PreOp Testing

Hi Everyone, I am getting ready to schedule an evaluation and was wondering if anyone had any opinion of Marsha Somers, Susan Fishbein or Sharon Propper for the psy testing. All opinions are welcome. Thanks, C

C - Sorry, I'm not familiar with any of the names.  My psych was done by Dr. Harvey Gerwanter, by Franklin Square Hospital.  He was a sweetie, and I think the whole thing took about 30 minutes.  I've heard some horror stories where the eval took hours! If you decide not to go with any of them, my therapist, Ranessa McNally, is a gem!!  She's a wls patient herself and just had full-blown plastics done.  Her number is 410-602-0102.  Please give her a call if you need her - you won't be disappointed!! Good luck and have a great weekend! Tia

I see Ranessa Mcnally::   shes great.  410-602-0102

I second Darla - Dr. McNally is AWESOME!!  I had her for my preop session and although she cleared me for surgery, I decided to start seeing her when I was 5 months postop.  I've been having monthly appointments.

Marsha Somers, PhD did my evaluation.  I had to take a couple of tests - they took at least 90 miinutes to complete, then I met with Dr. Somers and we talked for about 50 minutes. Approximately two weeks later I received a copy of the evaluation - she recommended that I postpone the surgery for at least 3 months during which time I should have weekly therapy sessions. After 3 months of therapy - with someone other than Dr. Somers - I contacted her for a follow-up evaluation. I have playing phone tag with Dr. Somers for almost two months now still trying to get that follow-up evaluation!!! My surgeon will not submit my paperwork to the insurance company to request the surgery until he gets the follow-up evaluation. So...I'm in a holding pattern. Her follow-up has been poor. I wouldn't recommend her to anyone. 

WOW, that really sucks. Have you asked if you can see someone else? When I went to my info session at GBMC they said that anyone other than your existing therapist can do the psych eval. So, if you have had 3 months of therapy, that therapist should qualify, unless you had an existing relationship with him/her prior to those 3 months. I actually just called into my EAP at work, and the referred me to a therapist. She turned out to be a gem, and I'm going to keep an ongoing relationship wtih her. If you want her info, PM me. She is in Towson.

I had Ranessa McNally she was awesome!!  No exams we just talked for about 45 minutes the most an hour.  She is a RNY patient and totally understands what we are going through. She is absolutely amazing!   Forgot to mention the report was sent within a week to my surgeon. Good Luck!

Thanks to everyone that responded. I seem to see a pattern with Ranessa so maybe I should go in that direction.  As for Marsha Somers, I contacted her office yesterday and am still waiting for a follow up phone call.  Thanks to Seraphll, I think I just might forget about her.  I have all the other testing scheduled and don't want this eval to hold things up.  I did call Ranessa today, got voice mail but didnt' leave a message. I think I will call again on Monday, this time, I will leave a message.  Thanks for everyone's input, it has been a great help!! C

Call Ranessa back tomorrow and leave a message anyway. She will get back to you by Monday Morning she is good at returning calls.  I left her a message and she called me within a couple of hours.  Take care and let us know what you do.

i used marsha sommors for my evaluaton, i called the office, left a voice mail and when i didn't get a prompt call back, i called again and left a detailed message. i made the apt. a few days later and had my evaluation. did the standard multiple choice, than i spoke to her for an hour. got my results 2 weeks later that she recomended i have the surgery. i was nervous for the 2 weeks so i called her after a 1.5 weeks and she said not to worry i would be a good candidate for the wls. i had the surgery on feb 7th '08 and im down 44 lbs so far. i got dr sommors name from a list they gave at gbmc, none of the other psych testers would answer or call me back so i went with dr. sommors. i switched from dr. von rueden to dr. averbach 1 month before my surgery because of dr. von rueden leaving gbmc would cause me to have to wait until april for the surgery. luckily dr. averbach agreed to see me that same day in jan. and my insurance approved my surgery 2 days later. i'm sure dr. von rueden would have been great. i also knew that dr. averbach was great based on info from my primary doctor and my cardiologist.