how do we get help?

[PapaHuntz]

hi there, i have a family member who we know is bi polar even though she has not come out and said it to us.  we know this because it runs in her family.  She lost a father and a sister to the disease, and she acts the same way that they did. We had her comitted a couple years ago when she had become an extreme danger to herslef.  the doctors of course will not tell us (the family members) what her diagnosis is, nor will she.  And when we tried to have a family meeting with her doctor (who by the way was supposed to be one of the best phyciatric doctors in alberta) he didn't want to hear anything we had to say! it is hard because she will go off on rampages, she doesn't sleep, or she will pass out in the middle of a conversation.  she spends money like there's no tomorrow, she's always got some kind of pain somewhere in her body, she takes all different kinds of meds (we don't know where she got them.).  She has pushed away everyone she knows, and we are finding it hard to deal with her anymore.  how do we go about getting help for her to better understand what she is going through and what we can do to help.  We are trying to get her comitted again, but since the last attempt was so unsuccessful in helping her, we don't know what to do.  how do we go about getting her some help??????

[jen21287]

She has to want the help in order for anything to work. Given the fact that she is an adult, I am assuming, there is doctor-patient confidentiality and the doctor is not allowed to disclose any personal information to any family member unless the patient has authorized it in writing. As someone with this illness, I would not want any family member to know my medical history. That is a very personal matter. She needs to hit rock bottom and realize for herself that she has a serious illness that needs treatment. The only thing you can really do is watch her and if and when she does become a threat to herself, then you can have her committed to a hospital. The first step in receiving treatment is acceptance of the illness as a lifelong battle that can be fought successfully and that is something that she needs to do for herself. She is lucky to have family that cares so much about her but this is something that is really out of your control.

[klr2]

the only way toget her in the hopistal she has to be a danger to others or herself  try talking to the dr again or get a new dr it's very hard to no what to do