Hello from a Newbie

Hi. I just had my consult with Dr. Fang (who is in Dr. Juarez's office) on Thursday, and had my psych consult on Monday. I went to see Dr. Cooper at the Good Sam Bariatrics program. (That is where I'm going to have my surgery done.) My whole consult took about 1.5 hours. Tweet

Hello Tweet! What insurance do you have? Maxwell's office told me to expect 3 to 4 hours!! Best wishes to you! Anna

I don't have your insurance plan... I have Banner. But, I'm pretty sure that that office accepts yours... Anyways, I liked it since it was only 1 visit and short compared to others.

The initial test only took me about 90 minutes--- it's a LONGGG multiple choice test, like 500 questions.... so it really depends on how fast you are.... Then for the follow up appointment it's about 45 minutes- 1 hour.

Oh heck yeah! I am a counter, there were 592 questions and you had to blacken the bubbles! It took me 2 hours...am beginning to think I am a little slow, or think very hard. I suspect this is a standard test, as 2 other folks have told me they had it, and I also believe it comes with professional grading. It asks you if you like school, what kind of books you read, are you happy when a clever criminal gets away with a crime, do you hear voices..etc. Then it goes in a loop and asks you the same questions a different way. LOL! Dr. Goldberg is excellent and is indeed a barriatric psychologist. Of course, being compulsive, I tried to make sure my bubbles were perfectly round and the same shade. Since they only gave me 2 pencils, I felt obligated to sharpen them! *Grin*

Hi Darlene, Thanks for the help and advice. It is reassuring to meet someone with the same insurance plan as myself. 190 bucks is an awful lot for me to dish out, but depending on what I hear from Linda, I may just have to do that. Thanks Again! Anna

So true about the employment requirements! I am with Wells Fargo and we HAD to use UBH for psych exam.

Talk to someone at your doctors office. Let them know of the situation and I am sure that they will have some sort of alternative. The psychologist that my doctor's practice used was not accepted by my insurance, so they found an alternate for me. I couldn't really afford to be paying out of pocket, unless it was necessary. If your doctors office does not have some sort of alternative that works, then I would just search available psychologists who specialize in eating disorders. Then from there, start dialing and see if they do the psychological evaluation for bariatric surgery. Yeah, it may take a little longer, but just follow up with the office until the information is sent.. Good luck! Jen

Wow, I am overwhelmed at the help all of you are giving me! Thank you so much :-) My hubby works for L3, and so our United Healthcare Choice Plus is through that company. Anyone else out there L3 ? My original plan is to go through Bridges. I thought it was their request that I get a psychological exam. Perhaps it is a requirement for Insurance and Doctors and Surgery Center too? I am going to have to call my insurance company. I was worried about calling them, for fear that they would get a heads up and try to find a way for me not to get the surgery. I reckon that psych exam is going to find me paranoid ;-) Thank you so much, all of you, and very best wishes for healthy new beginnings!