Where to Go for Pet Scan and Drug Abuse Recovery?
Question by Machi: Where to go for pet scan and drug abuse recovery?
I am a first generation immigrant and have no experience or any idea of how to get help for my 21 year old son’s drug and alcohol addiction. 3 months ago he came to me confessing everything: he had been abusing drugs for the past 3 and 1/2 years and that this past school year was the worst. Since then he’s given up everything and been sober. He had been using marijuana, cocaine, mdma, painkillers, alcohol, and cigarettes. Now he is very afraid of them and will never use them again. As much as I’m very glad he’s been sober and is willing to recover and go back to school, he has told me that he’s very scared that it might be too late. He’s been dealing with depression, insomnia, loss of concentration, memory problems (can’t read a book or watch a movie and remember the story days later), inability to communicate clearly what he wants to say in his mind, among other things. I have scheduled a meeting with a psychiatrist for him this week. He insists on getting a pet scan, but feels too anxious and guilty to get one from a neurologist at a regular hospital for he fears they will be judgmental. Is there anywhere to bring him to get a pet scan from a neurologist that understands what recovering “addicts” are going through and is able to tell us how much damage has been done and if there’s anything we can do to recover lost brain activity? Or do most neurologists that give pet scans for cancer treatments and other natural illnesses also deal with drug abusers? Or should we go to a drug addiction specialist and he refers us to a proper neurologist? I will ask the psychiatrist this as well, but just wanted to shoot my question on here for any additional advice. Thank you so much for answering and I very much appreciate it.
Best answer:
Answer by AJ
you should go to google.com and reasearch one in your area and which ones fit your price range
Answer by Birdgirl123
Go with your son to talk to the psychiatrist and let him advise you on the PET scan. If a doctor writes a prescription, you can get the scan regardless of the diagnosis, but paying for it may be another matter. You would end up paying for it privately (your own money, not the insurance company’s) if the insurance feels that it is not “medically necessary” for his treatment. If that’s okay with you and you feel that it may help your son, then have it done, by all means. I don’t think the neurologists would discriminate against your son and withhold information about any abnormalities found in their reports. They are ethically bound to report findings regardless of the cause of such abnormalities.
What you may want to consider more is your son’s reasons for first getting involved in substance abuse. It is a possibility that he has having some emotional issues and was trying to “self medicate” to make himself feel better. What he’s experiencing now could be the problem he was trying to get relief from by using drugs in the first place. He is showing several symptoms of major depression and if he were to allow the psychiatrist to treat him with appropriate medications, this could very well help him immensely. Your son needs to be honest with you and with the psychiatrist as to his motivations in using drugs initially to help himself get the appropriate treatment and recover fully from whatever it is that is causing his problems. It’s never too late – there are surprising things good psychiatric treatment and therapy can do for your son. Good Luck and I hope you will follow through with the psychiatrist’s suggestions.
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