Last Friday I had the first two parts of what is actually a three part psych evaluation, which is required by my insurance (BCBS Fed-Standard.)  As an adult having not spent a lot of time in therapy, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.  Dr. S, the psychiatrist, was nice enough.  I felt a bit like the time spent with her was very generic, if that makes sense.  She went through her list of interview style questions, just taking notes, not making any comments.  Once we were through with the interview style questions, she started part two of the evaluation.

Part two of the of the evaluation was comprised of answering hundreds of questions on a scan-tron form.  I haven’t filled out a scan-tron if a long time!  The questions were a lot of questions about how I felt about myself, whether or not I had a strong support system in place, whether I was depressed, whether or not I had a substance abuse problem, etc.  The questions were entirely redundant on the test, they were also pretty redundant of what Dr. S had asked me in her interview.

I was a bit thrown off by the number of questions on the “test” about religion, religious beliefs, relationship with a God, etc.  Being someone who is Agnostic, I couldn’t figure out the proper way to answer the questions.  True or False “You have a strong faith base to support you?”  I felt like I needed another option-“N/A.”  I worked through them quick enough though.

Next Monday, the 20^th of June, I will have the final part of my psych evaluation where Dr. S will go over the findings from the interview and the test questions.  I asked her at the end of the appointment if this was a pass/fail sort of thing and she responded “Absolutely no.”  It’s more to figure out if a person has any issues that need to be dealt with prior to surgery (eating disorders, depression, substance abuse issues.)  She will use the results to inform me of things that I might want to think about leading up to surgery, how I might handle the outcomes of surgery, what sorts of resources that I can reach out to.  The results are also used to help the surgeons office know how to work best with me both pre and post operation.

I initially thought that I would perhaps want to see this doctor post surgery to deal with any things that I was having a hard time working out.  After actually meeting with her though, I know that she and I aren’t a good fit for a long term working relationship.  She was very-very dry, and really seemed more interested in getting through the evaluation than really getting to know much about me.  I prefer someone with some spark, some pizazz and personality if you will. Perhaps it’s her role to not have a lot of that going for her, at least initially.  I don’t know.

Next week is a BUSY week for pre-op requirements!

• Monday-Annual Physical, and time to request a letter from my PCP stating that I am healthy enough for surgery.
• Monday-Finish up the psych evaluation.
• Tuesday-Nutritionist Appointment #2 (only 1 more after that!)
• Wednesday – Consult with Dr. Mo part 2, to discuss potentially changing surgeries (more on that tomorrow)
• Plus we have the kids for 9 days straight, and I will be responsible for getting them to and from camp each day (sort of excited to spend the week with them!)
• Because of the points above, I’m taking off Monday and Tuesday.
• Because of the points above, I’ve scheduled a massage and pedicure at the Spa at my gym for Monday!  Wowza’s Monday is going to be a busy busy day!