Psych Evaluation: Success

My psych evaluation was a success!! While I was in the waiting room, the Therapist I was scheduled with let me know she was running a little late, and asked if I was okay waiting 5-10 minutes. I ended up waiting 25 minutes, but I really didn’t mind since I was lucky enough to get into the appointment by way of a cancellation! While I was waiting, Dr. Murali (the Bariatrician) saw me and said hello, and asked what I was doing there (I had told him my psych eval was scheduled for the 26^th), so I let him know and he wished me good luck. The Therapist got caught up in a forum, so Dr. Julie Siegel ended up conducting my evaluation. She recognized me from the classes, which was nice, and I remember enjoying her days during the Options classes. Dr. Siegel was friendly, welcoming, and easy to talk to.

The appointment itself was pretty straightforward, and only took about 30-40 minutes. Dr. Siegel asked me several questions, and encouraged any thoughts, questions, or concerns to be shared. Here are the questions that were asked (pretty sure I was able to remember all of them, though wording may be a bit off):

What changes have you made to prepare yourself for this surgery/change?

Do you have support?

Have you attended a support group?
Have you lost weight since you started the classes?
Are you taking any protein supplements/shakes?

Are you exercising?

Have you suffered from depression, anxiety, panic attacks? Are you on medication for any of these?

How do you manage stress?
Are you or have you ever been dependent on drugs or alcohol?

What is your motivation for surgery?

At the conclusion of the evaluation, Dr. Siegel let me know she had no recommendations for me, and would be giving my file back to Dr. Murali after we finished. So, if the timeline Dr. Murali shared with me is correct, within the next week I should have an appointment set up with the surgeon! I'm hoping it will be less than the predicted 6 weeks out, and that I can get in sooner thanks to another cancellation. Maybe that good luck will continue! I'm not sure if I set up a surgery date when I meet with the surgeon, but I sure hope so. It will be so nice when I finally have a date. For now, though, I'm happy I'm making progress. The two big appointments are now in the past, and were a success! Can't wait to keep moving forward!