Best clinic to try with complex mental health history?
Hi, so I'm looking into this on behalf of a friend, but any advice might also help me out. I did look into trying to get myself a prescription a year or two back, but gave up after getting screened out by a couple of clinics at the first step because I have a Bipolar diagnosis. My question is which clinics are most likely to approve someone with complex mental health and some general health problems.
These are listed as the 'Active' problems on my friends summary of care.
Vomiting
PTSD - Post-traumatic stress disorder
Episodic cluster headache
Eating disorder
Borderline personality disorder
Anaemia
Mood swings
Fibromyalgia
Opioid type drug dependence (Codeine)
The non active issues in significant history include alcoholism (over 10 years sober), serious suicide attempts, GHB induced seizures resulting in hospitalisation and a mish mash of the currently active issues at different times.
They meet the threshold for having tried 2 or more treatments both for medication and for talking therapies. It helps them with their fibromyalgia, eating disorder, BPD related symptoms and PTSD.
As for myself I think my active problems are listed as, Bipolar, mixed anxiety disorder, ADHD and potentially substance misuse for pregabalin, diazepam, and Cannabis, though I don't think they've actually labelled any of this as substance misuse or self medication it is in my medical notes. My GP agreed that my use, which is within NHS guidelines even though the pregabalin and diazepam are unprescribed, doesn't really fit as an addiction issue and I'm currently dealing with adult mental health services for any further input on it.
I have a history of alcoholism (12 years-ish sober) and self harm. I have experienced psychosis but it doesn't seem to appear on my medical records and whilst it has been triggered by drugs it has only been triggered by mis-prescribed medications prior to my Bipolar diagnosis, has never been caused by Cannabis use, or recreational use of anything, and has been controlled by antipsychotics for a decade now. I've never been sectioned due to mania or psychosis. I meet the threshold for treatments tried for both meds and talking therapies.
I think the Bipolar is going to be an issue with all the clinics for me, going off the ones I already tried and the fact that no one NHS or private clinic is willing to prescribe any ADHD medication as a safeguarding issue as they feel it's likely to trigger mania in me, but I could be wrong.
If anyone has been approved with a similar history or similar issues to my friend specifically if you could let me know which clinic you went through and which medical issues they signed off on it being helpful for that would be great. Secondary to that, if anyone has been approved who has Bipolar if you could drop some info, on how you went about that and which clinic you used, that could really help me out too.
We've both used Cannabis and found it helpful for over 20 years if that means anything.
Thanks, to anyone who took the time to read all that and any help is appreciated, even if it's just to say that it's unlikely that one or both of us will ever be approved for MC. Cheers.