Marta, Docs, Fibro etc.....

[Guest guest]

Marta, you know Sammy would welcome you coming up here to kick his ass, I

think he misses you! We just left his office, Bubba was just falling apart. He

was completely in tears (seeing a 6 foot tall, 260 pound kid fall apart isn't

a pretty sight!) and Sammy prescribed Lexapro and Elavil for him as well as

Compazine for the nausea. He gave him a shot of Ativan before we left to calm

him down as well so we hope that the meds will kick in fast and ease the

pain as well as this damn depression! The kid only wants to be normal for a damn

day! I think about seeing him in my bedroom doorway at 3AM when he looked at

me and said " if I was dead the pain would go away " and it just breaks my

heart dammit! He tries so hard to live with all these problems but sometimes he

feels like it will never get better, much less ever end, and he just can't be

tough anymore!

Yes, they ARE building a new Family Healthcare Network Clinic here - the one

they have open is operating with kind of a skeleton staff but it may be an

option if the school cannot get him into Mental health (with the schools

referral we may have some luck - and they do have a sliding fee scale). I just

hate to take him to a new Clinic where they will want him to see their MD's

before seeing the Psychologist since we refuse to stop seeing Sammy, but if

they

will take him as a referral from Sammy, we will go!

The really sad thing with this whole situation is that even if we COULD find

a psychologist for him, none of them will accept MediCal, not to mention his

MediCal stops in 4 weeks when he turns 18! My ex dropped the kids from his

insurance over a year ago when he fled the state and now he refuses to help in

any way with medical bills or insurance. GRRR! All I can do is hope that the

school will follow through and get their psychologist in ASAP (I begged them

today) and maybe with the help of the school we can get him into mental

health as well as a Pain Management Specialist and teach him how to live and

deal

with the hand he has been dealt.

After the bad experiences we have had at the other local clinics (sitting 4

hours in a filthy hallway on the floor because there was no seating provided

as well as 8 month waits to see a Specialist) Bubba flat refuses to go

anywhere but to Hanford Regional and Sammy - I gotta admit the man listens and

takes what we say seriously! We pay between 45 and 85 bucks a visit for him to

stay with Sam but I just can't bear to take him to the damn clinics here and

every Doc he has ever seen (other than you of course) totally blows off what

his symptoms, thoughts, and feelings. The damn GI doc at Childrens laughed,

told him he was simply constipated (for 4 years?) and gave him an RX for a

laxative. Not much help there except that they DID do a complete GI exam and

everything else has been ruled out so the only thing anyone can hazard a guess

at

is that it is all IBS related to The Fibro.

Sammy is a little lost when dealing with Bubba and the Fibro - we have tried

so many thing over the last 2-3 years that have not worked so now we are

pretty much going by what we find online! I do hours and hours of research and

make copies of what I find - Sammy is awesome about listening to what I find

and being willing to try anything we haven't tried before. He always takes

time to discuss what we find and why he think it will ot won't work - and he is

also willing to refer us anywhere we want, he just doesn't know where to

send us for help! If we could find a damn specialist here who deals with Fibro

or a pain management it would help a lot but our latest problem is that the

local Specialists say that he is still considered a Pediatric patient and they

refuse to see him until he is 18 - and the Pediatric Specialists say that at

17 years old, 6 foot 1, and 260 pounds he needs an adult specialist!

GRRR!!! And in 4 weeks he will have NO insurance at all, so our chances of

seeing

anyone at all is pretty slim!

We applied for SSI for him in December - we are praying for approval not for

the $$ but so that he will have MediCal! I honestly don't know what we will

do after next month - the thought of trying to fill these Rx's every month

for Lexapro, Elavil, Compazine and Oxycontin, not to mention the others he

takes for Gout - Indomethacin, Colchicine, and Allopurinol - makes me want to

cry!

Yep, the healthcare system sucks, but what sucks even more is having an ex

husband who dropped the kids from his insurance to save himself a measly $100 a

month! The DA's office is no help at all, with Joe living in Florida they

really can't make him do anything at all, even though he is SUPPOSED to pay for

half of his medical bills - he just says another 4 weeks and he will not be

responsible for him at all - even though the DA says that as long as he is a

student Joe has to continue to pay Child Support and SHOULD provide

insurance, who can force him to? He just laughs.....

GRRRRRRRR!!!! I am just feeling a little scared about what we are going to

do when medical stops - I can handle the Dr's visits, barely - but the Rx's are

next to impossible for us to pay for! Any ideas? (other than hiring a

hitman for the ex - wait - that MIGHT work after all - do the flying monkeys

carry weapons?)

Cindee

>

> Holy Shmoly! Do I have to come up there and kick some butt? I know

> your situation is tough regarding mental healthcare (in your county),

> but his doc ought to refer him to a psychologist at least, and start

> him on some antidepressants, maybe. I say maybe since we are getting

> alerts regarding teens and antidepressants and increased risk of

> suicide.

>

> Take him to see a psychologist, there are non-pharmaceutical therapies

> available. If you can't find someone, remember where I used to work?

> They had them there when I worked there and I think they opened a

> clinic in Kings county. Check their website, okay?

>

> Marta

>

[Guest guest]

Cindee,

Wow! I miss Sammy so much! He might like it too much if I went

there and kicked his butt!

Some quick ideas: if Bubba can prove some income, anything, then he

can use gov subsidized clinics, its the rules.

He can use Childrens Services for a couple more years, I think. Not

sure of how you get info on this, though. He is certainly qualified

to see an internist, we are trained to see age 14 on up. I always

have seen age 12 on up, myself. Personal preference.

Just keep close watch on him, okay? I don't like the hint of

suicide, not one bit. It takes a couple weeks for antidepressants

to kick in. Just keep talking with him, I know you can do it.

Tell Bubba I said Hi. I hope he feels better soon. Make sure he

knows it takes a while, okay?

Too bad about your ex. You were so nice to him, too.

Can't think of more now, tired. Take care, marta

[Guest guest]

Also isn't there a program for the drug companies if

you have something from your dr that will give you

the meds free if you are low income????

Pat

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

>

> Another thing, once Bubba is 18, if he can prove he has a low

> income, then he can be seen in the FHCN clinic for a reduced

rate.

> That is the law. However, he needs to be able to prove an

income.

> No proof and you pay the max. It is a gov. thing so I know they

> have a sliding scale due to the grants they get.

>

> I just don't want Bubba to get in the habit of thinking of himself

> as " sick " , do you understand what I mean? That will cripple him

> more than the illnesses themselves. For that, the psychologist

can

> be very helpful. Also, what about college? He needs to get out

on

> his own.

>

> Write me offline, if you have time.

>

> Marta

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, Pat, the pharmaceutical companies have programs like that in

place. I forgot to mention that.

Marta

>

> Also isn't there a program for the drug companies if

> you have something from your dr that will give you

> the meds free if you are low income????

> Pat

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`