I have to be honest I am FREAKING out about the psych eval. Honestly it has to be one of the scariest moments in my life. It all comes down to this, and a doctor saying yes or no could change my life. It has really taken an effect on me the past couple of days, and I was hoping someone could tell me how they felt doing the pysch eval and what types of questions they were asked.

thanks!

Actually, I'm so used to therapy, it didn;t phase me at all!!LOL. I just did mine this past monday and it took less than an hour. She just wrote in a notebook all about my childhood, what my parents were like, about my siblings. About my education, marriage, time in the Army, about my depresssion, the meds I take.......just "stuff" basically. She told me she was recommending me for surgery, but wanted to see me continue with therapy for depression.

Please don;t be so terrrified about the psych eval - it;s really not that bad. They just ask a bunch of generic questions about your family, how you deal with stress, and about who your support system is for the surgery. That was about it for me.

Good luck!

Marci

It really isn't that bad. Except I had to fill out a 200+ questionnaire beforehand, and it asked all type of weird questions. First there would be normal ones, asking if I liked flowers or painting, and then the next one would be like "true or false: I have thoughts of killing other people." It was kind of comical lol Then I met with the psychologist and he just asked normal questions.

It's not that bad, really. Good luck!

I too was worried about my psych evaluation....mainly because I admitted myself to a Mental Hospital a year after my first daughter was born. (Severe postpartum depression). But unlike most people on here, my Psychiatrist didnt ask me to fill out any questionnaire. She just asked about my family history. If there was any drug abuse/alcohol abuse, obesity, mental disorders. Then she asked why I wanted the surgery and how much I was REALISTICALLY looking to lose. I guess I got an easy Psychiatrist who didnt really do these types of evaluations too often. (And that showed later when they faxed the eval the first time to the surgeon and forgot to put my last name on it.....and then it took them a month to fax the FINAL eval because the Psychiatrist didnt release me and did not NOT release me). So far, I seem to be the only one who didnt endure any lengthy visit. Mine was like 20 mins tops. I spent more time in the waiting room than I did in with the Psychiatrist. What I am trying to say is, dont freak out. Just be honest and dont forget to stop and breathe in between parts of the eval. Good luck and hang in there!! Let us know how it goes...:thumbup:

they're all a little different and the big key is DO NOT LIE!

Mine asked odd questions many different ways. Like:

Do you want to murder your family?

and then 5 pages later

Agree or disagree:

Killing my family could be fun

then 7 pages later

True or false

Shooting the family is something all people dream of.

Exaggerated of course but you get the drift. Just answer honestly. OH and if you say yes you want to shoot your family, have a good reason ready cuz the therapist SHOULD ask! :thumbup:

It's really no big deal as long as you're truthful.

Apparently Unforgettable and I took the same long weird test!

RM I'm glad I'm not the only one! I was laughing while in the waiting room filling this thing out. Thankfully the doc was really cool so when he asked how I thought the test was I was able to joke with him about it.

But you hit the nail on the head because that was totally how the questions were!

OMG I am so glad to hear you guys had to answer those questions too! I have to say it was one of the most bizarre questionaires I have every filled out, but the rest of the appt was fine. The only thing she told my surgeon was that she ws concerned I would have trouble giving up soda. Not a single craving yet.

Honestly, every shrink has a different way with our pre-surgery interviews, and I got to say, some are overkill in my opinion.

At any rate, call a few head drs. and see what their criteria is.

I called 3 different dr.s before settling on the one I wanted.

I also asked a group of people at my nutrition

class as to whom they went to and what their various opinions of their visits were.

Two dr.s visits were only 1 hr questions and chat, and one was a 4 hour testing, then come back for a 1 hr question and answer, and the recepitionist actually told me they would also charge my insurance company for another 2 hours of creating a report so as to send my insurance a 7 hr bill. Needless to say I did not choose that place.

But having done this 3 yrs ago (and not having the surgery), and now this time, both Dr,s were different in their ways, but both visits were a piece of cake.

And the Psychologist I just saw yesterday was waaaaayyyyy cool, in fact it was very much a learning exerience and I wish I could have spent more time with her.

To say to you, "don't worry" is pointless because it is your fear, but to help ease that fear, I really suggest, ask around, call some offices to see what they would require, then you take control and choose which one you think you would like best.

Good luck to you!!!!

Edited August 15, 200916 yr by GraciesMom

WOW!!! My psych eval was nothing like any of yours.

I was asked about my weight loss gain history, my health issues,my family history of weight and health issues, what my goals are with weight loss.

I have lost and gained 50 or more lbs 4 times in my life so she said that I do show that the lap band will work for me. I do have health issues that will be lessened with weight loss so that was on my side too.

I do have a family of overweight people, my parents, sister and 4 brothers are all overweight and have heart problems. My sister was the only one who did something about it, she had GBP but she cheats alot.

I did say that my main reason for wanting to lose weight was to play on the floor with my grandson and to stay alive to see him become an adult. My mom died when she was 72 and my dad at 80 but their being overweight and the health problems didn't help much. My mother's mother (grandma) was thin (size 12) and she lived to be 99 and 10 months.

I never had any questions about killing, and didn't have a form to fill out or any type of test.

hey everyone! thanks for all your responses you honestly eased my nerves!

now my pysch eval isnt until tomorrow but i just wanted to let everyone know i went to the doctor today and he is writing my letter for surgery, and i also was diagnosed with pcop eeeek. which explains a lot of things going on with me!

my mom is also now getting the surgery. she's getting it before me though i believe, because she doesn't have an age requirement to meet and when she does all her stuff, she can have her surgery within like 2-4 weeks after it all.

I have to be honest I am FREAKING out about the psych eval. Honestly it has to be one of the scariest moments in my life. It all comes down to this, and a doctor saying yes or no could change my life. It has really taken an effect on me the past couple of days, and I was hoping someone could tell me how they felt doing the pysch eval and what types of questions they were asked.

thanks!

It wasn't bad at all. First they sent me a questionaire to fill out and bring with me to my appointment and we went over the around 100 questions. She asked me about who I would have for support, If I thought I would change as a person afterwards, how I handle stress, my depression etc. I was really just a sitting and visiting with the lady but the whole conversation was about me. You will do fine.

It wasn't bad at all. First they sent me a questionaire to fill out and bring with me to my appointment and we went over the around 100 questions. She asked me about who I would have for support, If I thought I would change as a person afterwards, how I handle stress, my depression etc. I was really just a sitting and visiting with the lady but the whole conversation was about me. You will do fine.

that doesn't sound bad at all!

today my doctor was asking me questions like where i see myself with the lapband, why i want it, and how fast i want to see results. things like that, it was a little nervewracking because i was worried i was going to say the wrong thing, but i was as honest as i could be and he agreed to write the letter!

hopefully i can leave tomorrow with a big sigh of relief.

Don't worry too much about it. They are repetitive questions simple. :-) mine was done on a computer, it took like 1hr or so, then I sat down with the physcologist, and we went over everything. I passed it with flying colors. It was soooo easy..

They mainly ask you why you eat? what makes you eat? how you deal with problems? if you binge eat??

They're looking to see if you're stark raving mad, are a surgery junkie (yes, those people do exist) or are a closet bulemic, none of whom should have lap band surgery. Even previous history of mental issues isn't a problem unless that previous history includes killing your whole family and the neighbour's puppy dog. Even then you may be cleared for lap band surgery... although you may also end up enjoying padded walls.

Assuming you are none of the above, freak not.