Re: psych evaluation

[Guest guest]

Everyone - My insurance - ConnectiCare - is requiring that I have a psych

evaluation which I have scheduled for next week. Any of you who had to do

that for approval, can you offer any advice? What should I say to this

stranger?? She is supposed to send the evaluation to my insurance and I

don''t want to jinx it because, so far, my insurance has been responsive.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!!!

in CT

[Guest guest]

Don't let them force you to go to more than one session for the eval.

Mine was 1 hr. and the Psych. wanted to make sure I understood the

ramifications of the surgery, what I was planning to do in case of

depression, etc. I was really blunt at my eval. I expressed the

pain

of being overweight all my life and the costs to my esteem, the agony

of having PCOS and having doctors that my disease was my punishment

for being fat (when obesity is usually the result of the PCOS)...you

need to go in there well read about the surgery and ready to explain

the MGB to the psych. Also, find a psych. who has done evals for

weight loss surgery before. If you are in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel

Hill area, may I recommend Nate Strahl (# is in the Durham directory).

-Ginny I.

mgb: 3/1/00

348/254

> Everyone - My insurance - ConnectiCare - is requiring that I have a

psych

> evaluation which I have scheduled for next week. Any of you who had

to do

> that for approval, can you offer any advice? What should I say to

this

> stranger?? She is supposed to send the evaluation to my insurance

and I

> don''t want to jinx it because, so far, my insurance has been

responsive.

>

> Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!!!

>

> in CT

[Guest guest]

Hi :

I have heard they look for evidence you are intelligent, sufficiently

motivated to follow through with physician instructions, and have support

from friends and family. I would also think they'd be trying to rule out

those people who have Borderline Personality Disorders (it's a technical

term with a specific definition) cuz those persons might not do well.

Regards,

Judith in Seattle

Re: psych evaluation

> Everyone - My insurance - ConnectiCare - is requiring that I have a psych

> evaluation which I have scheduled for next week. Any of you who had to do

> that for approval, can you offer any advice? What should I say to this

> stranger?? She is supposed to send the evaluation to my insurance and I

> don''t want to jinx it because, so far, my insurance has been responsive.

>

> Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!!!

>

> in CT

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

My insurance required the psych eval also. I wouldn't worry about

what you need to say. They know what questions to ask, but you need

to tell the truth. I was kinda resentful of having to talk to

someone

I didn't know about my personal life. And you know what? She picked

up on it but excused it by saying in the letter that this was a

normal

reaction in this situation.

I didn't let her send the letter directly to the insurance company.

I

told her that I had some other request from the insurance company and

I wanted to send them all at the same time. She didn't have a

problem

with this so I picked up the letter when it was finished.

Good luck

Pam

MGB 09/25/00 (Monday)

[Guest guest]

It took me quite a while to FIND a person who didn't think I needed

WEEKS of sessions to determine if I was a good candidate for this

surgery. My insurance specifically wanted someone who dealt with

eating disorders. I found this rather insulting since obesity is not

like anorexia or bulemia.

Through my Personal Support Network at work - I got a great person

for the job. She worked with a hospitals weight management/fitness

program, counseling folks, for years. Besides chatting with me about

my history (when I started gaining weight, how/if it affected my

life, self-esteem, etc.), she administered 3 very short tests. One

was to determine if I was suffering from any psychoses. Another, to

measure how my life was negatively affected by obesity (e.g., hard to

tie shoes, walk stairs, that kind of stuff). The third test was to

assess depression (did I have any/how severe). I don't think the

results of that test would have negatively affected her

recommendation, unless the depression was so bad I wasn't able to

think rationally.

In her letter to my insurance, she highlighted the results of the

test and pointed out that I was well informed of the benefits/risks

of the procedure AND that I was knowledgeable of the fact that the

surgery was not an end all answer. Indeed, that I understood that

having the surgery would require me to alter many things in my life -

for the rest of my life.

If you have problems finding a psychologist - try looking for centers

that deal with weight loss. I'm certain they'll have a support staff

that can meet your needs. It sure beats working your way through a

phone book!

Kind regards,

Debbie

> Everyone - My insurance - ConnectiCare - is requiring that I have a

psych

> evaluation which I have scheduled for next week. Any of you who had

to do

> that for approval, can you offer any advice? What should I say to

this

> stranger?? She is supposed to send the evaluation to my insurance

and I

> don''t want to jinx it because, so far, my insurance has been

responsive.

>

> Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!!!

>

> in CT