[Leonedup]

Hi I am a very stressed out and concerned mother with an adult son who is in a wheelchair(paralysed from the middle down) due to an accident in 1994 and who was diagnosed with Bipolar in 2008. I gave up my day job to come and support him since he was diagnosed. He is an outpatient at a state hospital and receives medication that he takes. He has a smoking and alcohol problem which he says he uses for pain which he suffers from in his legs which are paralysed he says it is the only thing that helps for his pain. He goes into very bad moods when drinking and taking meds all at once. He does not sleep for 2 days and then after that spell he will not get out of bed for a few days and goes into depression. The clinic are not helpful at all and we are both social pensioners with a tight budget so cannot afford good medical help. Can you please tell me what to do. Other family members do not acknowledge the illness so I do not get any support from them.
Thank you

My email address is (removed)

[joypulv]

I'd be a drinking, smoking, depressed person too if I were paralyzed and in constant pain.
(Paralysis means no feeling at all, including pain in the paralyzed areas, so I wonder if he has some sort of neuropathy instead?)
It doesn't matter. And I'm not arguing with the diagnosis of bipolar, but keep in mind that sometimes it's just a tool to get treatment and insurance coverage. It isn't unusual for pain to mean no sleep for as long as pain keeps you awake, followed by long sleep.
I wish you could spend more time on the medical aspect of his condition rather than the psych. He shouldn't have to be in so much pain. Even on public health care you can keep asking for referrals to specialists in his condition.
Also medical marijuana is good for chronic pain, and it might help him cut down on the alcohol. But you don't say where you live and whether you can get it.

[J_9]

Alcohol and depression meds are a recipe for disaster, actually can be a recipe for death. They should never be mixed.

Depending on where you live, and you didn't specify, there are programs out there that can help with your situation.