New to the board and hope to have surgery 3-4 mos.

Hey everyone, Well today was my first appointment with the bariatric nurse clinician.  It went really well and she thought since I was pretty healthy and had all the approrpriate documentations etc, she thought I could be having my Rooux-en-y as soon as 3 months from now, maybe 4 at the latest.  Yea and OH MY GOD, I am really on my way to being healthy!!! I made all of my appointments with the phsycologist already, my last one is scheduled for January 7. Can someone tell me what happens at these appointments, they told me that they last 90 minutes. I read on some other forum that someone went to an appt and the phsycologist tried talking them out of the surgery...is that really what will happen....are they going to be kind of like testing me to see if this is really something I need or want to do??  so if anyone can share what I can expect from these appointments I will greatly appreciate it. I am so excited but yet nervous, this is going to be a HUGE life change for me and my family!!! 

My psychologist appt took about 45 minutes, but the MMPI test took over an hour to complete.  I've heard some people need to go to multiple appointments if the psych feels it is necessary.  But I've never heard of one trying to talk someone out of getting surgery unless they were already having mental issues.  They psych wants to ensure you are capable of making an informed decision about having surgery and that you are mentally prepared for the challenges that lie ahead after surgery.

 

Welcome to the boards...youll get alot of good support and information here.

:)

Linda

Welcome to the board and CONGRATS!!! 

Welcome to the boards. You will find this to be a wonderful place with wonderful people.

With my phsycologist appointments I went in for my first visit to take a test. Tons of questions! Some of the questions are strange. Then my second appointment was to go over the results of the test. He also talked with me about my whys for having the surgery, how the family feels about it, and what steps am I willing to take to make it work. This apointment was no more than a 1/2 an hour.

Just be honest and you will do great!

Best wishes on your journey.

Welcome to the board and good luck with your journey!!!!

 

You picked a great surgeon (though I'm sure none of them are slackers)!  What happens at the appointments depends on the psychologist.  The list that Unity provides are people that have special training and interest in bariatrics, so there shouldn't be anybody that will try to talk you out of it.  I did need a little more counseling, so my process took a little longer, but for me, it was worth it in the end.  My Psychologist had me do the MMPI, and the Food something or other inventory, all told it took about 1.5 hours for the testing.  The test is just a tool they use to make sure you are grounded in reality, that you don't have any unaddressed mental illness or emotional issues.  It's not very scary, just be honest. 

Best of luck to you, and welcome to the board!

 

Welcome to the board, keep us updated on your journey. Erika

I think the main thing the psychologists are looking for is that you have a healthy way with coping with change and stress.  A lot of people after surgery develop a different addiction to cope with feelings and anxieties that possibly food provided comfort for in the past.  So much is going to change with you as a person they want to know you are prepared to handle all of it.  If they feel you aren't able to cope then mabye they will ask you to look at the situation differently or work on getting healthy mentally before surgery but I don't think any psychologist would ever talk you out of surgery.   I agree with every that says just be honest when you talk to the psychologist and also when you take the test. 

Welcome to this web site.  I finished up with the psycho testing 3-4 weeks ago.  The tests are ful of odd questions that you would think did not apply to WLS.  When I returned for the results, the DOC sure seemed to gleen alot of informatin from my answers.  She wanted me to have the PCP up my meds.  My PCP said no.  The testing took about 2 hours (there was aa cafeteria down the hall).  Oh shame on me!  I had an appointment with the surgical assistant this week, and the psychologist had not submitted anything to the team.  They went ahead and scheduled a team meeting (POW WOW where they discuss my case).   I hope to have surgery mid-April.  Good luck to you, and you've found a good resource on this site. Lillysummer