Frustrated with current hospital situation

[pasajes4]

My son is currently in a mental health facility...again. This time it was depression which disolved into major melt downs.. 3 in less than 24 hours.
His diagnosis bipolar, add, odd, anxiety. They are ready to dismiss him because of his behavior in their unit. The rational is he is being manipulative in order to gain access to a friend being housed on another unit. He is 15 and in high school and within the first week was suspended for having an emotional outburst. When he comes home he will have to return to school or the state will be on my case. I do not feel that he can go to school given his current volitale episodes. He is on medication and has not responded well in the past nor is he now. I do not receive any financial help through the state so the costs are all on me. I do not know where to go from here. Oh, and I am about to lose my job due to the amount of time I miss trying to keep him in school and out of the hospital. Sorry for rambling I am just scared to bring him home and do not know what to do next. Any thoughts or advice from others will be welcome with open arms.

 

[crazymama30]

Hugs. can you tell us more about your son? How old was he when you realized he needed help? Who diagnosed him? What medications is he on now, and what has he been on with what results? I am sure others will be along soon to ask more questions.

 

[pasajes4]

He was 8 years old. He is currently on welbutrin, intuniv,geodon. He has been on abilify,trazadone,lamictal,zoloft and everything else you can think of. He receives outpatient therapy when I can afford it. I do everything I am told to do but nothing addresses the underlying aggitation and irratibility which has been present since birth. Every attempt at any kind of therapy or medical intervention has resulted in ramping up his aggitation and irratibility. He is really tall and has gotten quite large due to weight gain from medication and he presents a very threatning physical presence. I am physically afraid to bring him home. I am by myself and do not have a way to protect myself or others when he becomes irrational and unreachable durring his melt downs.

 

[keista]

Welcome to the board!

I'm stuck on him getting dismissed from the psychiatric hospital.

They are ready to dismiss him because of his behavior in their unit. The rational is he is being manipulative in order to gain access to a friend being housed on another unit

He's not stable, and proving it and that's WHY they want to dismiss him? ((((HUGS))))

Does he have an IEP at school? Is there an alternative placement school in the district?

Does your job offer medical/family leave time? Look into that and see if you could use that time to help your son and still keep your job. Sadly, missing time from work could qualify you for help through the state. Another sometimes less desirable way to get help is to get your local CPS involved. I say sometimes because some offices seem to be all about helping kids and families, while others ......not so much.

Welcome again, you've found a great place for support, guidance and insight.

 

[pasajes4]

He has been in spec. ed. since he was 8. He was in a segragated class for the last 3 years and because there is no such setting on the high school campus he was dumped into a situation that he was not prepared for. His behavior became worse due to the exposure to others who were worse than he was. I do have an advocate but the process is moving way to slow in light of his recent worsening condition. I am an at will employee and can be dismissed for any and all reasons. I do have medical ins. but the deductibales are really high.

 

[pasajes4]

I am on my way to the hospital to talk to the therapist about my sons discharge. I am tempted not to go just to get cps involved but that will just end up with me in trouble. I wonder if I can insist that he not come home. I can't deal with his volatility right now.

 

[gcvmom]

I am so sorry for the position you are in right now.

Have you looked at your local NAMI chapter's web site? They may have information relative to your state and what your rights are with regard to your safety at home if he were to be discharged to your care again. Go to NAMI.org and find your state to see if there's a chapter in your area.

As for the whole medication issue -- just because he's tried one medication or even a dozen I wouldn't necessarily write them all off -- it's a complex game and finding the right DOSAGE and right COMBO can take a lot of trials to finally hit the one that works. If you don't feel his current psychiatrist is equipped to help him, find another one.

And when you talk to the psychiatric hospital staff, be sure you stress how UNSAFE you feel with him in his current state. If there are other kids at home, stress that you fear for THEIR safety as well. If he's still violent, I cannot see how they can possibly discharge him.

Good luck!

 

[pasajes4]

I went and within 3 min. of my son being in the session he became angry stormed out of the room cursing both myself and the doctors and stopped just short of throwing his fist through the wall. Wonder what he would have done If the doctors had not been there. I think ...hope...pray.. that they get it.

 

[Liahona]

Just wanted to add my welcome. What day are the docs. saying he will be discharged?

 

[gcvmom]

So did they make any more noise about discharge or are they rethinking that position?

 

[pasajes4]

I refused to accept the discharge plan. They saw first hand how he tries to manipulate hings in his favor and when it does not work he just ramps it up without any regard to how it puts others at risk. I honestly do not believe he is bipolar. I do believe he has a severe mood deregulation. He fits that profile to a 'T'. His otbursts are totally developmentally like those of a 2 year old and most of the time without a known trigger.

 

[Liahona]

Good for you for sticking up for yourself. I'm glad they got a taste of it. That can be very scary; having a 2 year old tantrum in a teenage body.