waiting...

Well, i shouldn't really complain, its just been a tough week with my significant other and its kind of a waiting game to figure out what we're going to do. In the meanwhile... My behavioral screening is this coming Wednesday 1130-230 Mountain Time. And my Nutritionist appointment is on Aug. 20th. At that point I can send my information to the insurance company for approval. The folks at my surgeon's office are fantastic. FANTASTiC. I'm a little nervous about the behavioral screen. Feel free to share your experiences with that. ALso, I need to lose 15 pounds before the surgery...what did you guys do to lose weight pre-surgery???

I swam my ass off at the gym, and tried to eat a low carb, high protein meal every three hours like I knew I would be doing after surgery. Both things helped prepare me for the lifestyle changes I would be forced to adapt later. So far so good - tommorow will be 4 months since surgery and I am already down 85 lbs. from my all-time high....As for the psych. screen - all I can say is be yourself, mine was basically an interview to determine if I understood the implications of the surgery and the changes I would have to make - just to make sure there weren't any issues screaming out at them that would say that I wouldn't be able to adapt....Good luck!

Hey Lags!  Your shrink appointment, and all that, will come and go fast, and it will all be easy.  You may not want to be yourself for the shrink though, you are as messed up as I am, and they make think you're weird.  Just kidding! Hope all goes well.  Talk soon! Sir Brockington IV

Thanks, Guys! I'll let you know how it goes...

I just had my psych eval last friday and it went fine. I know some people have to take the 500 questionaire but i didnt have to go through all that. I just met with the shrink and he asked me my family health history, about my eating habits, if i ever had an eating disorder or hid when i was eating or avoided eating in front of others or have any social phobias, why i wanted to have surgery and just made sure i knew the risks and how my life was going to change afterwards. they also want to make sure you arent manic depressive or have any mental issues that may hinder your progress. if thats the case, they usually want you do have some sort of therapy for a few months to get it under control. Im not saying lie through your teeth, but you may want to um "curb" your answers a bit.. the shrink basically told me that I could lose the weight myself but statistically i wouldnt be able to keep it off long term and im well informed blah blah blah so he gave me the go ahead. Hope this helps.. id imagine its a pretty standard thing as to what theyre looking for... Mandy

500 questionairre?  My meeting with the srink was nothing more than a glorified conversation with her taking a few notes!  She basically said that she'd be happy to recommend me for the surgery.