Psych eval tomorrow! Scared.

[evagria_the_faithful 5]

Hi all! I have my psych appointment tomorrow and I'm scared that they will "fail" me. I have anxiety now and I'm scared they will tell me I can't have surgery due to that or that they will give me trick questions. What were you asked? How long was the appointment for you?

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[sammy246 235]

I had four appointments (one was just the computerized test.) you won't fail- just make sure you go in prepared to answer questions on how you plan to be successful and such. A toddler could pass the questionnaire.

I'm sure you'll do great!

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[Aggiemae 739]

There is no "fail". The point is to see where your are now and get you to a place where you will succeed. From some of the posts I've read here I think a psych eval should be required by law.

[blizair09 3,250]

I actually enjoyed my Psych Eval. The psychologist and I talked for about an hour and then I had to take this 500 question battery that took me at least an hour (maybe closer to 2). We talked about my relationship with food, and specifically all the changes I had made pre-op to prepare myself. I found it to be really reflective -- and since it was also covered by my insurance, not a bad use of my $25 co-pay.

[ahappycamper 81]

I was worried about the same thing. I even contemplated lying, but decided ultimately, that was a poor move. I've struggled with severe major depression (as in, I should've been in a mental health facility for months at a time), anxiety attacks, and OCD behaviors that led to bodily harm. I've experienced abuse, a lot of recent death, and sexual assault.

All of that was disclosed and because I am not currently seeing a therapist or taking medication (neither are necessary any longer), I was bumped from being top level quality candidate to second level quality candidate because of the risk for experiencing depression post-op. She said this wasn't enough for my surgeon to cancel the surgery and that many, if not most, receive similar evaluations. She told me flat out that in her experience, it is rare for her to determine someone a Grade A quality candidate (I'm really trying, but can't remember her phrasing so I'm making up my own) because people are very rarely overweight for no reason to begin with, but on top of that we carry the emotional baggage that is a result of being overweight. I guess I should say, though, I'm not the expert, nor am I your surgeon or part of their team, so what I (or the person who evaluated me) says is irrelevant if your surgeon says differently.

Even after all that, I still went home feeling sick and terrified I wouldn't be approved because of that.

It's natural to be scared about telling someone our most private concerns while knowing the whole point is for them to "evaluate" you. That's basically just judging when you get down to it, and being judged is not something that sits well with most of us. We may be used to it, but it immediately puts us in a vulnerable mindset. There's nothing wrong with being scared, but please don't let it keep you from being totally honest like it almost did me. The best way they can help you prepare is to have all the information they possibly can. This way, if any issues do arise post-op, they'll have had a sort of warning so there is a plan in place to get things back on track quickly.

I promise it isn't even half as bad as your mind will make it out to be. It'll be over before you even know it.

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[goaldigger33 39]

I was worried about this too because of my history with anxiety and depression. Meeting with the psychologist was actually quite pleasant and the questions were relatively easy, it was more of a conversation.

The second part was the online quiz that was sort of like a personality test if you've ever taken one of those. The one thing she told me she was looking for was consistency between the questions she asked and the online test questions. Just be honest and you'll be fine!

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[weightglitch 3]

My psyche eval was so easy and if you're with Kaiser you should have nothing to worry about. Just think of it as a therapy session. They want to know what you've learned and what changes you have made and plan to make after surgery. Good luck tomorrow though you really won't need it.

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[#BirdDog 604]

Mine was super easy. I say and talked to him for about ten minutes while he got to know me and asked me a few questions about the surgery and lifestyle change. Just to make sure I understood what I was undertaking. Then I took this long test that was like 250 to 300 questions. Some of them were really silly. Nothing to trick you, just a lot of questions to make sure you have both ores in the Water.

You'll do fine, don't sweat it.

Edited November 8, 2016 by #BirdDog

[MTWilliams 86]

They just take your money. Mine just asked me basic questions and didn't even care about my answers lol. My feels were a little hurt.

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[pleezeSleeve 50]

mine just asked about my eating behaviors & said she was happy to hear that i wasn't an emotional eater who eats when stressed. so maybe try not to say that part- if you are. or do say it! they can help you . that's what this is about. getting the help we need.