How can I treat my BPD when I am unemployed with no insurance and a county health care system that SUCKS?

Question

I live in Houston & Harris County is the bowels of Hell when it comes to mental health & you're unemployed with BPD & No ins. You name the med..except Lithium I have taken it. The only meds that work for me are THC & XANAX!

For those that don't know : BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) is a REAL mental illness/medical condition: not a "bogus copout" like some ppl; ahem, say.

Answer 1

go to the NAMI web site they might be able to help. also if you need meds your doc can give you samples. good luck

Answer 2

You may have a few opitions, but they could be time consuming and they would require a lot of patience.

I live in the state of California so some things may vary in your state. A hospital can not deny a patient treatment, you could try and see if they have a free or low cost mental health facility. Most do, but there is usually a waiting list. Some hospitals take patients that have no insurance, but have a medical necessity for the treatment on a "Short Doyle" basis. Really remember these 2 words because the hospital usually always has a few cases like this available but they do not let patients know.
You can also start the process with social security and when they approve you, you should most likely be eligible for whatever free medical services that they have. Here you qualify for free medical and dental through Medi-Cal.
You can also call the Pet Team in your area. They are great at referring you to resources you have never heard about.
If you are of school age, you can get many resources through the school district that are paided for through your state. Sucha s IEP, AB3632 and 504 plan. When you qualify for AB3632 they give you free mental health services. Some times medication is also free or it is very cheap.
I hope some of this information has helped and you can find some type of affordable treatment in your area.

Answer 3

Hi:

One thing you can do is to go to your closest DTA office (Department of Transistional Assistance). The County you live in has absolutely no say in this office at all. Is comes directly from the state, etc...

Bring with you any of the following if they apply to you:
Past 6 months I think would be good. Better to bring more than have to make another appointment:

Rent/Mtg rcpts, work stubs (I know but I had to put it in), all utility bills including your mobil phone, checking and or savings statements, your social security card, if you are on disability from the gvmt and do not have direct deposit you will need those stubs also. Bring anything that you feel is important to apply for assistance.

This office can apply your information so that it meets any and all programs you will be able to be approved for. The services are things such as food stamps, fuel assistance, rent assistance, monthly financial assistance, trave assistance such as taxi vouchers and the such, I am sure there are more programs, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

OK, now on to Health Insurance:

While you are at the DTA, ask you case worker what the states health insurance program is and also an application. The 2 offices are not usually combined so you with have to deal with the insurance one directly. In Mass it is called "Mass Health" and there are different tiers of the coverage depending on which catagory you fit into. Basicallt this will cover dr appts including mental health, medications, dental, eye, hospitals, testings, etc. This is worth the 30 or so minutes you are on the phone with them. Also some of these offices and it varies from state to state will let you fill out your application right over the phone with a real actual person and not a machine.

May I please ask it doesn't sound like you have Medicare or if you are receiving disibility funding from the govmt. Why not? BPD disabled, not able to work etc...is entitled to disibility benefits and also medicare even though you are not 65.

Please look into the disability and medicare parts of this response because you are entitled this assistance.

You can always send me an email if you have questions, I will do my best to answer those for you.

Be Safe & Be Well

Answer 4

You should really see about applying for disability, or medicaid. Maybe go to umm like a county mental clinic? You could also try checking into the psychitric ward and they'll get you all kinds of help, not saying your insane but they know ways to get meds and so on. Try going to social services and ask whats availible for you.

I had a friend with BPD .. Because she was unemployed and had bpd she recieved disability, foodtstamps, and a medical card. So she was able to see a dr. and get meds.

And Yes I realize what BPD (borderline personality disorder) is and what is taken for it.

Answer 5

The fight isn't to keep a sucky system but to keep a worse system from being implemented. Guess you don't understand about rationing health care. It means you don't get treated quickly (like the emergency rooms that only make you wait 5 hours instead of five years) and you don't get cutting edge medicines, or operations, or life-saving procedures. You get delays and inferior quality. Look at the public schools and tell me the government can run anything of quality --- it doesn't happen. Yes, the system needs reforming, but this Obama plan is ridiculous. Why not try this: if someone makes 20K or below a year, the government will subsidize his health care the way it subsidizes his nutirtion with food stamps. The subsidies would be means tested, verified, for citizens only, and the subsidy could be paid to any private insurance carrier. In addition wellness care would be free through local public health care agencies. By that I mean diet, nutrition and exercise classes, information, and monitoring.

Answer 6

There are good answers on here about where to go for help. I just want to add a few things. Med.'s are not real effective on BPD. I have it as well as other disorders. Med.'s and counseling help. However, we also have to try to learn to control it as much as possible. There are techniques we can use. It takes time and a lot of effort on our part to be able to function "normally" again. Research it, ask your counselor for suggestions, read up on positive thinking, etc. Sometimes we all need help. There's no shame in it. Although some people get extreme over it. These things can happen to anyone. I was working 2 sometimes 3 jobs, managing, and caring for my in laws. Things happened. I had no control over. Now I am trying to get released to go back to work and get off of disability. If you get disability (through social services) you will also be eligible for medical benefits. However, it takes years of not working and having the condition to get. It is better than nothing. GL

Answer 7

BPD does not respond well to meds as you can see and is actually a way to diagnose BPD as bi-polar meds like lithium not being effective.

Treatment of BPD is often done using DBT (dialectical behavior therapy). THC and xanax may be effective in slowing you done, keeping you safe and less impulsive. The problem is that managing BPD is about obtaining skills to address the problems with emotional instability, self harm, relationships, dependence, abandonment etc.

This is a tough road and I agree with you that there is a stigma and lack of understanding for BPD.

I would think that with the number of hospital/crisis, services offered to people with BPD who do not have insurance. Where I work there is a temporary insurance given by the county to people under 200% of the poverty level in their come (less then about $1500/mo) who don't have insurance to meet the needs to peopel at risk like people with BPD. This is temporary and I them through DBT groups and do DBT skills coaching with them for the duration of year. In the minds of the county the decrease in hospital stays is worth the money so they fund it. Sad but true rationale for mental health care in the public sector.

There is also a center that does DBT exclussively for the BPD population. They also will work with people with subsance abuse and BPD and eating disorders and BPD.

Your situation sounds like it sucks and moving might be what you have to do to get better care. I know moving is tough for someone with BPD who is not just picking up and running away so I wish you luck and support you in your quest get better.

Answer 8

I have BPD, but I am fortunate to live in Canada where treatment of it is covered by the government.

What I suggest you do is search for some therapists who offer free services or a sliding scale, because cognitive and dialectical behavioural therapy is a must with BPD...people like us need to learn how to think differently, react differently, and behave differently. We need to learn how to recognize when we're falling into a "BPD moment" (as I call them, though some have lasted for months - grr!) and find our way out of them without any harm done to ourselves or others.

THC is not good for you. It may numb the emotions, but recognizing and naming emotions are what helps a person begin to deal with the BPD. And yeah, it's hard. I used to consult a list of emotions http://www.mytherapistnc.org/emotions.htm to find out what I was actually feeling.

If you self harm, stop. Do something else, like scribble on paper in reds and blacks, stab a potato with a pen, or go for a walk and breathe in deeply and pay attention to what's around you instead of what's inside of your head.

I also suggest you join some BPD forums. You don't necessarily have to participate, but you'll likely get more out of it if you do. http://www.bpdrecovery.com/ is a good place to start. Also, you can google "bpd forums" for a bunch more.

And...be good to yourself. Remember that it's not your fault that you have this disorder. :)

Answer 9

If you are unemployed you might consider trying to both file for disability based upon your BPD and also file with your local Family Independence Agency.

I am not sure what that is called in Texas but, they offer medicare/medicaid and may at the very least be able to offer a solution.

Answer 10

hi hunny! I know what it is like to live without insurance! I cannot work because of neck issues and I cannot get any disability. My husband's good for nothing boss does not even offer insurance and we both have back issues that no private insurance company will take us. And to top it all off we have 3 children under the age of 12 who have been without insurance as well. We NEVER go to the Dr. because we cannot afford to go and even if we did the cost of the meds would be completely out of the question!! So the rich get richer and the poor and middle class just sit.

Answer 11

Have you ever tried St. Johns Wart? You can get it at a health food store and they say it is equivalent to high doses of Prosac. If your going into the mental health clinic and asking for THC =weed & Xanax then it's no wonder your getting no help from them since Xanax is not one of the meds commonly prescribed for BPD. Sounds like to me you are just looking for a Xanax fix which i'm sure is what you have led them to believe as well so, until you get insurance and can get in to see a doctor who will prescribe you what your looking for then try the ST. Johns Wart. My aunt has this same disorder and she swears it works for her along with smoking weed which has pretty much proven it's self to be a wonder drug for many different illnesses although, it's still not legal in Texas as a medicinal drug so she takes the chance of getting busted. I hope you find a solution to your problem and if you can, refrain from smoking weed since even if you live in a state that allows it's use for medicinal purposes, you still have no prescription for it since u have no doctor.