Question:
How can I prepare my psychiatrist to do my evaluation if they have no experience?

My surgeon's psych group does not take my insurance. So I am going to a local person. Problem is that they have no experience in evaluating pre-op WLS patients. Is there anything I can do to prepare them? Has anyone else had this situation? Have you had problems getting them to write a supportive letter? Thanks everyone!    — emilyfink (posted on March 20, 2002)

March 20, 2002
I'm by no means an expert, and this is just my two cents. My husband happens to be a clinical psychologist, and happens to do WLS evals, so this is something I've been familiar with since even before I considered surgery myself. And please note, these are my words, not his. Frankly, I'd say it was up to the mental health professional to find out what was necessary on his/her end, not you. You can certainly take a proactive role, such as being sure certain information is included in the letter, but the professional (and that's how they should act) should take the time and trouble to learn as much as possible about the procedure first. This is a major life-change for you, and there's a reason psych evals are done beforehand. If s/he isn't willing to do this type of research, you need to find someone who is.
   — Linda B.

March 20, 2002
Emily, I was in a similar situation. The one person who did pysch evals for my dr's practice was booked for 6 months, so I asked if my own therapist could do it (someone I've been seeing for 3+ years). My surgeon's office mailed her the same packet that we fill out, detailing hte operation, the life changes, and the expectations. My therapist reviewed this info, and also spoke with the "official" psychiatrist and got some sample evaluations from her as well. So, my advice is to provide the therapist with what you have in advance of your appointment, and let them fill in the holes. Hope this helps!
   — Sarah C.

March 20, 2002
Gahh, I just re-read what I posted a few minutes ago, and realized it may sound harsh, which honestly wasn't my intention. You deserve the BEST, plain and simple - and that's what I hope you get for yourself.
   — Linda B.

March 21, 2002
My psych. portion of this all was a T R I P. They gave me about 600 questions (literally) in a pamplet that was some sort of standardized test to see if your a loo-loo or not. I kept trying to tell them I was borderline loo-loo but no one would listen. It asked some real standard questions and went all the way through some really WEIRD questions (IE: have you ever been so mad at your family that you wanted to kill them). I thought that was strange. I did some research on the name of the exact test, which I have no forgot but it was a test that was derived back in the early 1900's - I think around 1930 (which told me why some of the questions were so dumb) and it was just a tool to measure the competance of the patient, I suppose that's a good word...competance. A lot of the questions were repetative but just asked in a different way - I guess to see if you were telling the truth or not. It took me literally 6-hours to complete because I wouldn't go for a long period of time before I needed a break...if you weren't crazy before the test, you certainly were after. After that portion of it, they gave me about 10 questions that were directly related to the weight loss surgery. I had 10 questions and my husband (or whomever your closest person is to you) was to fill out. They were the exact same questions and we were to answer them seperately. They asked things like what our expectations were from this surgery. Would the surgery be a magic miracle thing for the weight loss or were we viewing it as a tool. It asked if we thought that the WLS would change the person we are inside. It also went into questions about compulsive eaters...I thought, as my husband did, that they believed every person with an obesity or morbid obesity problem were compulsive eaters. My husband and I live 24/7 together - we own our own business so we're together ALL the time. We both answered that question the same - I don't feel like I'm a compulsive eater. I eat the wrong foods too often, normally lunch and dinner from us being on the go. I have a sedatary position in our company and get little exercise and we both answered that the same way but its that sort of questions. I believe that my psychologist would be more than happy to talk to your psychiatrist to inform her of the exact names of test and whatnot that she uses. I can give you her phone number if you email me - I know she wouldn't mind. Good luck with it all...hope my posting helped to clarify some things for you. () : )
   — Lisa J.