If not , let me be the first ??‍♀️. Today I went to my initial psych evaluation and the doctor told me that because my family had previously diabetes high blood pressure and etc. that I was predisposed to have as well and she said that my family did not know how to eat therefore I don’t know how to eat and my children won’t know how to eat .she then went on to tell me that I have poor eating habits .she then told me I should join weight watchers and she made a sarcastic joke saying hey look I’m trying to help you out you’re about to get yourself all cut up [emoji849][emoji15]

So yeah I figure that I share with you how my psych evaluation went today was quite interesting let alone very him how can I explain it I felt like she was putting her finger in my face. Talk about rubbing salt into a wound

22 minutes ago, TropicalBeachDoll said:

If not , let me be the first ??‍♀️. Today I went to my initial psych evaluation and the doctor told me that because my family had previously diabetes high blood pressure and etc. that I was predisposed to have as well and she said that my family did not know how to eat therefore I don’t know how to eat and my children won’t know how to eat .she then went on to tell me that I have poor eating habits .she then told me I should join weight watchers and she made a sarcastic joke saying hey look I’m trying to help you out you’re about to get yourself all cut up

So yeah I figure that I share with you how my psych evaluation went today was quite interesting let alone very him how can I explain it I felt like she was putting her finger in my face. Talk about rubbing salt into a wound

Wow, Interesting

So much for professionalism. Did she give you a recommendation for surgery?

Oh my goodness

Weird. And it doesn't seem as if this psych works with the bariatric department very closely because that would not happen at my clinic ever.

Did you take any questionnaires or discuss support at home regarding the surgery? Was surgery even actually discussed at all? Did she evaluate you for eating disorders?

After you get your approvals and your surgery date, I would write a long letter to the head of her department and copy your surgeon and recommend they find not use this person for bariatric psych evals.

Edited March 29, 20188 yr by Sosewsue61

Wow, Interesting
So much for professionalism. Did she give you a recommendation for surgery?

No she recommend that I do weight watchers and see her again next week.

Weird. And it doesn't seem as if this psych works with the bariatric department very closely because that would not happen at my clinic ever.
Did you take any questionnaires or discuss support at home regarding the surgery? Was surgery even actually discussed at all? Did she evaluate you for eating disorders?
After you get your approvals and your surgery date, I would write a long letter to the head of her department and copy your surgeon and recommend they find not use this person for bariatric psych evals.

She said she trying to save me from getting chopped up .i was really disappointed with our meeting ! She did ask questions relating to my family health history and told me I was predisposed to health problems and to die early. She was really cold.

Weird. And it doesn't seem as if this psych works with the bariatric department very closely because that would not happen at my clinic ever.
Did you take any questionnaires or discuss support at home regarding the surgery? Was surgery even actually discussed at all? Did she evaluate you for eating disorders?
After you get your approvals and your surgery date, I would write a long letter to the head of her department and copy your surgeon and recommend they find not use this person for bariatric psych evals.

You are absolutely right I will write a nice long letter.

Omg after reading this I am nervous about my psych

thats terrible,mine was great but i had to pay out of pocket,but was able to do all over the phone.

Your psych was massively inappropriate and you absolutely should write a letter. Don't spare any detail. Go ahead and attach some references like this: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/7/16587316/bariatric-surgery-weight-loss-lap-band. Your psych is not giving a medical opinion, she's giving a layperson's opinion, and that's ridiculous. "Save you from being chopped up"... good lord.

And I have no bloody idea what you're meant to do in a week of Weight Watchers other than learn how to fill in your booklet, and if she's trying to get you to learn about nutrition? That's what the mandated nutritionist visits are for. Don't go back to this woman. Find another person to conduct the psych eval. You don't like her, she's cold, she's wrong, and she's apparently trying to make you a regular client by steering you towards a weight-loss program with the stated intention of you NEVER getting the surgery. That is not the intent of the eval, it's supposed to be a single visit to gauge whether you're in a good mental space to have the surgery, NOT to try to brainwash you into doing what the clinician wants.

And I had the opposite happen to me. My psych,which i found out later was not from the hospital where my former bariatric program was based but an independent person contracted in,I'm not certain if she had done bariatric evaluations before, told me in December 2017 I had passed with flying colors,shook my hand and wished me well on my future surgery. Then she had the audacity to send a report to the bariatric program that I wasn't emotionally stable for surgery, and if I can believe the person calling me with the rejection I lacked the comprehension to fully understand the surgery. Bovine excretement! The only emotional problem I have now is triune. Sorrow that I wasted my valuable time humbling myself to jump through their "hoops". Disbelief that such a thing be inflicted upon a decent & nice person. And finally anger that the statement of a mental or emotional impairment be entered. I have Mensa level intelligence, I am fully cognizant of the risks of surgery, am aware what the future commitment to a lifestyle change entails, realize at my age[emoji70] I may heal slower, have a higher degree of pain but still believe surgery [emoji40]will be superior to Living in an aging deteriorating obese shell which will lead to my eventual death. My adult son was present at my psych evaluation, heard every word spoken and would testify to all happenings, if he needed to. Yet I was,"kicked to the curb" by people I had a relationship with since August 2015. At this point I sorrow for the trust they betrayed, the abject waste of 2 1/2 years of my life and the attempt to destroy my confidence in myself and my worthiness for what I fought so hard to achieve. Every trip was 100 miles round trip, that should be an example of me being committed to a future change. But I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and I'm still persuing my surgery, because I believe in my chance for future health. I want to be thinner, fitter and most importantly alive and really living the remainder of my life. I believe still in me and what I can still accomplish. So I pray this alternate program [emoji541]will work with me to assure a true future and life triumphant![emoji13][emoji106][emoji13]

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Tropical....yours is a particularly good cautionary tale about the perils of working with a psychologist who has little training regarding bariatric surgery.

When getting an appointment with a therapist, I think an important first question for your surgeon and for the psychologist is "Have you had patients approved for surgery by this person in the past? Have you approved people for bariatric surgery in the past?" If the answer is no...move on. Don't take the appointment. Pick someone who actually approves people.

I'm grateful my group has a dedicated therapist who not only does our evaluations, but also runs our support group and does therapy for people experiencing difficulty during their journey.

Having a therapist with a working knowledge of the process, and of the typical problems encountered by people along the way...is so valuable.

My program gave me info for a therapist, whim I saw a couple of weeks ago. She was very aware of the process, and obviously used to their procedures. I'm not expecting any problems.

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I would tell your surgeon immediately that they are using a person who tries to talk people out of it. They will give you a different reference. Mine was ZERO like yours. She checked for signs of depression, checked that I had reasonable goals, asked about my support system and that’s it.

Terrible!! Sorry, @TropicalBeachDoll

Good Lord! Demand a referral to another one immediately!!! That's absolutely terrible. Mine works with my surgeon and her bariatric patients routinely so knows the drill. While I was there, they had 3 other of her patients in the waiting room doing the same thing I was doing!

I'm so sorry you had that experience, but don't put up with that BS! Fire her!