Can anyone tell me what their preop psych evaluation involved? I just made my appointment for next Wednesday and they said to allow at least 3 hours... that seems like a long time to take for this. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hey Angie-

Mine took two hours. I met with the doctor for about 45 minutes, and then did several different "fill in the bubble true/false" type questionnaires. Like MMPI. I think that might be part of why they want you to allow so much time. Good luck!

Jaime

The MMPI has hundreds of questions and takes a long time to fill out. That's probably what most of the appointment will be. We filled out several personality/psych tests that totaled over 1000 questions.

Like the others, the paperwork and MMPI takes quite a long time to fill out. I think between it and then actually talking with the doctor, I was there for 2 1/2 hours, so that sounds about right.

My evaluation took 10 minutes!!! I waited in the waiting room for 1 1/2 hours, but the evaluation was 10 minutes. Go figure!

Hi, I hope to be banded within the next month by Dr. Eric Pinnar out of Reston, VA. Him and his staff are incredible and focus on after care. The psychologist part of the program is important and not so much to see if you are ready for surgery but to discuss possible concerns after the surgery. For instance if you suffer from depression it is important to know that if you have ever been depressed, surgery itself can trigger depression. There were 3 or 4 tests and they included: Questions to see how you see the world or if you are depressed or bi-polar and so on. They are true or false you don't have to think about it. ex: Are you in a happy relationship? Are you tired all the time? Do you feel good? Then they will throw in a weird one like You were on the front cover of Cosmopolitan last month? One test was the alcoholic test to make sure you are not an alcoholic. Then the psychologists evaluation, which were questions at length. Its nothing to be scared of unless you have major psychological problems. She also said I was psychologically strong enough to do a 14 day fast rather then a 7 day one. So, its used for different reasons. It will point out possible concerns and for you to get it on the table. I was approved right away and we are all a bunch of weirdos in my family. :smile2:

Hi everyone - thanks for all the responses. I wasnt concerned about passing - I was just mostly concerned at why it took such a long time. So thank you for reassuring me that this is a normal procedure. I had these weird pictures in my head of the commercials for Moment of Truth! LOL Thanks again - and hopefully Ill be a fellow bander:thumbup: by the end of March!!

The program I am going through is pretty strict, but I was surprised the psych eval wasn't longer. The program coordinator sees you every 6 weeks and he is a psychologist. We already spent about an hour just talking about their program, what is expected of me, my medical history (uneventful), reasons for weight gain, history of weight loss, what my expectations are re: surgery, etc. I also did a quick fill in the circles thing. I've never had depression, bulimia, etc. (I can't make myself throwup if I try, which I told him). I don't drink or do drugs and never have. Food is my vice! Also, due to my profession, I am very good at "selling" myself. He gave me a list of everything I have to do before they schedule surgery, and other than "check in" meetings with him, there are no more psych eval. Maybe if they see certain things they dig deeper?

my first eval was also 3.5 hours. I met with psych for an hour, a nurse practitioner for an hour and a nutritionist for an hour and a half. It was very thorough and I was glad for the scrutiny.

the MMPI is such an old antiquated test- it is nearly useless, personally I see it having very little utility in pre-op evaluation. There is a newer MMPI-2 released in 2007, but I am not even sure about the validity of that one. This is my personal opinion, but I think the psych eval should be geared towards judging a patient's compliance with post op intructions, their support network, and their understanding of complications, risks, and long-term lifestyle changes. I was self pay and still had to undergo one.

Mine took about 30 mins. :thumbup: sounds like I was very lucky.

Hi, Angie... Yes, it took me all of 3 hours to do the psych test... my hand, neck and head were very tired by the time I was finished and actually I was so lost in the bubbles, the time flew by. I was so happy to be finished. It's actually kind of interesting to see how they take all those bubbles and questionnaires and turn them into a line chart that tells you all about yourself... :thumbup: Good luck.

Chubbychecker...I'm also having my surgery by Dr. Eric Pinnar... he and his staff are amazing. I love how involved they are and I feel completely confident in the pre and post care. Can't wait! Good luck to you and look forward to hearing all about your progress.

Take care all.

Sheri

I'm also a future bandmate from Dr. Pinnar, and I'm scheduled to take my 3 hour test next week. It does seem kinda like something unnecessary (especially since insurance isn't covering me), but I'll do whatever they require to get on the bandwagon... :thumbup:

Its nothing to be scared of unless you have major psychological problems. She also said I was psychologically strong enough to do a 14 day fast rather then a 7 day one.

Gotta say, Chubbychecker, I personally hope NOT to be found psychologically strong enough for the 14-day fast! Seven days is plenty long enough for me!! :biggrin2: