Psychologist Evaluation....

They basically want to see if you are prepared to make the changes you are about to make. Also, they want to see if there is a history of eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, bulemia, etc as these things can problems for anyone considering weight loss surgery. Even though it is one more hoop to jump through, I think it is an important one as so many peoples weight issues are tied to their emotional/mental health. These are big changes we are making and can be hard to handle. I just had my evaluation on Friday. It lasted about an hour and a half, 30 mins of that was filling out paperwork and the other hour was talking to the psychologist. Many people have to take the MMPI which is a personality test, but I didnt have to. The visit pretty well consisted of the dr asking me what kind of an eater I tend to be (emotional, binge, etc), talking about what kind of struggles I have had with my weight in the past (on the job, socially, etc), and answering questions I had. The psych. i saw has seen many bandsters before and after, so I know that if I have problems afterward, I can at least have someone who is understanding. It was pretty painless overall!

I had Tricare and it was not a requirement for them but it was for the doctor. They just want to know that you are mentally prepared for the procedure, lifestyle change and for the commitment the band requires. It is only a tool and they need to know that you are ready to use it!!!!

I think it is to make sure you have reasonable expectations...that you do not expect to wake up from surgery looking like Cindy Crawford!

My psych eval was just about an hour and I have another scheduled for tomorrow that my husband has to attend. The doc says he only wants to make sure he knows and understands the kind of support I'm going to need after surgery. Also Tricare approved me for 8 sessions with him but I'm only required to have 2. I think I will keep those, since they are good for 1 yr, just incase I need professional help after surgery. I've read that some people go through bouts of depression because of WLS. I hope I don't but it's good to know that it is available if I need it.

I had to see the psych 6 times. She said it is something they do for everyone that goes through the program. Luckily she let me set up two back to back appointments so I just had to go in 4 times and got my 6 appts. over with.