Tomorrow is my psych eval...

Hi everyone, Things are moving right along here. Tomorrow is my psych eval with Dr. Raju. Anyone have any opinion of him either way? I"m not really worried about it though. I had an echocardiogram on Friday which was required because I took Phen-fen for a month about 8 years ago. The person who did the test said she didn't see anything (obviously using the disclaimer that she's not a doctor). I didn't expect them to find anything. She says that the hype about Phen-fen causing heart problems can't be proven because so many people who took it had never had an echo before they took it so there was no way of knowing whether the drug actually caused the problems. I will be picking up the oxymeter while I"m in Cedar Falls tomorrow so that will be yet another test out of the way. Hopefully I will be hearing from my insurance in a few short weeks. On another note..... my best friend and her 18 mth old daughter from California are coming to visit me for the first 10 days of July. I haven't seen her in 5 years. She has been through a lot this past year with Stage 3 rectum cancer (had to have everything removed) and is still on chemo. She is visiting in between treatments. She is only 32 years old but has the best attitude and is not letting her diagnosis drag her down. I am really looking forward to seeing her again. She is looking forward to some quiet country living, county fairs and horseback riding. Leslie

Good luck tomorrow, Leslie, I can't give you any advice except to answer his questions honestly & don't worry about how he will interpret them. Mostly this visit is to determine if you know what you are getting into, if you are mentally able to do what the doctor requires, & that you understand that it is not a miracle surgery. I didn't go to Dr Raju so can't tell you anything about him. My heart goes out to your friend. My mother had Rectal cancer also and when diagnosed it was also stage 3. However, she was much older, late 70's, at the time. A positive attitude is one of the best medicines there is. Dixie

Dixie, thanks for your response and well wishes. I'm not really nervous about tomorrow. I have been researching this surgery for months now and have read everything I can find on it. My husband keeps teasing me about being over-prepared. I have a huge notebook with all the great information I've gotten from this website and a few others. I have lots and lots of recipes...and what to do if food gets stuck, if I dump, if I have constipation, diarrhea, gas, foaming, pain etc. Most of all, I've learned that no matter what, I need to keep in close contact with the surgeon when I have any problems. I'm sure I can't totally prepare myself for the pain, the inability to eat, the frustration of not being able to eat and drink what I want and not losing weight as fast as someone else but I think I know it will be my own journey with all my own joys and pains. Yea....I'm ready Thanks to everyone for their contributions here. Every time you take the time to answer a post, you are helping lots of pre-ops like me feel better able to handle what comes up. Leslie

Ok, so now I'm talking to myself. I had my psych eval with Dr. Raju today and it went really well. He just asked me lots of questions about what I've done to try and lose weight, what health problems I have, if I had done lots of research on WLS, how was I going to handle my body image if I lost 80-90 lbs, if I was depressed or ever had been etc. I had to fill out a short questionaire about my present feelings about my life. He said he thought I was in good mental health and very prepared for what I was going to go through. His only suggestion was that I try to find a support group to go to after the surgery. I told him that I have a very supportive husband and of course all of you here at OH. I also picked up the oximetry thing so I will sleep with it tonight and try to get it back to them before the end of the week. Anyone have a clue as to how late the Covenant Clinic is open during the week? My hubby has already taken off quite a bit of work to take me to doctor appointments and wants to save at least a week of his vacation time to spend helping me after the surgery. Looks like I might have to drive to Cedar Falls by myself if they aren't open after 5 pm. Take care everyone... Leslie

Hi Leslie, sounds like things are moving right along for you!! The post card I have here at home says the clinic is open form 9am -5pm. I think they are closed over the lunch hour too. Glad your psych eval went okay!! good luck and keep us posted! Shelli