Bipolar Disorder/my bipolar son

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Expert: - 4/3/2007


Question
I have a son who is 20 years old and refuses to take medications they prescribe him, and only wants to take the one he wants, which in this case is adderal, but they do not want to give it to him, because the last hospital he was at for two weeks, adviced not to prescribe it anymore because he was addicted to it. Now he is without medication and is very aggressive and violent towards his grandparents.
Can they refuse to prescribe adderal to him? I need help on what to do with him

Answer
Patricia . . .

Ethical physicians will never prescribe a medication simply because a patient things the medication is right for them. For physicians to prescrine a medication they have to believe that it is the best medication for the patient.

It sounds as if your son should be reevaluated by a team that is familiar with substance abuse, attentional problems ,and also mood disorders.

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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Bipolar Disorder

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Ivan Goldberg, M.D.

Expertise

I am a psychiatrist/psychopharmacologist with many years of expereince in treating individuals with depressions, manic-depression (Bipolar Disorder), other mood disorders,. I am especially interested in the psychopharmacologic treatment of individuals with so called "treatment-resistant" syndromes.

Experience

I have been on the staff of the National Institute of Mental Health, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. I am currently in full-time private practice in New York City.

A.B. Johns Hopkins University
M.D. N.Y.U. College of Medicine

I am the creator of Depression Central:http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.html

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