So a few weeks ago I wrote about our struggle to get medication management for David’s psych medications. Today we did intake at Sanford Behavioral Health Bismarck.
Medication success!
and
Medication disappointment.
See, they are taking him on as a patient, but since we missed his appointment in May, he can’t be scheduled to see someone to manage his medications, and prescribe them, until November at the earliest.
I asked point blank, “what is he supposed to do about medications until then?”
“You can speak with his primary doctor and see if she will prescribe them for you.”
What if she won’t prescribe them?
Tough luck.
Well, I guess we could put him in psych when his medications wear off and he runs out of them. then they will pretty much have to prescribe them. But why should it come to that?
David is very aware of what the medications do to him and why he needs them. How often do you hear a kid talk about his need for his medications to keep himself together?
Why do I write about this? Because apparently in North Dakota the only way to accomplish anything is to air the dirty laundry in public prior to washing it.
There is something fundamentally wrong about all of this. David can see that. Why can’t the system?
The shameful thing about this, medication is a tool. a tool that we use successfully to help manage David’s varied diagnoses. It keeps him stable. It allows him to see success and continue to see success moving forward. When we see success, we continue to strive to be successful. Why would we willingly allow that to be taken from him?
One last thought.
Here is another little concern. What do you want to bet that without continued medication control, someone – somewhere in the system will try to accuse us of neglect? And charges will arise as a result.