So, I have bipolar and because of that the counselor at the surgeon's office and the surgeon require that my regular therapist and psychiatrist both fill out a paper stating that they believe I’m stable, understand fully what I’m getting into, have a support system, etc. I took the papers in to my therapist appointment today and she said she’s not allowed to sign anything. She sent an email to her supervisor who said she doesn’t think they fill those out at all. OMG! The surgeon said he can’t do surgery until he knows I’m stable and they sign off on it. My therapist said she’ll continue to push on getting it filled out and she believes I’m perfectly fine for surgery, but now what? I seriously hate the clinic I go to. If they refuse to fill out the forms I’m screwed. I called the counselor at the surgeon’s office and explained what’s going on. She said she’d give them a call on Monday or Tuesday and talk to them. I hope she can get through to them and get it done. I do NOT want to be denied surgery just because this clinic doesn’t like signing papers. ARGH!!!

If they still absolutely refuse to fill them out I will ask the surgeon's counselor if I can meet with her monthly instead. They will be able to get my records from my therapist and psychiatrist so they'll at least be able to see that I'm still being seen. If that doesn't work, well, I guess I'm heading off to Mexico. I've already been cleared for surgery there. I just REALLY don't want to spend my entire tax refund on that.

Do you know how I find out who licenses them? I assume they are licensed by the state mental health department since they accept medicaid, but I don't know for sure and their website is less than helpful. I don't know what their reasoning is for not filling it out. She just insisted that they "don't fill out these forms anymore." And no, they definitely did not make me aware of this before I became a patient.

Ugh. I don't have a lot of good advice beyond that I empathize. I'm bipolar II and anxiety and it was hard for me to get the psych they wanted me to see to clear me even though my own psychiatrist and therapist did right away. (Kind of the opposite of your situation) hang in there. If they're a big enough practice to have an hr department reach out to them to find out who to call. If not start by calling Medicaid itself and find out who you need to speak with because as far as I know they can't just downright not fill out forms.

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Dang it. I just checked with a lawyer and they can refuse to fill out any forms they don't feel comfortable with.

Dang it. I just checked with a lawyer and they can refuse to fill out any forms they don't feel comfortable with.

i.e., they don't agree that you are stable enough.

"When all is said and done, usually more has been said than done. "

What do the forms ask? Is it that form - or all forms.

Omg your worrying me with that now. I haven't seen a therapist or been on meds for months. No issues. I had terrible depression following a family death and terrible break up. But I've been fine ever since. But I was hospitalized years ago. I hope they don't turn me down.

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Edited July 21, 201610 yr by RedCheeks

My therapist said she would fill out the form and that she feels I'm prepared. She isn't allowed to fill out anything without permission from her supervisor though (I already know this is a fact from another form I needed filled out months ago for a different issue). The supervisor said that they just don't fill out any forms like that at all anymore. It has nothing to do with my stability. There's a spot on the form they could check that says they don't feel I'm mentally stable enough, so if that was the problem they could have done that. So no, that's not the problem.

Edited July 21, 201610 yr by WitchySar

Can you get your therapist to put a note in your record about discussing the surgery and that she believes you're stable enough, and then get a copy of your records?

Hmm, perhaps. I'll ask her about that at my next appointment on the 15th.

What do the forms ask? Is it that form - or all forms.

Sorry, I just saw this response. Therapists aren't allowed to fill out any forms at all. I had to have a form filled out for medicaid transport some months ago and someone else there had to fill it out. So they fill out SOME forms, but apparently not these.

Omg your worrying me with that now. I haven't seen a therapist or been on meds for months. No issues. I had terrible depression following a family death and terrible break up. But I've been fine ever since. But I was hospitalized years ago. I hope they don't turn me down.

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If anything - they'll recommend therapy and clear you once they feel you are stable. Just be honest with them - most want to work with you at getting approved.

@@WitchySar Please keep us informed. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this

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@@WitchySar Please keep us informed. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this

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I hope so. I have my consult with the dr. Scheduled for August 30th. I'm nervous. Trying to lose some weight on this 90 day diet is hard enough with out having to worry about them judging my mental stability off something from 2 years ago.

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Edited July 30, 201610 yr by RedCheeks

Still no news. I'm going to call the surgeon's counselor next week and see if anything has changed.

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Can't you demand your records to be sent to your surgeon?

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