[28andforward]

My son is bipolar, diagnosed several months ago. His insurance refuses to pay anything on mental for a year so I am paying for his meds and therapy! ( I find it ridiculous that the heart or liver can malfunction but not the brain!). Just had to vent a bit there but on with my question: How serious is this money thing with BPs? I transfer $ to his account to pay his medical bills; this last time he chose to get the mood stabilizer but not the antidepresssant - he goes off the antidepressant cold turkey and then complains of dizziness, headaches, etc!!! I just want to shake some sense into him that he can't go off and on that way without messing things up. I also read about the roommate who spends all his money and doesn't have rent money - Is this thing with money totally beyond a BPs control? I need some advice from people who better understand how bipolar affects thinking and logic...........

[dexter]

The medicine thing is a large problem with a lot of people with different mental illness. The medicine often has side effects that are unpleasant, or some people just don't like the idea of relying on medicines. So when they feel better, they "believe" they are "cured" and will stop taking them, not understanding (or maybe not wanting to understand) that the medicine didn't cure anything, you rely on it to keep you in balance. People go off it, relapse, have treatment, and many repeat the process. You also have to remember that these illnesses warp your decision making and distort your judgement... so even though your judgement may be "better" when you are feeling well, you have nothing to compare it to except the illness state with regard to medicine... so you really don't have the proper information to make that correct decision other than trusting others.

As for the spending, that can be a big problem for a lot of people in their manic phase. Uncontrollable? I guess that depends on how you define the word. But it certainly is NOT a matter of "willpower" because, once again, your sense of judgment changes. Treating the illness will be part of "controlling" the spending.

I do not suffer bipolar but even in my depressive states I have to be careful with money. I know spending what I can't afford is wrong, and I am "normally" an extremely fiscally responsible person, but when I am depressed sometimes buying a material thing helps fill an emptiness that comes with the depression. Of course it is not a solution, it is just a temporary "fix" just like drugs or alcohol would be, for the same reasons. Once again, treatment for the illness is the road to dealing with that.

he can get free meds from a county or state clinic. all he has to do is prove that he cannot afford them....if he makes below a certain $$ amount, the clinic will help him do the paperwork to apply to the drug companies for the meds.