February 13, 2017: Psych Eval

In the post about meeting the surgeon, I mentioned that psych evaluations were booking in May. After my first appointment with my PCP I was able to make my appointment for my psych evaluation, which was set for June 12. As with any appointment set for over four months in the future, I asked to be on the wait list.

On February 9, I got a call that said they could see me on February 13. Did I mention I have an awesome job for this procedure and all of the prep that goes into it? I was able to, without much notice, take the day off for the evaluation.

I went to the office for the appointment, and I was first met with a test on a computer. Then I went back for my evaulation.

It's not nearly as scary as it seems, especially as someone who had never sought the help of a mental health professional.

First she asked why I thought I was there, and I told her it was because I needed to prove that I understood I would not become skinny as a result of the surgery but rather with the assistance of the surgery.

We went through my medical past, which included a couple of items to focus on. One item was about six years ago, I dealt with a bad bout of Seasonal Affective Disorder. I sought the help of my PCP as I was sure it would not be a long term issue, and with some chemical help I got better. Since then, I have learned better coping mechanisms to deal with it.

Then we went through my test I had taken in the waiting room. She addressed that the only area I may have trouble with is self control, to which I was like "well there is an element of that with how I got here..."

Some issues the psychiatrist may go through are:

• Eating disorders
• Addiction history
• Self control
• The presence of any mental disorders
• Confidence issues

The addiction aspect is important because most obese people have an addiction to food. If this is not addressed before surgery, the patient will lose their comfort (because patients really can't eat like they used to post-op) and can seek out other addictive behaviors.

Anyway, I passed the evaluation with flying colors. One more check in the box on the way...