Im bipolar and I have my psych evaluation next week. Im worried what if I don't pass the evaluation. I'm beyond scared and nervous. Ive been stable w my meds for some time. I go to my psych. Appts regularly and take my meds as prescribed.

Since u are stabilized you should have no prob..why dot you have your dr who is currently taking care of u write a letter stating that he or she feels that u a good candidate with the surgery and and u are stabilized.. That is what I did. I did not use hospital phsch eval.

By the type of questions they asked me, I gathered that they were only looking to find out if I had reasonable expectations from WLS and how I viewed the world around me. The questionnaire had lots of "rate this from strongly agree to strongly disagree" type questions as to how I saw myself and the world around me. I tried to answer everything in the middle range between strongly disagree and strongly agree so that I wouldn't look too extreme in any one viewpoint.

My doctor told me that the psychiatrist I was going to had done these evals for him for a long time and was known for expediting the paperwork - so I knew my doc was not sending me to a psychiatrist that was known for denying WLS candidates. After all, my doc stood to lose 15 - 20K if the psychiatrist disqualified me.

My psych eval was pretty straightforward, too. My surgeon gave me a list of three psychs to call. I scheduled an appointment with one who told me the process would take a minimum of three hours. After reading some posts on here about people getting in and out in 30 minutes or so, I called the other two of the list to inquire about the process. I scheduled a replacement appointment with the one that said they'd be done in 45 minutes. Less time to get myself into trouble. . They emailed me the questionnaire in advance, and I too was careful about choosing answers that didn't make me seem extreme (though I'm not usually an extreme person).

The face-to-face Q&A was similar -- simple and straightforward. She asked if I had any history of abuse (I was sexually abused as a child), and asked how I'd dealt with it. I was worried that would be a disqualifier, but careful, thoughtful, honest answers, and she said se felt like I'd addresses my abuse issues head on. I imagine careful, thorough answers about bipolar management for you would bring a similar response.

Hi egomez

I am bipolar too. I regulary see my psych and therapist and take my medication. I have been very stable for 7 years. I was very nervous about my psych eval too. I did pass my pysch eval fairly easily.

It seems that there is a wide variety of experiences with psych evals. Some people get lengthy questionnaires/test and interview/talk therapy, while others have a fairly straight forward interview session. I am thankful that I had interview only session which lasted about 40 minutes.

My surgeon works with a psychologist regularly who he recommends you go to. I definitely think it helps when you are seeing a pyschologist that is pro WLS.

I think you will do fine. Good Luck and keep us posted.

Bonnie