Psychological Evaluation Problem

Hi everyone! I just wanted to ask about the evaluation. I just had mine and it didn't go so well. The person running the evaluation said that I wasn't a good candidate for the surgery but in the end said I barely passed. Does that mean I will lose my surgery date? It's in 3 weeks and I don't want to lose it! She scared the hell out of me maybe that's a good thing? 

It sounds like you will still be able to have surgery but if I were you I would ask for more clarification.

If she thinks there may be a problem it would be good for you to find out her concerns and address them.  WLS is not an easy fix and it will take work for the rest of your life to be successful.  Any tools you can get will help you.

If she thinks you have eating issues or unrealistic expectations I would take those things to heart and find out about ongoing counseling to help you.

I personally think that along with a psychological evaluation people should also consider some kind of counseling or treatment for their unresolved eating issues in order to help them get to where they want to be.

I know that I truly thought that WLS would cure my food issues.  I found out the hard way that it doesn't.  Just as addressing the symptoms of a disease and not the actual disease doesn't cure it, neither does surgery.  It is just one part of the process.

I realized that having surgery on my body for a problem that originates in my mind, at least in my case, isn't the answer.  It can be a tool to help overcome the problem but unlike having surgery to fix a physical problem it isn't going to make the problem go away.

Don't be scared.  Be thankful that you have a chance to improve your outcome and take it.  

You don't say what her specific concerns were (which isn't really my business) -- but if I were you, I would want to know what those were so that I could start addressing them now.  A lot of people think that surgery will fix everything and it's pretty shocking when we learn after surgery that we still have a lot of "head" work to do to be successful.

I would use constructively whatever her concerns were to have the best chances possible to be successful.

On the letter she wrote she said i should continue going to group therapy (which i go to every week), track my food, watch my portions, and cut the junk. 

I do all of those things except for the junk food but i am working on it. I'm going to the clinic soon to get some clarification from a doctor there. 

I just hope and pray i get good news. 

And also i know of all complications of the surgery and what i should and should not be eating because i have read just about everything so idk why she would say that and then change her mind :(

Junk food is a big problem after surgery because it is a "slider" food.  We can usually eat way more of it than protein and it is high in carbs and low in nutrition.   Why do you eat the junk food instead?  What does it do for you that whole foods do not?  Tracking will definitely help... it made a huge difference for me.  

Some of the things she wrote was: that I need to continue to go to my group therapy, continue to track my food intake, cut my junk food, and watch my portions 

I do all those things except for the junk food but i am working on this. So i don't know why she would say that then change her mind :( 

Also I'm going to the clinic soon to get more info and i hope and pray that i get good news! 

Like the other replies - it would be helpful for you to know her exact concerns.  To me, the focus of the psych eval is not on your getting approved for the surgery, but on your being successful AFTER surgery. She is giving her professional opinion that you are prepared and can be successful after surgery.  It seems she has some concerns that you may not be positioned well for success after surgery - it will be in your best interest to what they are and address them for your own good.  (I'm not sure what your issues about giving up junk food are, or how much you are eating, but that may be one of her concerns.)

From the last published study I saw, 25% of people who get WLS regain everything within 5 years.  You do not want to be one (and neither do I).  The current wisdom is that those people would have been better off postponing surgery until more of their issues were resolved (I'm not sure about that, but that is the current medical thinking). 

I might start a further conversation with your desire to be successful long-term and did the psych eval uncover something that you should begin addressing now and get 3-weeks start on it before surgery.  Assume that your surgery is still on but that you are willing to do what it takes to be successful 5 years out.

Let us know how things go, 

You passed so they will do the surgery.  Getting the surgery isn't the hard part... it's being successful after.

I have severe binge eating disorder and, even with this, I passed my psych evaluation.  This is because I stay in therapy and go regularly, I try my best when I make mistakes to immediately get back on track, and I am 100% committed to success.

I have made mistakes with what I've eaten sometimes.  What matters is recognizing patterns that cause us to have cravings and/or go off the path and fixing it.  As they say in counseling, a lapse is not a relapse, and when you are food addicts as many of us are, there WILL be relapses.  

If I can lose 110 pounds since June 22nd and fix my mistakes with a very severe eating disorder, then anyone can do it.  Sometimes it's good to be scared, because that's the only way we change.  At least, that was true for me.

If eating junk food pre surgery was an eliminator to surgery I don't think many of us would have qualified. 

This is a big head game. Being active in OH helps too.

Deb T.

Soo i went to talk to someone today and my surgery got pushed to january but then it got worse because now my insurance is at risk so idk what to do..

I dont know how to make my surgery get back to december before my insurance gets crazy and i wont be covered, this hasnt been a good day :, (