Expert: Joyce A. Anthony - 2/7/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
My husband and I have five children, four boys, 13, 11, 10, and 5, and one daughter 11.  She has severe bipolar with rapid cycling and we have been through the system, to say the least.  Our county will no longer listen to us and feels that the best place for her is with us.  We want her to be here, too, but she is so disruptive to our family and our lives that we are spinning out of control.  We had a team of counselors that would come in the home and do "family" counseling on a weekly basis, but would not help us when we kept telling them that she needs more help than we can give her.  Our children are so greatly affected and I am afraid that our daughter will be hated by all of them if she continues on the path that she is on.  We cannot receive any assistance.  We had respite, but only to get it taken away when we tried to take back control of our household.  We listen and followed much of the advice given to us, but when we started to make suggestions, we got zero help.  Next thing we know, we have no support anywhere.  Our families, well, they have their own problems.  Our friends...well, we don't have any of those either.  Spiritually, we have support, but we are pretty much on our own.  We live in a small town and it gets very difficult when you are trying to survive there with no support.  Thank goodness for work.  It is my escape from it all.  
Please, I would just like to get our family back together and get our daughter the help she needs and deserves.  We have looked into facilities that specialize with this and they cost too much for us to afford.  Without any help, we can not help our daughter.
This has been going on since she was an infant and we have had every diagnosis in the book from autism, aspbergers, pdd, odd, adhd, etc.  We know that this is bipolar and we are on the right track with her medicine, but are unsure where to go from here.  She can change in an instant and we are never sure what might set her off.  I am mostly concerned about how this has affected our other children, which I cannot get any counselor to understand.  Please, any help would be greatly appreciated.



ANSWER: Hi Renee:

Have you tried applying for SSI benefits for your daughter?  By doing this, she would be eligible for medical benefits that would help pay for a residential treatment program.  Also, if she becomes too out of control, you can have her temporarily admitted to a child mental health program in your local hospital.  This would automatically make her eligible for treatment programs that may be closed to you at this point.

I would also suggest a change in medication.  If her current medication still sees her changing rapidly, it is not working as it should.  You did not mention what she is taking, but they have found a combination of Seroquel and Lamictal works well in most children suffering from rapid-cycling bipolar disorder.  Try discussing this with her doctor.

         Joyce A. Anthony

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I looked into the criteria for ssi and we do not fit the category.  My husband and I make too much money for any benefits for her, but cannot afford to pay for the treatment ourselves.  Do you have any other suggestions?

Answer
Hi Renee:

My only other suggestion at this point would be for you to contact NAMI and explain your situation.  They may be able to help you find alternatives.  They will also be able to point you in the direction of resources in your area that you may not yet have been made aware of.
         Joyce A. Anthony