I need advice.

Hello everyone. I hope all is well. My name is Erica  I am new to this. I am so amazed at some of the outcomes . I am so happy for the people who have took the journey and on your road to success. Keep up the good work. I have a question tomorrow I go to my assessment to have my mental evaluation. I don't know what to say and what not to say out of fear they migh tell my insurance company I am not a good candidate for surgery if I say the wrong thing. I guess what I am asking what should I and should I not say and did anyone else feel this way?

Just be honest. They just want to make sure that you're not going into this with blinders on & that you have realistic expectations. I don't think they are the ones that determine you are a good candidate for weight loss, that's usually determined by your dr & whatever requirements your insurance calls for. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice

When I went it was for my lap band implantation.  I had to take a several page test that had redundant questions, phrased differently to see if I would answer the same each time to the same question.  Then, I went in and talked to the therapist and just had a natural discussion about weight loss or lack thereof, why I wanted surgery, did I realize what it was and was not supposed to do, etc.  Just relax and be yourself.

Oh god, I remember that test, fill in the bubbles.. Like 8 pages.. Ugg. 

My appointment was the same, we just talked about what I felt I would get from it, how I would handle it, a support system, and all that kind of stuff.  

I was terrified, and he told me after I was pretty normal. 

So just go in, be honest and don't worry.  :-) you will be fine.

Thank you so much

Sweetie you'll be fine, as long as you're honest.  Psychiatric illnesses don't even rule you out.  I'm Bipolar, have PTSD and a nice case of Dissociative Disorder.  I only had to see the psych once and take the aforementioned test.  I did have to affirm my awareness of the post op support groups in my area and take her card.

Mainly, they just want to make sure you don't think your life will magically get better, you'll lose all your weight in the first six weeks and you'll never be sad or lonely again.

You got this.  Congrats on your journey=)

Thank you and good luck on your journey

Just be honest... I was brutally honest with everything during my eval. Tears rolled down my cheek at one point, and I was asked what had me upset.. My response was "I'm not upset, I've just waited so long for this and this is my last step for approval so of course I'm nervous and I'm PMSing, so it's a combination of all of those emotions"... He laughed. I was approved, and he handed me one of his cards before I left and told me if I ever needed to talk, he was there. He also said, "If you don't need me, but just happen to stumble across my card in a year or two, let me know how you're doing".

Just relax, be yourself and take it in... it's part of the process. Good luck!

Thanks to everyone