A Newbie

Hello, I have been lurking for awhile. I submitted my application to OSU three weeks ago and have my appointments with the nutritionist (K. Fout) and psychologist, Dr. Kramer, next week. I am a bit nervous and anxious to start all of this. Will it be detrimental to my being accepted for WLS due to a history of severe depression? (I am stable now.) What should I expect at each of these appointments? Thanks Teresa

I went through OSU. I had severe depression too. I had been on Prozac for years. They ask you several questions as to why you want to have the surgery. They want to make sure you are mentally ready for the changes you must go through to be successful. Also they want to make sure you are not a person that may start binging or become anorexic. Kris Fout is wonderful. She was my nutritionist through the whole thing. I even saw here during my 6 months to make sure I was eating and making the right choices. At the psych Dr.. you will take a test of questions that are true or false, yes or no. Example... Did you feel loved as a child? or Do you or did you love your parents? Some questions are deep, but they are all a =T/F or Y/N question. Good Luck... I am sure you will do fine. Julie 290/187/140 goal

I tried to act as normal as possible. Because some places make you have councling for months first. So I lied alot about my depression. I acted all hunky dorY. and beleive me im not. But I got my surgery. This is not advise. It is whAT i DID TO GET MNY SURGERY DONE FASTER. tAKE cARE bARB

Hi Teresa, And welcome!! I too have a long history of depression. Like you, it has long been stabilized and I do well with my meds, recognize the signs of spiraling downward or meds not working right and get myself to the dr. or counselor ASAP. Be honest with Dr. Kramer. IF you are required to take the MMPI, it can flag you as being depressed and hold things up. I told my psych about the depression and how I was handling it. I told her of my potential issues and what I was doing right then to get ready for the changes in my life post op (I drive a lot for work and needed to adjust my lunch habits!). We talked about my informal supports, primary and back ups, who was going to take care of me (hubby, young adult daughter, sisters-in-law). We talked about WHY I wanted this and what I hoped to achieve. In the end, I passed with flying colors (so to speak!), my psych 'grades' hers by hand and told me she would throw out the questions that show depression because she felt I had it under control. The only thing she recommended was ongoing support group meetings to help me deal with things. Oh, and if you have to take the MMPI, DON'T try to answer the questions to 'make' yourself look 'better'. Its designed to catch those kinds of answers. Good luck with your appointments, Melissa

Hello, Thanks for your responses and support. I do better when I know what to expect. Teresa