had my psych on monday....ITS CRAZY...

I didnt have to take any tests, I just chatted with the psychiatrist about what I knew about the surgery, the risks involved, my struggles with my weight since childhood, my childhood in general and my life today. I found it very therapeutic (DUH! LOL) and she told me before I left that I was a good candidate for surgery. So sorry, some of you have had to pull out your Number 2 pencils to get approved. Yuck !

hi Amy...how have you been feeling after surgery??? and yes, the Number 2 pencil thing did suck....i had to answer about 800 T/F questions, others I wrote down, and close to 2 hrs being quizzed on the strangest things...like I said before, I can't imagine anyone who hasn't been to school in a long time, dealing too well with that.... Either way, let me know how you are doing??? take care, Mady

Mady, Thanks for asking. I am doing great! I am transitioning to solids and trying to find what I can eat and what likes me right now. I will tell you, if I eat too fast or dont take tiny bites, I pay for it . On a more vain note, my incision looks fabulous and should fade away to almost nothing. I'm so fair that my scars always seem to become very light and unnoticeable, thank goodness! Maybe a bikini is in my future some day after all

My psych eval was about 1/2 hour. The first part was a T/F test of about 260 questions such as, True or False, I am interested in people of the same sex as me. I hear voices that no one else hears. I think about doing violent acts to animals. I see dead people. Stuff like that!! Then the psychologist talked to me for a few minutes and we caught up. I knew him from a past job I had and we just talked about who we knew in common and he asked a few questions about my divorce and that was that! $90 spent on basically nothing except meeting Aetna's criteria!! Pre-Op Jan

hi Jan...it seems you had a much better experience than I did...i was there about 5 hrs...had close to an 800 T/F test, a written one....one session of jeopardy (or at least thats what it felt like) and alot of pictures to talk about...puzzle's, it was freaky...all that for surgery...and it was $400. (self-pay) do u have a date already? Take care...Mady

Mady, I think part of it is who you choose to do the test - a counselor with a degree, a psychologist or a psychiatrist. The prices do seem to vary widely and the test itself is not at all standard. Psych consults are like a box of chocolate! You never know what you're gonna get!! I do not have a date yet and it'll be another month before we even submit to Aetna. We want to have one more physician-supervised diet visit under my belt before we give it a shot. Pre-Op Jan

MADY, I AM ALSO IN MIAMI MY FIRST CHOICE WAS DR. SOSA BUT FOR THE REASON YOU STATED I CHANGED TO DR. RABAZA I HAVE TO HAVE MY PSHYC. EVALUATION BEFORE THE 13 PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHO YOU WENT TO SO THAT I DON'T GO TO THE SAME ONE. THANK YOU BEST WISHES. KIM

Hi, I just had my psych consult last week. I was there for 1 1/2 hours. He asked me all kinds of questions, from childhood on. It was alot of talking!!! He also told me at the end that he was clearing me for surgery. Now last month I had what sounds like the kind of consult you had, but mine was for adult ADD. I did all kinds of hands on testing from math to puzzles. That test took me two days and approximately 6 hours. I don't see the point of doing that kind of testing for this surgery. But I guess each doctor is different and has different requirements. Good Luck!!! ~Susan~