an intro and a plea or help

[lil516]

I've been posting on Naranon for a few weeks and just today came upon this part of SR....my son (24) is an addict with mental issues....no one is sure which came first but self medicating landed him where he is today....he was in a rehab program but his mental anxiety,lack of coping skills etc caused them to release him and he is back in a hosp setting.....its temporary and we're swimming upstream trying to figure out a plan...he has been on so many different meds (seroquel,risperdal,zyprexa etc) and now they are trying lithium

I am really regretting the times I slept thru chemistry class b/c I feel helpless and clueless regarding all these meds...as I became aware of my son's problems I was one of those clueless moms who couldn't tell a street drug from a prescribed med...now I know more than I ever wished to know but still do not know what to do...

I will read all that I find posted here and try to gain a better understanding of the medical/mental part of my son's life....

right now the doctor is saying a hosp rehab is needed...not sure if insurance will cooperate...his anxiety is mounting b/c he finds the institutional setting intimidating....he fears he can't get well under those conditions....every time he gets anxious they medicate him...its becoming a catch22 situation and I feel so powerless....

thanks for listening
any feedbback would be so appreciated....

[Wolfstarr]

Hi ((((Lil)))))

My daughter is a recovering heroin addict. She has also been diagnosed BiPolar.

She did one month shy of a year in rehab. It was in a women's center, and was monitored by a psychologist as well as a psychiatrist and a medical doctor. Eventually, she got through her withdrawal from heroin by being dosed with methadone.

Methadone had to be gradually, and I mean gradually decreased and eventually she was weaned off. Heroin was never her DOC, cocaine was. She even states now that she would have a difficult time refusing cocaine if she saw it or was offered it.

Anyway I digress...

I can feel for your son and the fears about getting well in an institution. My AD had the same fears. She didn't want to go to rehab, in fact the first time she went, it was called AR or Adult Rehab. It was co-ed and very loosely controlled. It appeared to me that it was not the place for the severity of her addiction/mental illness, and I was correct.

She left that rehab and went back to using. Without going into detail, she went back to another rehab program several months later with a different environment. Stricter, controlled, disciplined and LOCKED. Yes, it was very much like jail.

It was a Women's center. No men. Women only, and...their children. She got the help she desperately needed and also there was diagnosed BiPolar. Many meds were tried, including those you have mentioned.

She was detoxed for 5 days, then transferred to the women's center. She was still so bad that they had to send her back to detox for another 4 days.
Over the months she was there, it was evident she was getting better. She had to suffer the post acute withdrawal symptoms as well as getting her mania-depression under control. Once the addiction was addressed and controlled, then the mental illness issue was addressed and she was helped.
I thought there would never be an end.

Today...she has been out of rehab for one year. She:
Has her own apartment
Owns her car
pays her bills
is gainfully employed
is respected at her jobplace
is regaining her self esteem
will be getting custody of her daughter back very soon.

Not to say that there aren't rough spots here and there. She relapsed once and most recently toyed with alcohol. That seems to have cooled down for now and she is careful and watchful. Her sobriety and recovery has taken control over her desire for mind altering substances, thankfully. Due to her drug use, she has the mentality of about an 18 year old. She is thirty.

Her BiPolar disorder is stable. She has accepted her condition and moving forward. She is taking Lithium and Prozac, and this seems to be helpful for her. She was on Seroquel, but the need for that has diminished and discontinued for the time being. She knows she is in need of continuing her counseling and attends NA meetings occasionally.
Of course I cannot control her by demanding she attends her meetings, therapy sessions. She is an adult. I have to "let go" and "live and let live" for her own good, and mine.

I seem to have yammered long enough and I certainly hope this has helped you somewhat? Just to let you know, Lil, that you are not alone and neither is your son.
Keep the faith and know it will get better. I know. I have been there, and back and there again.
Lots of **hugs** and prayers for your son and you...
Vivian

[lil516]

Vivian....Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post and give me your insights...it sure does help to hear of other experiences.....I will keep you and your daughter in my prayers (and I pray alot!)....may i ask you....did your daughter have private insurance?....my son has been denied any extended inpatient care by his insurance...a week, two tops and they are ready to discharge him to outpatient....you mentioned a program and talked about months...was that inpatient?....I wonder if I can fight the insurance company on this?

again...thanks for your input

[Don W]

lil, not much time now but, I feel he needs rehab also. Until someone is clean it is very difficult to diagnose the problem. You could consider contacting your local board of health or The State Dept. of Public Health. Sometimes they know of programs. As far as the insurence company? Fight them, I work at a hospital and have for years. Many first denied are later approved. This is a perfect time to apply" the sweaky wheel gets the grease" I'll checkin later I'm going home. Don't be discouraged, easier said than done, help is on the way. There are some other options to consider. Remember to take care of you also. This is a family illness and you need to be in good heath mentally and physicaly also. Don W

[lil516]

it's true that I need to relax..I am about as tense as I've ever been...had a real long cry earlier so hopefully that's over for awhile....thanks for letting me know that I can fight the insurance company...he pays almost 300 a month to maintain coverage and then gets denied when he needs help.....if I wasn't so overwhelmed by worring about him I'd be really furious with the system...as it is I don't have the energy to waste

he is on a unit in the hosp now that is concentrating on stabilizing him...he needed a "safe" place....he cries "I don't want to live this way"...

keep us in your prayers...
and thanks for taking the time to respond

[shutterbug]

About meds: The resperdal is for anxiety, bipolar I or can be used as an anti-psychotic

Seraquel... i was on this one for a while for slight paranoia

Zyprexa...i believe is an anti-depressent only, but i could be wrong on this one

lithium....i just started on this one...it's a mood stabalizer. Basically it's a type of salt that was discovered years ago that works as a mood stabalizer for bipolar disorder. It's been around the longest...so most tried and true. Pattie Duke takes lithium too (or at least she was taking it at the time she wrote her book called, "A Brilliant Madness". Hey you really should get ahold of a copy because not only is she bipolar, but she also struggled with addiction and i think it might help you get a better idea of what your son is going through)

Anyway...i've also been on Lamictal, Effexor, Welbutrin, Visteril, Depakote, Lexapro, a Prosac mix, and about 5 or 6 others that i can't think of right now. So if you have any more questions feel free to ask. i'm not a doc, just a patient who acts like one some times....LOL!!!

Hugs and God Bless
Jenna

P.S. you said that you pray a lot so i was wondering if i could ask you to please pray for me? This depression is making my life more and more difficult so all prayers are VERY appreciated!

[lil516]

re: the prayers....You got it...consider it done

they are thinking of going with lithium for him...he is being weaned off zyprexa and is going on lithium....he also takes trazodine and effexor (spelling?)

I am hoping his insurance will allow him to stay inpatient long enough to get stabilized

[shutterbug]

I was on effexor for my depression for nearly 2 years. i liked it, but it just wasn't strong enough for this major episode so I was switched to Cymbalta and Welbutrin and now am coming off the Cymbalta: Word to the wise....both Effexor and Cymbalta have to be weened off from to avoid severe withdraw affects. Your son will notice that if he doesn't take his Effexor one day or takes it much later in the day then he will start feeling odd and will experience what many, including myself, describe as body shocks. it actually feels like electric shocks running through your head and body. Mine were triggered by eye movement.....every movement of my eye and another shock would go off. It's very unpleasant, but that's why i like Effexor so much because before that i wasn't able to make myself continue with any meds....after a month i would just get tired of taking them and would stop or start convieniently forgetting. With the Effexor....those electric shocks were like my little pill reminders and that's why the med worked so well for me.

My stupid psychiatrist told me to stop the Cymbalta and Lamictal all at once and start on the lithium....i wasn't thinking and left home for the weekend without any of the Cymbalta b/c i was starting on the new meds like she ordered. Well....4 days of intensifiying electric shocks had me completely non-funtioning by that 4th day! I was so mad. Now i'm trying to tapper myself down from them. They're not addicting, you body just forms a chemical dependence of sorts and that's why you have to be weened off.

As far as i know, the trazodone is a light anti-depressant, but mostly used for help sleeping. I was given it once in the hospital and woke up with the biggest hang-over in my life...so I hope he's not having that. and i hope insurance will let him get stabilized too.

Thanks for the prayers!

Hugs and God Bless
Jenna