and radical lifestyle". I was clean since 1968 and was cured of hippytightus. The surgeon sent off an immediate appeal, I was accepted after the new year and the new co-pays were in force.

Be careful what you tell them. I think some get kick-backs from the insurance companies.

@gman...that's the stupidest reason for denial I have ever heard!! LOL...I am glad u got approved in the end. Whoever denied u deserves a swift smack on the brow...DUH!!!

I just finished part 2 of my psych eval today. I met with the psych ( she has had wls ) and she asked some questions about the questionnaire I had filled out beforehand. Then I took a 150 question test ( medical). Today I took a 368 question test ( personality ). Then, she went over the results of the both tests with me. She approved me. My co-pay for part 1 was $36 and today's was $28.

I am lucky with double insurance so I didn't have a copay...the 1.5 hour test took me about 20 minutes...no I dont hear other people's thoughts or other voices in my head...I'm not suicidal, I don't take a ton of laxatives (I don't want to poop all the time lol) I don't drink gallons of Water everyday (I have a hard time with 64 oz)...Etc etc

The talking was about an hour I think probably would have been less had we not B.S'd about her lapband

I agree with the people who said to maybe look around for another psychologist, but someone who works with or is recommended by the surgeon's practice would be a good idea. There are an awful lot of potential psychological effects of having major surgery and being unable to use food as any sort of coping or comfort mechanism, as well as changes in your interactions with people as you lose weight and start being perceived differently. It's a big deal, and the idea is to make sure you're prepared to handle the changes now, or that you receive additional counseling and support to help you handle the changes. People do get transfer addictions when food's out of the picture, and it can be a scary ugly thing.

I'm glad there are a lot of steps to getting insurance approval for this, and I feel I'm much better prepared for it because of it.

-Kat