I dont know if I did something wrong, but maybe someone will authorize this to go through.

I am a 31 year old married man. Have numerous issues going on, and I am trying my best right now to see if there is some way that I can get medical coverage. My best hope is through the VA, but I am unsure if there are certain problems. Some out there may say simple go to a free clinic, (which costs $25)... but that is still alot of money in my case.

Growing up I dealt with sex abuse from my father directed at my sister. I was in the same room when the abuse mainly took place. Doc said it is still abuse... even though I witnessed it or was aware of it in some manner. Because of this, it has led to other type of abuse not involving my father. This went on for years, and eventually, led to my father going to prison. He stayed in a military brig for years (throughout my high school years) and eventually got out. My mother took him right back and my family appears to have forgotten everything that took place. Because of the stress my fathers Courts Martial caused on the family, it tripped a predisposition to Schizophrenia for which he is being treated fairly successfully. My sister has had 2 failed marriages, and is dating again. This shows that it has obviously affected everyone. My mother taking him back bothers me somewhat, but I understand that it isnt my life and I dont live there.

I joined the United States Army a few years later, and that didnt fair to well. As my regular life involved finding new employment every 2 months or so, my Army life was a little more. Leaving the Army isnt as simple as you might expect. I had numerous (4) Article 15's which are disciplinary reports. Suicidal Ideation is something I dealt with a few times, and because of such, self-admitted myself to an inpatient psych ward. On the ward, I was diagnosed as such:
Axis I: Adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct, resolved
Axis II: (Deferred in Oct 98) other page states No Diagnosis Dec 98
Axis III: History of chronic left wrist pain.

I eventually was discharged from the military, went through numerous more jobs, and eventually found love. I met my wife online and have been married for 10 years this December. She knows what has happened in my past, and still loves me. Something I hold dear to me. She has her own issues and constantly faces her battle with Multiple Sclerosis. This has gotten to the point that I have had to leave my job in order to become a full-time caregiver for her. I do this with love, but over time, it has undoubtedly caused some things to show in my own life. I have been through times of cutting, and have faced numerous amounts of jobs because of depression. My wife and I finally decided to get help for me at the Mental Health clinic in our area. After being seen and telling my story again, I was tried on numerous medications. We finally ended up on a combination of Prozac, Depakote, and Geodon. This worked wonders.... at least until I ran out of health insurance. I was no longer able to afford to be seen, and I also found out that the coverage I THOUGHT I had, didn't fully cover my mental health care. Of course this just adding to the stress.
So I have tried to do the best I can, and my wife has done her best. Unfortunatly, some things cannot be dealt with on your own. I am currently manic and have been for about 4 or 5 days. Lets just say my front porch and yard have never looked cleaner!

My problem is, while my mania is currently very tolerable, I know there is a chance it could become worse (though it never has). I also know that when my depressive episodes hit, my wife struggles to bring me out. Something that she cant deal with on her own because of the MS.

I need help, but currently have no way to pay for it. Because my wife needs me as a caregiver, I do not bring any money into the house. She currently receives a SSI check for less than $600 a month. Really not enough to live on, let alone take care of me with. She is on medicaid so her coverage is fine. I simply don't know what to do.

What I am wondering is if there was some way to determine if the military misdiagnosed me, did not try hard enough to diagnose me, or if I am just screwed. I have my DD214 and discharge paperwork, and currently am in the process of getting my mental health records from the Army and my local mental health clinic.

Is it to far fetched to believe that the misconduct I exhibited in the military may have stemmed from an undiagnosed mental issue (besides the adjustment disorder they say was resolved).

Personal research in this:
Deferred on my Axis II listing does not have a diagnosis code of 799.9. I am unsure if they simply just wrote deferred because they didnt even TRY to determine if there were Axis II issues, or if there was something there and they didnt know what it was yet. If it was because something was there and they didnt know what it was, is a 2 month time frame long enough to go from Deferred to No Diagnosis. For that matter, does "No Diagnosis" even mean something was there.

Adjustment disorder from my understanding of the DSM-IV has to take place from 3-6 months after the initual stressor. Does this Axis I diagnosis assume safely that they are saying the military caused my adjustment disorder, and they simply overlooked or didnt look at my personal childhood history.

I cannot for the life of me remember if I truly opened up to any medical staff while I was on the ward. I did open somewhat to my XO, but she would not have been liable to record what she heard. If someone else was in the room with me when I explained the abuse from my father, would they be mandated to put this down in my permanent records? If it was noted in my medical records that I experienced such abuse, (witnessing abuse of my sister while in the same room) shouldnt there be further treatment and wouldnt my actions while in the military be somewhat explained?

I currently am awaiting mental health records so I cannot give any specifics as to what is in them. I want to say that I may have seen PTSD mentioned at one point, but I am unsure.

Any.... ideas... suggestions... help....
Thanks for your time