Where can we get help with no insurance?
My son is 27 and was diagnosed with ADD at 5 years old. He came off the ritalin when he was 7 because he use to crash everyday around 2pm and cry and cry. He went through his childhood without medication, but probably should have been on it. He was always in the "gifted children's programs" in school, but made bad grades.
He is now 27 and he hears voices, can't concentrate, can't hold onto money, and can't sleep. He goes days without sleeping and eventually takes something to make him sleep. He drinks and has done drugs, and probably still does at times.
He hasn't been officially diagnosed as schizophrenic and he has no insurance to go to the doctor. A doctor did diagnose him as bipolar when he lived in another state.
How can we get him help and how can we pay for the help with no insurance?
My husband recently made him move out of the house, due to a violent incident. He is living in a home, renting a room, and just within the last two weeks, he has spent $1100 and is broke. He works everyday, but never has any money.
How can I help him?
Hello poopsie37211,
I feel for you.
I'm sorry to say there's not much you can do, your son has to want to change.
Reading between the lines, I suspect he is doing drugs.
If he does have a legally qualifying disability, he will be eligible for SSD or SSDI and Medicare or Medicaid, which will pay for his treatment.
You don't say what kind of job he has, whether it has health benefits or is a part-time job, more likely it's a job without health insurance.
A psychiatrist who diagnoses him will fill out the paperwork for him to get Medicare, if his disability prevents him from working.
The truth is, if he can pay his rent and work, he's an adult, and responsible for his behavior.
There's not much you can do without veering into the territory of "enabling" him.
You did say he got violent, too.
So having him live at home isn't an option.
Does he even want to take the medication if it's given to him?
He could lack insight that he has an illness, and be self-medicating with the drugs.
He has an addiction, so he needs to be in treatment for people with a dual diagnosis, or MICA: mental illness.
I suggest you find a support group for yourself, like NAMI's. Call them at (800) 950-NAMI (6264).
Best regards,
Chris
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