and she immediately said, "I'm so happy for you!"

I'd been a little worried, but I wanted her to know in case my psych evaluator contacted her. She said she's had many patients who have had the sleeve and have done very well on it.

Whew!

Now to tell the first of my friends on Sunday.... (gulp)

Glad your psych was receptive and supportive. I'd advise you to be very mindful of who else you tell; even "friends" can misunderstand, judge, criticize and not get it.

Not everyone needs to know. Not that you're ashamed, but again, not all of your personal life choices is for public consumption.

Enjoy your journey. The VSG is still the best thing I've done for myself...and only 3 of my closest friends know I did it.

The friend in question is my best friend, whom I've known for twenty years. I'm pretty sure she'd be hurt if I didn't tell her and she only found out after I'd had the surgery (she'd certainly notice my weight loss and how much less I'm eating). I only plan to tell one other friend besides her.

Everyone else, I have a Mind Your Own Business policy.

Why would you not tell your psychiatrist? Who did your psyche eval. did you not have to get one as a pre- requirement..

@@katanne, before you spend a few hundred dollars on the stranger to do your psych evaluation, you may want to find out from your medical plan and your surgeon whether an evaluation/statement/recommendation from your own shrink will serve the purpose. When I was in the pre-surgery stage, my own therapist, a psychologist, wrote a seven-sentence letter to say in essence that I was psychologically fit for surgery. No extra charge.

I've begun to wonder if surgeon's who insist on an eval for their own files are doing so to protect themselves from potential malpractice claims. Does anyone know whether malpractice insurers may be requiring something along this line? So many BP posts describe lengthy questionnaires and grilling that it seems a cottage industry has sprung up.

I am glad to hear that you expect hearty support from your friends. Other folks have not been so blessed and suffer great turmoil when alleged friends go hostile.

Ben Franklin said two things about confiding in people. He said:

"Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead."

and

"To whom thy secrets thou doest tell, to him thy freedom thou doest sell."

Excellent news! Like others have alluded to...share the information sparingly. My advice is keep the circle of information small.

To people wondering why the OP told her psych, why not? WLS greatly impacts the patient's life. I'd want my therapist to know so we can work on ways to overcome whatever food issues I have. It's terrific that the therapist was behind the procedure 100 percent. We've all read tales of how someone's primary or therapist was absolutely against the surgery.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the psych eval. Mine, at least, was a questionnaire. The psych went over it. We discussed a few things. It was painless. He asked me if I thought seeing a therapist (not him) would help me because of some concerns I raised myself. He gave me the name of several people who specialize in eating-related issues. In my case, my insurance company insisted on the evaluation. Even so, I found it helpful in the long run.

To people wondering why the OP told her psych, why not?

I don't think there's anything wrong with the psych eval.

I don't think there's anything wrong with it either. What I question is what some people report as a two-hour battery of questionnaires and questions. All that's needed -- and rightly so, I think, given the life-changing requirements and nature of WLS -- is that the individual understand that there are risks and is capable of understanding and following instructions. Some other, small aspect, too, which eludes me at the moment.

Methinks that no one questioned the OP's telling her psychiatrist, unless I misread some posts already in place?

Unfortunately, my surgeon's group requires that you go with one of their designated psychologists instead of your own, which is annoying because otherwise I'd definitely have just had mine write a letter. The nurse at my surgeon's office said their evaluation is just to see that you understand the changes you'll be going through and have some support from someone in your life. That someone can be a mental health professional, friend, or family member, so I'm happy because I'm pretty much set as far as that's concerned with my psychiatrist immediately supporting me. My parents were initially not happy when I told them, so I'm relieved that I have someone in my corner.

I've begun to wonder if surgeon's who insist on an eval for their own files are doing so to protect themselves from potential malpractice claims. Does anyone know whether malpractice insurers may be requiring something along this line? So many BP posts describe lengthy questionnaires and grilling that it seems a cottage industry has sprung up.

No, the requirement is a longstanding one. Many surgeons or programs do require that patients see a psychologist who specializes in these kinds of evaluations. I know when I had mine, she went into things to be watchful of post-op as well as assessing my pre-op preparedness. Many evaluators use a screening tool predictive of future success, based on likelihood of following surgical instructions, for example. The physician who reviews all of our bariatric requests places a lot of emphasis on the psychological evaluation, and he looks for, and at, those screening tools. His rationale is that it isn't enough for someone to qualify physically for the surgery, they have to be emotionally prepared for a life-changing surgery. He actually delayed approving a recent client's surgery based on both his predictors showing a low likelihood of success, and the client's own statements that he wasn't sure whether he could follow the guidelines. That initial evaluation was done early in this client's pre-op process. He had a re-visit to the same psychologist, and had showed success at following preop guidelines for several months. He was then approved for his surgery. The delay was less than 30 days.

Edited March 5, 201610 yr by 2goldengirl

@@2goldengirl, I think the insurance company has much to do with it and I get the feeling that the process has become more complicated that it was in general when I went through it 6 1/2 years ago. As I've said, I was seeing a therapist at the time -- not about weight, but about live overall. She wrote a 7-sentence letter and that was it. She indicated that I understood what I was in for and was ready, willing and able to follow the program.

There's also the problem of some people communicating poorly. More than once posters have said that their own surgeons require the lengthy, involved psych eval, a procedure into itself, not that it was the insurance company. There's no way to know how accurate those posters may have been.

@@WLSResources/ClothingExch, I did misread. I thought someone asked "Why would you tell your psychiatrist" when they essentially said the same thing I did.

I still don't think the psych eval is that bad a thing. Sometimes people kid themselves about their issues (or perceived lack of them) or they discover they really don't want to adhere to the guidelines. The evaluation can spotlight these potential problems. This is a life-changing surgery. We need to be willing to change our habits not only to be successful, but for our continued health.