My 44 yrs old son is an alcoholic, and is pi-polar. He has been living with me after his divorce.Need help?

Question

He needs help for medical expenses, which I have been paying for..Zoloft is $90.00/month. He needs consuling ( Icannot pay). I am 70 yrs. old and trying to live on my pension and went back to work part time to help him. Does he qualify for Medicaid? Please help me, I am at the end of my rope????.

Answer 1

uh, tell him to get a JOB. He can maybe get a job somewhere where insurance is offered. I think he is taking advantage of you. 44 is too old to depend on your parents. I personally don't want my tax $$ going to an alcoholic. GET A JOB

Answer 2

The first step is to take care of the alcoholism. That, unfortunately, is far more crippling than the bi-polar disorder. :(

Once he is off the juice, though, you need to give him a deadline for finding a job and moving out. That sounds tough, but after a couple weeks of not having a place to live I GUARANTEE you he will be applying for a job at the nearest McDonalds!

You are in the prime years of your life and should not have to deal with taking care of your kid because he is too weak to address his own problems and start making his own way in life.

Sorry, but that is how I feel. My aunt did this to my grandparents until their deaths (she was 51 and they were in their 80s). Now, she works full-time and does really well because she knows if she doesn't, she will be out on her a$$. Maybe I am biased, but the previous person may be right - you may be enabling him.

My suggestion is that once the drinking problem is taken care of, don't give him the option of living with you any longer.

Answer 3

It is time to put the bottle away and gain some responsibilities, get a freakin job. He is a grown man and if all you are living on is a pension and a part-time job (which I am sure is not enough) he needs to get off his A*S and help you. Yeah I'm sure going through a divorce is life-changing but HELLO....life still goes on. He can try to apply for Medicaid, if he can put the bottle down long enough!!

Answer 4

He probably does qualify. Trying to get in is a nightmare, best to go to the local mental health clinic and see if they will pave the way. While he's there, have him find out about dual diagnosis programs and ACT teams. If you need to find the closest mental health clinic, check the National Alliance for Mental Health:

To find your local NAMI:
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Sectionfiltered=Your_Local_NAMI&Template=/CustomSource/AffiliateFinder.cfm


People with a dual diagnosis often do not respond well to 12step treatment or meetings (AA/NA). They are not set up to deal with psychiatric or emotional problems.

To find ACT (or PACT) availability go to:
http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?sectionfiltered=act-ta_center&template=/contentmanagement/contentdisplay.cfm&contentID=10650

Learn about ACT:
http://www.mentalhealthpractices.org/act_c.html

One of the pioneers in the treatment of dual diagnosis:
http://www.treatment.org/Topics/pdf/SciaccaRemovingBarriers.pdf Kathleen Sciacca used harm reduction methods and had a higher percentage of her clients achieve abstinence than those who attended traditional 12step treatment; the vast majority of her clients who CHOSE to moderate reported a greater quality of life.

Answer 5

You need to drasticllly change his life and kick him out. He is using you as a cruch and the fact that he allowed your to go back to work while he was getting his swerve on says alot about his character. He wont change unless your make him. Start today kick hiz azz out and stop buying him his liquor

Answer 6

hes 44! an adult, tell him to get a job, or get out!
he can make it, others do
you're ENABLING him!