Have a question!!!

Does anyone on here that has the band or in the process of gettin the band,have a mental problems like ADD, bipolar or things like that?  If so what kind of questions did ur center's psych or social worker asks you? Did u have to jump thru more hoops since you had those problems?  The reason I asks is cause I have Borderline Personality Disorder and I am scared having this will stop me gettin the band.

Thanks

Vickie

 I don't have any of those issues, but if you wondering they will cause problems during a psych eval, I doubt it. In MY case, the eval was just really about what caused me to get obese in the first place, whether I had realistic expectations about what WLS could do for me, etc.

I have Bipolar and OCD and anxiety issues . I saw a Dr in the practice I go to for my exam instead of the WL ctrs choice. I think as long  A) your issues are under control and you have a plan in place to keep them that way. and B) you realize realistically all the stress of this experience can disrupt your disorder and  have a plan in place for that you are good to go. They are just wanting to be sure you are stable and have a reasonable plan to stay that way. The rest of it will be making sure mentally you understand the procedure and what you expect from it etc. Which I think everyone is asked to be sure you do not have unreasonable expectations .They also want to be sure you do not have an eating disorder. It is more tedious than anything else.LOL  No worries! :)

Thanks!!  I found out I had BPD around the age of 16 or 17 y/o.  I think that is part of the reason why I am overweight and I have good days n bad days.  I think if I get this surgery n lose weight I will have more good days than bad. Cause right with my weight I have confidence on the inside but not the outside. Here is how I feel about that.  I feel like the fat n ugly(I know I am not) unconfindent chic on the outside is beating up the right now the big n beautiful confident chic on the inside,if that makes sense to anyone you. Before I gained alot of weight I was a totally different person,so I hope if I get my band n lose some weight;I can get the old me back just not in the body sense but in the mind too. Thanks for listenin to me.  

I think if your disorder is controlled under medical supervision or medications, it shouldn't cause any problems. The physician performing your lapband may ask for documentaion from your primary mental health provider for their records. So if I were you, I would inform my mental health provider of my plan to get a lapband so they will be aware in case information is requested of them. I think you'll be just fine.

When going through the process the first time to ,try to get banded, I saw a local psych as the ones my then surgeon recommended were 2+ hours away. He was not familiar with the lapband or really WLS at all. He diagnosed me as clinically depressed and deemed I would not be a good candidate for the surgery due to the stress it would cause. That was what he wrote in the letter to my surgeon. But he told me that he thought my sleep apnea was causing some of the symptoms one would normally attribute to clinical depression (I had been diagnosed with OSA but did not get my machine until 2 days after the eval). And of course, I know there were some real emotional issues, most due to my weight and the guilt I felt for letting everything go so far.

Due to the letter my surgeon flat out denied me. Told me to get help.

Yesterday I went for my eval with a different psych, this one associated with my new surgeon's office. I think things went much better.

If you go to someone other than those your surgeon recommends, make sure that they are familiar with the Lap-Band/WLS process. My best friend had RNY last year and her psych told her that she had cleared someone who heard voices. According to the psych, just because she heard voices, that does not mean she did not understand the process and everything that goes along with it.

Vickie,
Sadly, I suffer from phase 1, bipolar.  Because of the severity of my disease, I have a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist.  In a way this works to your advantage because you can use your psyciatrist or you therapist to conduct the psych eval.  I do not think that you  will have a problem.