Physical evaluation

[May May]

I'm feeling anxious about it, they just told me its a two part one with a psychiatrist and another to test me personality.
What can I expect

 

[JudyNY]

My psychiatrist evaluation was done all at once so I'm not sure why yours is in 2 parts. I do think that we get more nervous about this one than any other. I loved the psychiatrist that did my evaluation and she immediately put me at ease. I think one of the things they look for are eating disorders that would complicate things after surgery, such as bulimia. I think most of us tend to be binge eaters and that doesn't cause you to be turned down because not many of us would pass! They probably also want to make sure you are aware that you aren't doing this as an easy fix, that surgery is a tool and it is up to us to make sure we use it wisely.

 

[cmarnold01]

My recent evaluation was done online and was pretty simple. I have a history of depression after my divorce but that was many years ago. He just asked me a few questions regarding this.

 

[WazzuCoug]

Your experience may be different from others, but mind was an online set of questions and then a 1 on 1 chat. Just be open and straight forward about things.

 

[Meg]

I was a little nervous about the psych evaluation but there really was no reason for me to be. Prior to our online zoom meeting I had to fill out a questionnaire. The actual meeting was about 1/2 hour and we just reviewed some of the questions and chatted a bit.

 

[3momchaos]

I had my psych eval face to face, it was my last in office appointment before everything shut down and went virtual. I was nervous, most people are, but be honest, don’t share too much, but be genuine. Did I tell her that I would binged chocolate covered cherries while I was dealing with postpartum depression? Uhm, no. Did I tell her that there were time during depressive episodes that I felt out of control? Yes. I also explained how I handled them after, how I’m not like that anymore, my coping tools, then I went on to talk about physical activities I enjoy and my support system. They’ll want to know about your support system, or lack there of if that’s the case, and how you plan on being successful after surgery. By this appointment I’d found this group which I completely gushed over because this is a wonderful community of helpful people at all stages of WLS. She really liked that I’d found support outside of their office.

 

[missyinacage]

It's not as bad as your thinking. They are pretty basic and are looking for genuine disorders that might need to be addressed in order for you to be successful. They are not trying to disqualify you or find something wrong.

 

[Tokash]

Mine was some testing I did prior to the appointment and then 2 meetings with him. I was honest about everything and he even inquired about my PTSD dx that was noted from one of my other docs along with depression and anxiety and if I had any history of medication use for any of it. Many people go in to these appointments and try not to share much or not be honest but they can read right through people so its better not to do that.

 

[KarenWV]

I had a 2 part psych evaluation. The 1st was a half hour "chat" about me, my family, support systems, why have the surgery, and my mild depression including Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriate since it was the end of Oct). In Jan I had the written standardized evaluation. I tried to answer honestly & hoped they matched my previous statements. The questions were all True/False & mostly common sense. Please don't worry, just let them know why you want to go through this process & procedure and you'll be fine. Good luck!