Been waiting since middle of December to get the stupid psychiatric evaluation done. Today was their first available appointment for testing since December. They said it would take 3-4 hours to complete, I got done in 1 hour. It was roughly 650 questions on one test and 200 questions on another. hopefully everything comes back normal and i can get scheduled. I had a 1 hour "interview" with the psychologist on Tuesday and she said as long as the testing comes up good then i can get scheduled

650 & 200 questions??? Jeez...

I had my psych appointment last week and it was nothing like that.

I filled out a couple of papers and talked to the psychologist for about 20 minutes, that was it. She said I'm good to go and she doesn't need to see me again.

3 minutes ago, WhispersOfAngel said:

650 & 200 questions??? Jeez...

I had my psych appointment last week and it was nothing like that.

I filled out a couple of papers and talked to the psychologist for about 20 minutes, that was it. She said I'm good to go and she doesn't need to see me again.

Yea for some reason my location is very picky. I talked to other bariatric centers and they dont even require any kind of psyc exam.

You know, thinking back to my lap band surgery, which was almost 9 years ago, I remember having to do that psych "test/questionaire" and the psychologist didn't really say much to me. I remember thinking it was just an opportunity to grab some cash from desperate wls patients, lol.

4 minutes ago, WhispersOfAngel said:

You know, thinking back to my lap band surgery, which was almost 9 years ago, I remember having to do that psych "test/questionaire" and the psychologist didn't really say much to me. I remember thinking it was just an opportunity to grab some cash from desperate wls patients, lol.

That is what i am thinking too. While i am self pay, The pre op testing so far has been covered but that psyc exam would have been around $700 or so. I only had to pay $40 copay.

That's pretty sad.

On these forums I see people on here from time to time and the questions they ask or the situations that they find themselves in, I often wonder how they passed their psych evaluation, because it's obvious that they have deeper issues that needed addressing before proceeding with wls.

49 minutes ago, WhispersOfAngel said:

That's pretty sad.

On these forums I see people on here from time to time and the questions they ask or the situations that they find themselves in, I often wonder how they passed their psych evaluation, because it's obvious that they have deeper issues that needed addressing before proceeding with wls.

I will go so far as to say as long as the world looks at obesity as a moral failure, how can you not end up with a fractured mindset when it comes to food, self-worth, etc.

I will go to the end of the f'in world to get people to understand the biology and social factors that influence how bodies regulate weight.

Because once we understand obesity as a complex, chronic disease that has elements of physiology, behavior (yes, of course), social factors inherent in its etiology, we can move forward - and avoid all this mental anguish. It's a waste of life.

I’m glad your psych evaluation finally got done so you can get a date soon.

I think mine was also a 600/200 question thing. I *think* it might have been the MMPI exam. It's really comprehensive - and as I recall, they sometimes ask the same questions again and again, changing the wording a bit each time.

They're looking for signs - like certain kinds of mental illness - that would make it inappropriate for you to have surgery. Although that's pretty rare. Most of us pass with flying colors - and occasionally, some people have to delay surgery a bit because something came up that wouldn't necessarily take surgery off the table, but they need to work on something (sometimes with a counselor) before being approved. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

20 hours ago, WhispersOfAngel said:

You know, thinking back to my lap band surgery, which was almost 9 years ago, I remember having to do that psych "test/questionaire" and the psychologist didn't really say much to me. I remember thinking it was just an opportunity to grab some cash from desperate wls patients, lol.

I think they just want to make sure you're ready and don't have any issues that would make surgery inappropriate for you. Insurance wouldn't want to cover it if they knew there was a good chance you wouldn't be successful.

20 hours ago, WhispersOfAngel said:

That's pretty sad.

On these forums I see people on here from time to time and the questions they ask or the situations that they find themselves in, I often wonder how they passed their psych evaluation, because it's obvious that they have deeper issues that needed addressing before proceeding with wls.

^^^ yes - I agree.

3 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

I think they just want to make sure you're ready and don't have any issues that would make surgery inappropriate for you. Insurance wouldn't want to cover it if they knew there was a good chance you wouldn't be successful.

Interesting thing is i am self pay... still had to do it

3 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

I think mine was also a 600/200 question thing. I *think* it might have been the MMPI exam. It's really comprehensive - and as I recall, they sometimes ask the same questions again and again, changing the wording a bit each time.

They're looking for signs - like certain kinds of mental illness - that would make it inappropriate for you to have surgery. Although that's pretty rare. Most of us pass with flying colors - and occasionally, some people have to delay surgery a bit because something came up that wouldn't necessarily take surgery off the table, but they need to work on something (sometimes with a counselor) before being approved. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Yes lots of the questions were the same but worded different. Some of the questions made me laugh

On 3/5/2022 at 3:15 PM, liveaboard15 said:

Interesting thing is i am self pay... still had to do it

Well the surgeon may feel it is important to not set you up to fail as well. Seems like a good surgeon to me. The insurance company is looking for an excuse to not spend money but the surgeon loses money if he doesn’t do the surgery and he still wants to make sure you don’t have an undiagnosed issues that would lead you to fail if not treated beforehand.

Edited March 7, 20224 yr by ShoppGirl

On 3/4/2022 at 2:55 PM, WhispersOfAngel said:

You know, thinking back to my lap band surgery, which was almost 9 years ago, I remember having to do that psych "test/questionaire" and the psychologist didn't really say much to me. I remember thinking it was just an opportunity to grab some cash from desperate wls patients, lol.

Same