PSYCH EVALV TUESDAY... ADVICE

Be careful when the psych asks you questions about, "Are you a binge eater?" If you say you are, they will postpone your surgery for about six months so you can go through 'counseling'. I said I ate 5 pieces of bread once and they said it didn't count as being a bona fide binge eater. Sheryl

I am also going through the Scottsdale Bariatric Center. It took me about 4 hours for the psych eval whi*****luded 2 fill in the circle tests and speaking with the psychologist on staff. The psych evaluation is mainly to test to see where you are at in your life and if you are prepared to go through the change in your eating. Just answer the questions honestly. The evaluation is really in place to help you go through the changes as smoothly as possible. I have a diagnosis as being bi-polar (an incorrect diagnosis) on my medical record so I had to go through 6 months of counseling. Even though I resented having to do it, in the end it was really helpful to work through a lot of things. They want to know that their patients will be compliant with the requirements both before and after the surgery and some of the steps are in a sense a test of how well you will comply. One thing that might pertain to you, depending on when you have your surgery is that starting in July they will require their patients to lose 10% of their weight before scheduling surgery. I now have a surgery date of June 8th with Dr Kieran. I'm not sure about the insurance as I am a self-pay patient. I do know that the staff at SBC is very supportive and helpful and that they will do everything they can do to make sure that things go as quickly as possible. I wish you the best of luck in your journey. Judy