splendifor

hey there..

as a member of the psychological field.. :P opinions are like belly buttons, everyone has one...

if I was in your shoes I'd talk to the person who is coordinating your surgery application.... two things come to mind - one, ask the questions others have talked about - (personally I'd wonder if she wasn't against wls to begin with?) it's not just a matter of losing weight to prepare for surgery, it's about keeping it off, it's about the other 100 or whatever pounds you still have to go....

my therapist had reservations about the surgery until I explained more to him and also he did his own research and now he's very supportive.. and he's not the one I ended up doing the evaluation with (I went to the person the clinic has in-house). What I've said to my family and anyone who asks is that this is the only scientifically proven durable weight loss technique for people who are over 100 pounds overweight...

as far as the depression goes... you could make an argument for your emotional stability... things I'd want to include in that would be - what kinds of support are you getting (family, friends, support groups, therapist, OA, whatever); are you on medication and taking it regularly (something your doctor can verify, if need be); what is your current level of depression and how are you "treating" it.

Two things help a lot with being able to present a good argument on your ongoing awareness of depression and management - use the Beck Depression Inventory (in private) and keep a log of what your scores are on a weekly/semi-regular basis... you can google it and find it pretty easily

and there's a book called "Feeling Good" By Dr. David Burns... there's a log you can keep on a daily (or whatever) basis to address the thinking patterns that lead to depression.. I say these things because if you are dealing with insurance or medical professionals who might need some persuasion - both the depression inventory and thoughts log have been scientifically studied...

Personally (and I haven't had the surgery yet so shoot me if I'm wrong :P ) diabetics have problems with depression as a part of their condition, people who are overweight, same thing... people who don't exercise, people who have health problems, people who are undergoing major life stressors (ie: surgery??) SAME THING... so duh a little depression is really reasonable...

HOW you respond to this is much more important and will carry more weight with the people who matter rather than HER evaluation.. if that makes sense?

good luck!

J