Hi. I am not banded yet. I have lots of questions. I would like to know what kind of questions we are asked during the psycho evaluation test.

I was given the MMPI in addition to other tests. It is a standardized psychological test asking everything from "do you hear voices telling you to hurt people?" to general questions about religion and how you react to problems. Actually they aren't questions at all: they make a statement and you have to say from 1-4 how much you agree with them.

I was also given othe questionnaires specifically about my previous attempts at dieting and again, how I handled disappointment and failure.

Chell, I had a standardized phyc. eval., 500 questions, fill in the circle. She gave me a list of books to read to "help" me over come my problems with over eating.

I had to pay $175.00 that day (which I hadn't been told about) and then had to get in touch with her again to have the results forwarded to my insurance company.

That was it.

Hum...I am guessing that my insurance will cover this, I use the Veterans Hospital out of Philly Pa. I once had a Nuro Psy done to see if I had ADD or a learning disability. I disliked the attitude of the women who tested me. I was so nervous and when I am nervous I talk a lot, she seemed to think I had "isssues"...well considering I had 2 hour drive to go to a place I never was at before and arrived late (called her from the road)...any way I digress, LOL...it was an 8 hour test! Yuck!

Hi chell,

I just had my pysch eval last week. I happen to be under the regular care of a psychiatrist group, for treatment of depression and bipolar type 2. So I asked them to do the evaluation instead of going to someone new. In my case, we talked about the reasons for wanting the surgery and how I expected my life would change. There was no test involved; just discussion of expectations. They wrote a letter to True Results stating how long I've been there patient, the meds they prescribe for me, how often I come, and how they will work with them in any way. Charged me $7 to do the letter & fax it to True Results & give me a copy.

As far as I know, this is acceptable...probably because my situation is different.

You may be afraid of this eval, but try not to be - these are the most understanding people! Good Luck!

jljeje

CHELL!! DON'T GET NERVOUS! OK, get nervous, but don't talk:eek:

lolol. I'm just kidding. I discovered at my appt. that the physc. really didn't care-- she was just going through the motions. I started talking about my past history, wgt. gain, emotional issues---She brushed me off and gave me a list of books to read. She did get excited when I told her I can talk to spirits though. When I wouldn't go into it, she called me defensive and said I would have problems with the limitation of the lap band.

OK. So then I pulled the trump card--age. I've been trying to be happy as a fat person all my life, since she was younger than I all she had to do is pass the info on to the insurance company.

Later that day I talked with the sec. and she told me everyone has problems with that physc. She thinks all people who are over wgt are negative.

Long story short, I have the the band.

Humm , interesting....I am no place near this point yet, I am registered for the "MOVE" program the VA has for weight loss. I was told straight out they want 3 - 6 months with this program prior to my seeing the folks for the surgery. So I keep my food logs, make notes about my mood when neeeded...so far it just makes me more depressed as I see the things I write down. I guess its because I fee pretty helpless as to my ability to purchase the food I would want to eat. I have concerns this will prevent me from getting the band since they will say that as a poor person I will not be able to afford the foods I need to eat....see when U have to use a food pantry, you get what they give you, not what U always want. I am grateful for the food but I sometimes would purchase something else if I had the chance. O.K. I digress, sorry....

Hi there . . .I didn't have a "test" . . .it was a "chat" . . . and cost me $175 that I wasn't expecting . . . and since my deductible with my insurance is $500 - it was the only thing I had to pay out of pocket. After all was said and done - she also runs the support group meetings - and we found out she is a former bypass client of my doctor too.

I did'nt have the test. I went to Mexico. They did all kinds of tests on me but only medical ones just befor the surgery.

Hi Chell, First of all you won't be getting a 'psycho' eval, you are not a psycho!! lol My psych eval consisted of an online test sort of like the MMPI but shorter, about 180 questions. Then the rest of the time we sat and chatted. She asked me questions about every aspect of my life. Food and eating and dieting affect everything; finances, relationships, the decisions we make, etc. I would tell you not to be nervous or scared of going. If any questions make you feel uneasy or uncomfortable or make you want to not talk about it, that should be your clue that you have to take a look at that particular aspect of your life. They are not there to pass or fail you, just to ensure that you want this for the right reasons. Good luck when you go. I am not banded yet, waiting for the insurance to approve. I should hear by the 17th and I am really antsy that they will say no.

Thank you for the information. As for not being psyco...I'll never tell. LOL. Seriously, I hate these things. Had a bad experience a few year back with a eval to see if I was ADD and or learning impaired. 8 hours of questions and test. She was a bitch if I must say..anyway left a bad taste in my mouth. Thanks for the update.

Chell, how could a person with ADD complete and 8 hour test & questions?!!! lol

Do you have your psych evaluation scheduled? Mine is this Friday. The nurse at the surgeon's office said the shrink is gorgeous....OK, now I'll REALLY be self-concious about my size! No, no, I'm happilly married!

Hay for being collage educated...she was dumb...when i get nervous I tend to talk a lot, giggle....so needless to say I did a fair amount of this and for some reason she felt she had to make note "the patient tried continuously to make conversation"...what the hell did she expect me to do, work for 8 hours and not say a world to anyone, not to mention she made a note of my being late...we got stuck in traffic, were a little lost so I called them to let them know...like what was I supposed to do??? Anyway I digress....LOL

I think that psych is OCD, but what do I know?

LOL...she was just out of school and trying to make a name for herself. The other doctor in the group was very nice, not at all like her. Hope I don't meet someone like her again. If I do, I will for sure tell them straight out...but of course I had no idea what she would write down, it all came out after the fact.

Yeah Chell, I always think of several "snappy comebacks" after the fact. I HATE that!

Well, I just had my psych appt & test today. Boy he WAS gorgeous! The nurse had forwarned me. :eek: He was very nice and said I seemed to know what I was doing and had done my research. I asked him what he thought about telling my girls (7 & 9) about the surgery, and he wasn't sure and could understand my concern. In the end, he finally said that my improved lifestyle would be a good influence on them. But then, if I don't want it spread all over the school, I should keep quiet! I had the silly test. It was about 385 T & F's. I got it done in about an hour. Some questions are pretty funny, and others were worded funny so I left them blank. But I suppose its required to weed out the mental cases!

True or False?: ".....I often hear voices in my head......I love my father......people are out to get me..."

lol,

Barb