Anyone not had to see the pyschologist?

mum of four (bec) wrote:

The best thing I ever did was see the psychologist. I have seen a psychologist before and thought it would be more of the same. THIS Psychologist was different. She explained all about weight loss, the law of deminished return and how evolution fights our attempts to lose weight. She gave me reasons not to be ashamed about my weight and weight loss attemps. She gave me tonnes of practical advise. I have seen her 5 times and she believes I will be fine afterwards because of all the work and potential problems we have dealt with. She has been on Optifast herself and has had the procedure done. She is a fantastic help. Where in Melbourne are you? Perhaps you may even be able to see her if you are close enough! Hope you make the right decision for you, but don't be afraid to go!

Is she the one that Mr Draper refers you too? If so, I am now looking forward to meeting her :-)

I ddi not see a psychologist and now am 3 years post op and really regret it. It would have been great to have someoen support me through the changes that took place to my body and mind.

Especially when I did not know who I was anymore when I became 1/2 the woman I used to be.

It is scary when you look at your arm and dont recognise it or your skinny wrinkly body with hatred.

Really recommend everyone have some ongoing sessions on their journey.

I was not req'd to see a psychologist pre-op...but happen to be seeing one for other things...so I just slipped it into the conversation...
it is good to discuss coping strategies espescially as I am such an emotional eater...how am I going to change that etc...etc..
good luck

I have to ... my surgeon is Ian Michell. I'm not booking my Physchologist appointment until next month though, all these pre op appointments are seriously bleeding me dry ... to the point where I'm highly stressing financially :/

My psych appt preop was not to talk about "how I feel", but rather my food and eating behaviours and whether the sleeve would suit my lifestyle.

Hey Yoodles!

I didn't have to see a psychologist and I imagine the reasoning behind the session is to make sure you have been thorough in thinking about the surgery. I'm a Psychologist, though I'm not registered any more as I love my job of professional housewife and uni student much better, but I can tell you that as with every profession, there are the hopeless and the great! A good Psychologist wont need to go in to your regressive childhood and if they are the referred specialist by your surgeon then I imagine they would be simply assessing your preparedness for the life change that the sleeve will bring and nothing else. Don't be afraid, go have a chat and see what comes of it. It is up to you what you talk about and if they are a good therapist they won't need any more than what you are willing to bring. Good Luck!!

I did not need to see a psychologist either.
I did see a dietician for 1 visit and she will follow up when I am in hospital.
I start Optifast tomorrow, for 2 weeks and then surgery.

Whooo Hooo

Not a pre op requirement by my surgeon, but I have since gone and seen a psychologist on my own bat, after I reached goal.

Was still having issues with food and the scales!!

I have only see her once, came away with some good idea's that I have put into practice, but it wasn't easy and has taken time. But after 40 years of bad habits, eating, etc. I shouldn't expect things to change overnight. I have to be realistic!

See her again in a couple of weeks for the second session.

I did not have to see a psychologist either

i did not have to see anyone either:)

I was already seeing a psychologist about depression and so just continued on...it was not part of a routine pre-op assessment.

My surgeon didnt require it,and ironically Ive seen research from CORE (Monash Uni Lap-banding loving obesity research team) that showed no correlation between pre-op psychology assesments and eventual weight loss...but I guess maybe some surgeons want to identify the people with major eating disorders before they make the matter worse...dunno really.

Having said that, I found that finding out about norman human behaviour, alternative stress management techniques and basically that I was pretty much OK, very comforting!!

Deb

The best thing I ever did was see the psychologist. I have seen a psychologist before and thought it would be more of the same. THIS Psychologist was different. She explained all about weight loss, the law of deminished return and how evolution fights our attempts to lose weight. She gave me reasons not to be ashamed about my weight and weight loss attemps. She gave me tonnes of practical advise. I have seen her 5 times and she believes I will be fine afterwards because of all the work and potential problems we have dealt with. She has been on Optifast herself and has had the procedure done. She is a fantastic help. Where in Melbourne are you? Perhaps you may even be able to see her if you are close enough! Hope you make the right decision for you, but don't be afraid to go!

I did not have to see psychologist...but sometimes now I think would be a good idea...cheers

Thanks for your replies. The reason I don't want to go is that for the counselling for the other aspect of my life (not a mental health issue, although of course there is no stigma in that!) is of voyeristic interest and I have found in the past that every counsellor has been fixated on discussing this, not always because it is relevant, but because an unusual sitaution.

I think I will ring the rooms and see what the practice manager says and avoid if i can. I have no doubt that my lovely surgeon will probably waive the requirement if I told him I was really opposed.

I didn't have to either.

I didn't have to see anyone.

I had to see a psyc as part of my surgery package and i was really scared about it too. It turned out to be fine - they really do just want to make sure you have really thought about the surgery and don't have any existing problems like bulimia that need sorting out first. My surgeon's psyc recommended I go and see somebody else for a few sessions before surgery, which initially scared me to death, but I did and it was actually really helpful.

Just go to your appointment with the outlook that it will help you be mentally prepared for surgery, and help them know that you are. There is no stigma attached.

Good luck with your journey!
Isis :)

my suregion did not make me go to a phychologist which st the time I was glad because I knew I would not have been approved at the time. Now 6 months on I am seeing a phychologist that specialisers in the gastric sleeve ops. I am a former bulimic and binge eater. Because they don't operate on your brain...lol the old feelings can come back after 6 months and the pattern can occur again. For me I went the other way and have restricted my calories to the point my family were so worried. I am now dealing with it, so what I am trying to say is, you should go and if they recommend you see them a few times do it.

I think the focus of this appointment is a bit different to general counselling. My experience is that they just wanted to know basic info about my current life - what i did for work, where i lived, how i was feeling about life in general, hobbies, interests, and and overview of my mental health history.

My experience was that the psych was more interested in how much I'd thought about the op, and if I was mentally ready to do it. Hopefully, yours will be similar. I hinted I had interesting background stuff but they weren't real interested in that.

It wasn't a requirement here for me in NZ but sometimes I think post-sleeve it might have been a good idea...

I didn't have to see a psych re my sleeve.
Have you told your doc that you're seeinig someone anyway? If s/he knows that, they might waive the requirement.

It was not a requirement with my specialist to see a psych. I probably would have changed surgeons if it was a requirement. Whilst I am sure your doctor/team have your welfare in mind it is your health, your life - you should make decisions which you are comfortable with.

IMHO of course!

Donna

good luck skipping it ive been for 4 appointments, and stopped and got told i had to go back and see her again.

Hi, I have one appointment to go in the pre-surgery stakes - the pysch. I really don't want to go. I had a heap of counselling for another area of my life and can't bear to go and talk anymore about how I feel!

Has anyone skipped this pre-surgery appointment or is it compulsory? I honestly don't think I will get anything out of it.