Going to the shrink.

I have my appt to see the shrink today.So far so good everything is set for Oct 5th to have my rny surgery.

Congrats on making to the next stage of your pre-op! Everything that I have heard is to be completly honest when talking to your shrink. They are there to help you prep for life after surgery.  Gotta know if you can cope!

I was completely honest with my shrink and he asked to see me again. I wasnt crazy, it was just my son has brain cancer and he felt I needed skills to cope with it. The truth is, I got a lot out of the extra visit. I won't use a shrink again, but I see the value in them now.

Excellent, GOP.  That's why the shrinks are there - not just to help us cope with the changes surgery bring about, but also the other mental trauma going on in ones life such as your son's cancer.  Don't be afraid to use a shrink, a counselor of some type, or even a clergyperson if these worlds all collide and put you (or another family member) into a crash and burn scenario - but I hope that the need is not there for you.

It went very good she asked all the basic questions and i asked quite a few.Last one to do is see my nutritionist and away we go for oct 5th.

 I am in the process of jumping through the hoops for the insurance reviewer. My psych evaluator did a through job and I was completely honest with him. He said that I could use some counseling but he would approve me for surgery. It turns out that he recommended counseling on the evaluation rather than say suggests. This one change of a word caused a denial of my payment by the insurance co. Now I have to have cognitive behavioral therapy before they will approve me. There is no number on the visits I need or the amount of time. I do think that the therapy will be good for me but it put a roadblock on way to surgery. I would make sure what the psych evaluation says before submitting it for insurance.

Just posted some comments bout this on another forum...

WLS is about making physical changes, to address our physical issues (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, etc), but does nothing for the mental side of things.

Some people freak out over the whole psyc eval, but you need to remember they are not there to say "no". They are there to identify things that may cause you post-op problems, such as eating disorders. They are there to say "not yet", and help you address those issues if needed.

Don't think of it as a roadblock that is stopping you, but rather a speed-bump that is intended to get you to slow down and pay attention to where yer going.