http://bipolarmoms.com/ For Bipolar Moms Or Moms Raising Bipolar Children en-us Nucleus CMS v3.24 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://bipolarmoms.com//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://bipolarmoms.com/ http://bipolarmoms.com/item/bipolar-facilities-list nullI have gotten several requests for the centers my son has been in. At first I thought it was better to only give them out via personal email but now..considering my son will be 18 in Feb. and will not be transferred anymore...I am going to list them here for you.

First I want to share a few things with fellow bipolar parents:

I KNOW your frustration, guilt, hurt, humiliation, anger, and feeling of helplessness...I have been there and am still there to some degree. Getting help for bipolar children is not easy - even with all the wonderful hospitals and centers in the US - bipolar is still a hard placement. Be prepared to be told "no" a thousand times before someone will help you with placement. My tip to you is to take your child to a psychologist and get EVERYTHING documented. You will not get placement without your child's behavior on paper. Get copies of their school records showing defiant behavior and his medical records from their doctor...ANYTHING that shows their out of control behavior. Keep a journal as well because no one knows the extreme behavior more than you.

Second: Money, money, and more money. This is the one thing that kept my son out of the "premium" facilites. I did not, still don't, have $100,000 to get my son the "top" treatment. If you do then placement will be VERY easy. If you don't here are a few tips. You may not want to do some of the items below because you are proud and don't want to ask for help, I have been there as well. But once you weigh the frustration of daily living with your bipolar child to humiliation you may feel talking to someone who you will never interact with again, your humiliation will quickly go away.

1) Call your local Department of Health Services to see if they can cover your child with Medicaid, or the like, or be able to foot the bill for placement. Be prepared to show your financial documents etc. If they can't help usually they will refer you to a state agency that can.

2) Call your insurance company. Many will cover in-patient treatment if you have a well documented case. They will have a list of facilities they will pay for.

3) Call the state Mental Health facility or mental health ombudsman. Someone should be able to refer you to a placement that has a financial program or scholorships.

4) Call rich uncle Jerry...don't have one? Neither do I but if you do give him a call.

From the contacts above you should be able to find some type of financial help. I was VERY close to placing an ad in the paper begging someone to help with the financial placement for my mentally ill child...sounds tacky but I was desperate! Do what you have to!

Thirdly: Be prepared to be told its all your fault...you did this to your child and you are a terrible parent. I have been told this..or its insinuated...by more people than I care to say. Heres what I say to that - "If I am such a bad parent then why am I desperately seeking treatment for my child? If I was that bad of a parent I would just ignore my child and let the state take him" Sounds harsh but when you are interacting with "the professional psych community" their textbooks have told them all through their 8 years of schooling that its the parents fault. Be prepared for this and know that NO ONE knows what its like living with a bipolar child until they do it so ****'em and their opinions!

Be involved as much as you can because these centers WILL step all over you. They will tell you that since the child is placed with them that you do not need to be involved except for a weekly or monthly therapy call. I had to take control of my sons treatment because I have learned that 99% of parents drop off their kids at these centers and don't want anything else to do with them until they are "better". So parents that are truly interactive in their childrens treatment are rare and it shocks some of these facilities - they just don't know what to do with us! So prepared to fight to be a part of their treatment.

Now I won't lie...the first 6 months of my son's placement was a HUGE relief! I could walk through my house without fear of something being thrown at me or fear when my phone ran that Cody got kicked out of school again for one thing or another so I would have to leave work YET AGAIN! I am here to tell you that THIS IS NORMAL! Let yourself feel that relief because once your body and mind has recouped you will be fresh again to be involved with getting your child better.

Ok..sorry about novel here but the points above needed to be put on the table. Here are the centers that Cody was placed in:

1st Center: Shodair Childrens Hospital. They would have kept Cody but since he was chewing on his wrists they couldn't keep him because they weren't set up for that type of treatment. They do treat bipolar though and are REALLY nice facilities. If you have a local one and your child isn't into really hurting others or himself then give your local one a call. What the hell..call them any way and let them evaluate your child they can refer you.

2nd and 3rd placements: Psych wards. I don't suggest this as all they did was medicate him into submission AND tie him down. Broke my heart but he had to be placed at these facilites until we could find another center that would take him.

The following 3 center are ran by Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. Web address: http://www.psysolutions.com hit the "Facilities" link at the top to find a center near you as they are all throughout the US.

1st Center: San Marcos Treatment Center: Texas. No impressed with this facility AT ALL! My son was thrown in the back room and bullied and beat up just to get his snack for the day. Of course he didn't tell me this until he was released for fear I would get pissed, start complaining, and the staff workers would make it even more hard on him. Therapists weren't that on the ball either. One good thing was that I could talk to him everyday at night during his phone time so the close contact was good for us.

2nd Center: Copper Hills: Utah. THE BEST!! This center had on the ball therapists, scheduled treatment activities, groups, etc. Sweatlodges, outings, and rewards for good behavior that Cody really worked to get. I must commend this facility as they TRULY want to help these kids and were absolutely on top of the modern treatments for bipolar! They highly encourage family interaction as well. Sadly Cody was kicked out because of his assaultive behavior towards the other kids...really made me sad because I really think this facility would have REALLY helped him.

3rd Center: Laurel Oaks: Alabama. This is where I am now. You can read my experiences with this facility throughout the blog. Not impressed. Had to fight to get him the treatment he needs and am still fighting. The head doctor is GREAT and I finally have a good relationship with his therapist that took awhile. I would give this place a 4 out of 10 stars if I had to rate it. They also place alot of kids here with no families, which is sad, and they have a childrens unit which takes kids as young as 4. These smaller babies are something else!!! When I go there for therapy there is always one trying to kick down the door or jumping on staff or kicking the nurses station window to try and break it...these are TRULY out of control babies. Cody calls them "devil children" but I don't ever want to think of a baby as small as 4 a "devil" child...I think they are just really mentally ill children whose parents have no idea how to control them.

Well thats it! These are my experiences with our mental health facilities in the US.

This road is not going to be easy for you bipolar parents...when it comes to your kids nothing like this easy but its necessary to get them the help they need.

If you child was placed in another facility you would like me to add...please contact me on this website and I will add it to the list!

Good Luck to everyone!



]]> Bipolar Information http://bipolarmoms.com/item/bipolar-facilities-list#c Thu, 8 May 2008 06:47:32 -0500 http://bipolarmoms.com/item/2-12-more-medicines-gone-- nullWell things went pretty good at the Treatment Team Meeting. Found out that they have completely re-done his meds, for the most part, and he is now on 3 medicines for his headaches...his headaches he gets because of the Lithium. So we kinda of argued back and forth about what to do. The doctor suggested adding more medicine for his headaches (YEAH...you read that right...MORE!) and I suggested maybe beginning to wean him off the Lithium since he is on redundant mood stabilizer medicines (Seroquel and Lithium). Well that just took the doctor back...LOL...these people drive me CRAZY!!
So yes we are weaning him off the Lithium and 2 medicines for the headaches....SO...2 1/2 more medicines off board...YEAH!!]]> Bipolar Information http://bipolarmoms.com/item/2-12-more-medicines-gone--#c Mon, 5 May 2008 16:16:04 -0500 http://bipolarmoms.com/item/been-awhile nullSorry its been so long since I have posted! I have been really busy...
Cody is doing better...WE are doing better. We now have family therapy every Monday and I visit him 3 times a week besides that. During my visits I always find a way to get him to talk about things so its like were getting to know each other again. He's been in centers and hospitals for so long that you aren't there for the daily stuff which encompasses "knowing" someone...does that make sense?
The therapy is definately hard but now that we are coming out the other side the weight is lifting a little...and I'm seeing my boy again for the first time in a LONG time...
The monthly Treatment Team meeting is being held on Thursday...I will post what happens!
]]> Bipolar Mom Stories http://bipolarmoms.com/item/been-awhile#c Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:18:58 -0500 http://bipolarmoms.com/item/no-more-depakote nullThey took him totally off Depakote this week...YEAH!!! But listen to what they did....took him totally off Depakote but added 300 more ml of Seroquel. So I guess its a small victory...maybe...]]> Bipolar Mom Stories http://bipolarmoms.com/item/no-more-depakote#c Sun, 9 Mar 2008 18:49:29 -0500 http://bipolarmoms.com/item/a-list-of-my-sons-meds nullMy son came for an 8 hour visit this past weekend and when I picked him up I was given this thick packet of envelopes. They contained his medications and instructions. I have posted the list below...and people wonder why I think they are medicating him into submission!He gets medicine 4 times a day: morning, noon, 6pm, and bedtime. I had him from 11-7 so these medicines are for 2 of dose times.

Topamax 50mg 1 tab by mouth @ 6pm
Trazadone 50 mg 1 tab by mouth @ 6pm
Propranolol 20mg 1 tab by mouth @ 12 pm and 1 tab by mouth @ 6pm
Lithium ER 450mg 2 tabs by mouth @ 6pm
Seroquel 200mg 1 tab by mouth @ 12pm
Seroquel 400mg by mouth 1 tab @ 6pm

He also takes 200 mg of Seroquel in the morning, and more Lithium and a dose of Depakote before bed.

Now who reading this blog thinks I am over-reacting???? ]]> Bipolar Information http://bipolarmoms.com/item/a-list-of-my-sons-meds#c Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:19:21 -0600 http://bipolarmoms.com/item/heres-my-baby nullI wanted to post this photo for you all. Codys and my birthday was last week and he turned 17. Look at the other photos of him on the site and you can see how much he's changed in just a few months!
Just wanted to show off my handsome boy :-)]]> Bipolar Mom Stories http://bipolarmoms.com/item/heres-my-baby#c Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:29:37 -0600 http://bipolarmoms.com/item/not-the-only-one MoiThank you all so much for posting your comments to me. Sometimes this road of trying to get your bipolar child help is a lonely one.
Ya know the more I think about it they should definately have a bipolar advocacy program in each state for children, and adults for that matter, so that they get the proper treatment and not just medicated into submission.
Here is the current unprofessional drama happening with my son:I went to his Treatment Team Meeting and first off the doctor didn't even recognize my son, she had to read his chart to brush up on who he was (point #1 taken away). Then I inquired about the reason my son was on so many redundant drugs. The doctor Hmmd and Haad then said "I don't know" (point #2 taken away). The she said she doesn't like to take children off medicine prescribed by other doctors (WHAT?!?!?!). So I politely pointed out that in one year my son is going to be 18 and how in the world is going to be able to pay 800.00 a month for redundant medications on an 18 year olds salary? She took a sec and thought about it then told me I was right and she would do some checking. Well that was 1 1/2 weeks ago and I still haven't heard back. But I think that is the norm in this place...
Not only has she not called me back my sons therapist doesn't call me back. She give us appointments for family therapy and doesn't show up, then she will make appointments for phone conferences and will not call as she forgets!!
So I contact her supervisor last Thursday and asked for a change of therapist. I explained to the supervisor why I wanted a change, she said she understood, and would get with the director of the center and get back to me by 2:30. Well its now 12:20 pm on Saturday and I still haven't heard back from her.
My son should have been granted his Level 3 2 weeks ago. He was named Peer Mentor of his unit and has more than enough credentials to be on Level 3 but his therapist keeps telling him that he can't have it. Having it would mean he could go off campus with me each weekend. Why can't he have it you ask?? Oh I don't know because NO ONE CALLS ME BACK!!
This place receives about $20,000 per month to have my son in their center. Now I am wondering if they use that per-child amount to employ professionals or just buy doughnuts....
I am giving it this week to get some answers...I will post when I do!]]> About Me http://bipolarmoms.com/item/not-the-only-one#c Sat, 9 Feb 2008 12:24:18 -0600 http://bipolarmoms.com/item/im-here-and-not-too-happy nullI am finally down here in the Southern US with my son. I had a conference with his therapist right after I arrived and found out some distrubing newsFirst of all she promised us at least 4 days a week of counseling and extra sessions if we needed it. Now she says she can only do 2 a month! 2 A MONTH! Quite a different story fromwhat she told me before I crossed the US. Then I ask her how many hours of therapy my sons receives a week. Considering it is a theraputic hospital you would assume that is all that he does! Well not here. He gets 1 hour a week therapy with her and 3 hours a week in group therapy. I asked when he receives his bipolar education and therapy sessions - she proceeded to cock her head and look at me like I was the strangest person on earth.
"No ma'am. There is no other therapy aside from the what I told you".

Ok so let me get this straight.

He has 120+ waking hours a week and only 4 hours of therapy in a theraputic hospital....hmmmm...does this sound strange to anyone but me?

Then I question her about the bipolar specialists. She again cocks her head and tells me that there are no bipolar specialists who work at this hospitial...WHAT?!?!?!?!?! I have been told repeatedly by her and others at the hospital that my son has been being treated by specialists!!!

Can you believe this??? I have only been here 4 days and they are turning about face from what they have told me the past 2 months. I cant even believe this! They seem to be taking our thousands of dollars a month to provide my son 3 meals a day and thats it!!!

So Tuesday is my sons Treatment Team Meeting where all of his supposed "specialists" and "doctors" will be to discuss his treatment and I get to sit in on it and voice my opinion. And boy do I have one of those!!!!

I will post and let you know what happens....
]]> Raising Bipolar Kids http://bipolarmoms.com/item/im-here-and-not-too-happy#c Sun, 27 Jan 2008 12:10:34 -0600 http://bipolarmoms.com/item/sorry-for-the-absence nullSorry I have been absent so long. Between the holidays and getting ready to go across the US to my son I have been very busy!
I heading down to where my son is next week. I am not impressed with the treatment he is getting. Although center said he is getting "intensive treatment" he only has 2 hours of therapy a week. How is that "intensive treatment?". So I have taken it upon myself to go down and monitor them and my sons treatment to ensure he gets what he needs.
They promised me a new treatment plan for him about a month ago but nothing has been put in place yet. They have increased his meds once again without informing me - actually they don't inform me of anything. I have to call to find out his "progress" and 90% of the time his therapist answers my questions with "Uh..I don't know let me check and get back to you". Well she never does. So I hope having my presence there EVERYDAY will kick start these people.
I will continue writing once I get down there. I will be posting several times a week to let you know how its going and if I we have learned anything new from his "bipolar specialists" (I use this term lightly from what I've seen so far).
Wish me Luck!]]> Bipolar Mom Stories http://bipolarmoms.com/item/sorry-for-the-absence#c Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:38:44 -0600 http://bipolarmoms.com/item/walking-on-eggshells nullMy mom and I had an interesting conversation today. We were talking about my son and I was telling her how I feel the need to walk on eggshells when I speak to him so he doesn't get upset and blow up. The littlest things can just set him off! She then proceeded to tell me that her and my dad constantly walked on eggshells around me especially when I was a teen. She reminded me how lucky I am to have my son diagnosed and to know whats going on with him instead of it being like I was...everyone thinking I was just a spoiled little brat and going to great lengths not to upset me (Its only been 6 months since my diagnosis).
I suppose she's right...and yes I did hear the little "ha ha ha" snicker in her voice referring to her little curse "I hope you have 10 kids that are JUST LIKE YOU!"
Remind me to put that curse on Cody when he gets home....
:-)]]> Raising Bipolar Kids http://bipolarmoms.com/item/walking-on-eggshells#c Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:54:52 -0600