RE: Psych Evaluation with Dr. Drooker/Mt Sinai

[Guest guest]

If he asks you if you're nuts....say no.

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm just being silly today, but I think it's

a good question. I'm curious about the types of questions as well.

> Psych Evaluation with Dr. Drooker/Mt Sinai

>

> I am going to be having a psych evaluation with Dr. Drooker at Mt.

> Sinai. What kinds of questions will he ask me? Are there certain

> answers that he is looking for? Any feedback would be helpful.

> Thank you for your help.

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

At 8:42 PM +0000 6/20/01, lonbelgravia@... wrote:

>I am going to be having a psych evaluation with Dr. Drooker at Mt.

>Sinai. What kinds of questions will he ask me?

1. Repeat any five of the Ten Commandments. (After all, it **is** Mt. Sinai)

(the good news: there's only ten; the bad news: adultery is still one of them)

>Are there certain answers that he is looking for?

These are not answers, but the kind of determinations that he will

have to make. As for answers, be frank and candid. Look him in the

eye. Don't dissimulate.

FIRST: are you competent to make decisions and do you understand what

the surgery entails and the risks involved?

SECOND: are you likely to be compliant with the life-long

requirements for nutritional supplementation and physician

supervision and testing?

THIRD: are your expectations for the surgery and the results realistic?

FOURTH: will you have family and/or community [moral] support? If

not, how will you cope?

>Any feedback would be helpful.

>Thank you for your help.

>

>

GOOD LUCK!

--Steve

[Guest guest]

I was also very nervous about seeing him, afraid there would be

hidden meanings in his questions, that he would try to trap me. But

he is very nice. He asked me some very general questions, nothing

too deep, but I would caution you not to be too forthcoming. Giving

just enough of a response is the best bet. Try to be positive and

upbeat, stress that you are looking forward to being healthy and

active once more. NOT that you are interested in the cosmetic

rewards of being attractive to men or the object of lust! LOL!

Seriously, he asked me if I have ever considered suicide. I frowned

as though I was really considering the question, and said No,

although that is not true. Before I found out about this surgery, I

honestly thought there was no hope for me to have a life of any

kind. And I did not want to live that way any more. That is what

stopped me from being afraid of dying on the table. I just kept

remembering the feelings I had of having no way out and feeling

hopeless. And then I felt reassured that I had found my ray of

hope. Anyway, Dr. Drooker then asked me if I was ever depressed. I

started to say no because I was afraid to say yes because I thought

he would tell me to start seeing a therapist and get on anti-

depressants before he would sign off on me. But he looked at me like

he couldn't believe that I was never depressed, so I came clean to

some extent. I told him that I wasn't sure if I was depressed, but I

knew I was very unhappy. I had friends and family who love me, but I

was frequently having to cut myself off from them because of my

increasing immobility. Refusing invitations, not going on vacation,

etc. I was very unhappy with my situation, so I guess you can say I

was depressed about it. He seemed to like that answer.

He also asked me what I was going to do when men started noticing me,

since I had told him I had no real experience in that area since I

have found that most men don't even see me, much less are interested

in me. He thought that when they do start noticing me I might want

to talk to someone in his field about it, to help me with the

transition. Interesting.

Anyway, he was very nice, and no problem at all with signing off on

me that same night.

Best wishes,

Janice Drew

386/264 5'11 "

Open BPD/DS 11/20/00

Dr. Pomp/Mt Sinai/NYC

> I am going to be having a psych evaluation with Dr. Drooker at Mt.

> Sinai. What kinds of questions will he ask me? Are there certain

> answers that he is looking for? Any feedback would be helpful.

> Thank you for your help.

>

[Guest guest]

-

Steve laid it out very well-Dr. Drooker is mainly concerned with

finding out if you have unrealistic expectations about the surgery. I

met him for my psych exam in March 2001, and found him to be a decent

guy--a little bit of a stuffed shirt, but hey, he's a psych, and this

is Mt. Sinai, the stuffed shirt capital of academic medicine!

Dr. D also does a Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE). This is a standard

part of all psych exams to show that you do not suffer from a formal

thought disorder. It consists of remembering a few words and repeating

them back at 1 and 5 minute intervals, spelling a word backwards and a

few other things. Not a big deal.

Pre-op with Dr. Pomp 9/5/01

-- In duodenalswitch@y..., Steve Goldstein

wrote:

> At 8:42 PM +0000 6/20/01, lonbelgravia@y... wrote:

> >I am going to be having a psych evaluation with Dr. Drooker at Mt.

> >Sinai. What kinds of questions will he ask me?

>

> 1. Repeat any five of the Ten Commandments. (After all, it **is**

Mt. Sinai)

> (the good news: there's only ten; the bad news: adultery is still

one of them)

>

> >Are there certain answers that he is looking for?

>

> These are not answers, but the kind of determinations that he will

> have to make. As for answers, be frank and candid. Look him in the

> eye. Don't dissimulate.

>

> FIRST: are you competent to make decisions and do you understand

what

> the surgery entails and the risks involved?

>

> SECOND: are you likely to be compliant with the life-long

> requirements for nutritional supplementation and physician

> supervision and testing?

>

> THIRD: are your expectations for the surgery and the results

realistic?

>

> FOURTH: will you have family and/or community [moral] support? If

> not, how will you cope?

>

> >Any feedback would be helpful.

> >Thank you for your help.

> >

> >

>

> GOOD LUCK!

>

> --Steve

[Guest guest]

I had to take a 2 part MMPI test, one was 250 STUPID questions, and

the other one was 600+ questions, of which many were asked several

different ways to see if you were lying and they would try to trip

you up. The thing I HATED was they are yes/no questions, no choice

of sometimes/occasionally which 85% really fell under for me. I

DON'T think that any physche eval should be given let alone used to

determine our 'worthiness' of having this life saving surgery. Here

is a link that kind of explains what the MMPI is, what it looks for,

etc

MMPI -information regarding the most commonly used physch evaluation

test

http://assessments.ncs.com/assessments/tests/mmpi_2.htm

After I took the test the shrink only spoke to me for about 15

minutes, she had never seen me before, and determined after

evaluating my scores, that I had to strong of a personality to follow

post op regimen, and that I had an aversion to physicans, medical

problems, and pain in general (???). How this stranger would be able

to tell this about me was unheard of?!?!?! See, the surgeon insisted

i use one of *their* phyciatrist supposedly because they know what

to 'look' for when dealing with a potential wls patient. Needless to

say I was turned down by the surgeon that I was initally

contemplating doing my surgery. I even had insurance approval when I

went to my intial consult (my ins.co did NOT require the physce eval,

that surgeon did).

So.....me and my strong willed personality spoke to

their offices after I received the rejection letter in the mail (mind

you, they were too chicken to call me and speak to me directly) to

tell them how rotten I thought they were for the way the whole mess

was handled, all the way from the nazi nurse who was in charge of

filing for ins. approval (even though I presented a document from my

ins co. stating I was *already* approved), to the wls 'mill' way they

handle all their pre-op testing using THEIR docs. It all felt like a

kick-back situation to me.

Anywho....I went to Dr. Buchwald in Nov.00 for my consult, and was

switched 1-15-01. I have lost 71#'s to date.

I'm just sitting here reveling in the knowledge that the 1st surgeon

lost out on my ins. co's $20,000.00+ and that one month in the near

future, I'm planning a trip back to the 1st surgeons area to go to

the zoo, and I'd LOVE to walk in their offices, and show them just

how WRONG they were.

Oh well, ranting sometimes helps. I know things work out for the

best, and I would have never considered Dr. Buchwald had the 1st

surgeon worked out, so I'm glad it happened the way it did after all.

So enough gritching for now....check out the link above, and I hope

it gives you some kind of insight as to whay they may (or may not) do.

Colleen - Iowa

DS 1-15-01

Dr. Buchwald, U of MN

-71#

> I am going to be having a psych evaluation with Dr. Drooker at Mt.

> Sinai. What kinds of questions will he ask me? Are there certain

> answers that he is looking for? Any feedback would be helpful.

> Thank you for your help.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi . My meeting with Dr. Drooker was my first time visiting a

Psychiatrist and I wasn't sure what to expect either. Let me just tell

you that I lived to tell about it so this is a good thing! I think he was

looking to see what my motivation was to have this surgery, if I was of

" sound " mind and if I had realistic expectations of what this surgery

would do for me. He seemed pleased to hear that I plan to go to

counseling after surgery if I feel the need. (I told him I'm a " stress "

eater and he wanted to know how I would find ways to handle the stress

after I lose my ability to " eat " my stress away.) My husband was waiting

in the outer office and he asked if he could call him in. I said,

" Sure...come on in honey...He's giving us the 2 for 1 deal! " Good thing

he did...as for $200.00 an hour I felt like I should at least get to sit

on a nice leather couch instead of the orange plastic one that he has!

All in all, I'd say just be yourself and don't try to feed him what you

think are the right answers. The truth of the matter is, this is a major

decision we're making and yes, it will cure some problems, but others will

remain. They just want to make sure we have a clear understanding of

that. Of course, this is just my opinion and others may feel differently!

Best of luck to you and don't worry!

--- lonbelgravia@... wrote:

> I am going to be having a psych evaluation with Dr. Drooker at Mt.

> Sinai. What kinds of questions will he ask me? Are there certain

> answers that he is looking for? Any feedback would be helpful.

> Thank you for your help.

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

I wouldn't worry about the questions that he is going to ask you they

aren't that hard. He is very much to the point and level. He does

try to slip a fast one past you every once in a while but you have to

be in really bad shape for him to not to reccomend the surgery.

The questions I remember are:

1. Are you suicidal or something to that affect.

2. Have you ever been bulimic anorexic or had any eating disorder?

3. What is your home life like?

4. Is your family and or spouse supportive?

5. Why do you want to have this surgery?

The good news is that the questions that he asks are on just about

every surgeons pre-op questionaire. So you have most likely answered

them you just have to verbalize them.

I think what he wants to make sure that you are not severely depressed

and that your realize that this is a major life change.

Post-Operatively food will only be a part of your journey not the

leading factor in your journey. The real struggle will be to adjust

to your new body and to how people react to you.

I lost the weight once before and the most difficult thing was to

getting used to men trying to pick me up wherever I went. I couldn't

understand what they were looking at. And my boyfriend suddenly

bacame overly protective and a bit paranoid.

If you just answer the questions I am sure that you will pass with

flying colors. I have seen a few of the people that he has cleared

and to say the least some of them are not playing with a full deck.

> I am going to be having a psych evaluation with Dr. Drooker at Mt.

> Sinai. What kinds of questions will he ask me? Are there certain

> answers that he is looking for? Any feedback would be helpful.

> Thank you for your help.

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you for your detailed account of your interview

with Dr. Drooker.

If you think about it, Drooker is being placed in the

awkward position of being a gatekeeper. In the absence

of clear insanity, psychosis, he would be better

served on selling you on psychiatry in the future

should run into any problems. He should be reassuring

you that you are not crazy for being unhappy because

you are fat. He should describe what depression is and

talk about what he would like you to do should you

become thus. Then he should talk about other issues

like child abuse, etc., and encourage you, if they are

an issue, to talk with a professional about them. He

should question you about your familial circumstances

and talk about how this may impact those

circumstances. In short, he should be a nurturer

rather than a judge of your mental health, except in

the grossest sense of not-insane. All of us are less

than perfect mentally. One shrink I had busted his

late model car out of a theater parking lot by banging

into the front car and the rear car, for they had

wedged him in so he could not get out any other way.

He demolished three cars. I understand his irritation,

but do not necessarily countenance it. So what.

Drooker should not let the system at Mt. Sinai pervert

his practice. He does not have to ask prying

questions. That does not mean that he cannot ask you a

leading question like, " Is there anything you need to

tell me that you think I ought to know and have not

covered? " You may have something important to tell him

that won't disqualify you or anything like that. The

present system with a lot of these surgeons sucks,

frankly. The MMPI people are the worst. They are

hopeless and it's quackery.

--- janicedrew@... wrote:

> I was also very nervous about seeing him, afraid

> there would be

> hidden meanings in his questions, that he would try

> to trap me. But

> he is very nice. He asked me some very general

> questions, nothing

> too deep, but I would caution you not to be too

> forthcoming. Giving

> just enough of a response is the best bet. Try to

> be positive and

> upbeat, stress that you are looking forward to being

> healthy and

> active once more. NOT that you are interested in

> the cosmetic

> rewards of being attractive to men or the object of

> lust! LOL!

> Seriously, he asked me if I have ever considered

> suicide. I frowned

> as though I was really considering the question, and

> said No,

> although that is not true. Before I found out about

> this surgery, I

> honestly thought there was no hope for me to have a

> life of any

> kind. And I did not want to live that way any more.

> That is what

> stopped me from being afraid of dying on the table.

> I just kept

> remembering the feelings I had of having no way out

> and feeling

> hopeless. And then I felt reassured that I had

> found my ray of

> hope. Anyway, Dr. Drooker then asked me if I was

> ever depressed. I

> started to say no because I was afraid to say yes

> because I thought

> he would tell me to start seeing a therapist and get

> on anti-

> depressants before he would sign off on me. But he

> looked at me like

> he couldn't believe that I was never depressed, so I

> came clean to

> some extent. I told him that I wasn't sure if I was

> depressed, but I

> knew I was very unhappy. I had friends and family

> who love me, but I

> was frequently having to cut myself off from them

> because of my

> increasing immobility. Refusing invitations, not

> going on vacation,

> etc. I was very unhappy with my situation, so I

> guess you can say I

> was depressed about it. He seemed to like that

> answer.

>

> He also asked me what I was going to do when men

> started noticing me,

> since I had told him I had no real experience in

> that area since I

> have found that most men don't even see me, much

> less are interested

> in me. He thought that when they do start noticing

> me I might want

> to talk to someone in his field about it, to help me

> with the

> transition. Interesting.

>

> Anyway, he was very nice, and no problem at all with

> signing off on

> me that same night.

>

> Best wishes,

>

> Janice Drew

> 386/264 5'11 "

> Open BPD/DS 11/20/00

> Dr. Pomp/Mt Sinai/NYC

>

>

> > I am going to be having a psych evaluation with

> Dr. Drooker at Mt.

> > Sinai. What kinds of questions will he ask me? Are

> there certain

> > answers that he is looking for? Any feedback

> would be helpful.

> > Thank you for your help.

> >

>

>

>

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>