Thanks guys

NH laws regarding DD are extremely tough and the way the law is written there is no way out of this unless the organization decides not to do the evaluation, and that's not going to happen. They have to comply with the law. A lawyer can't fix this.

However, if I disagree with the organization's findings or their service plan is ridiculous, I can pay for a second opinion out of pocket.
Also, if I request a reasonable substitution (like going to my own pdoc or using a qualified counselor out of state) and they refuse, I have a right to a hearing.
And there's an appeals process.
I'll do more research on that when/if I need to, but I did skim the law regarding it already.


I'll probably do more research on the evaluation, but this is what I know:

It includes a bunch of standardized tests designed to identify substance abuse disorders and they rely pretty heavily on the results.

I'm sure I could pass those tests easily without showing deception because they're usually easy to see right through, but there's no point in doing it since they know I've already admitted to being an alcoholic. But I'm sure I'll be able to minimize things.

I know from the intake and the driving class that it's going to be hard to answer a lot of the questions because it's hard to tell sometimes if they're asking about the past or present. I have a feeling I'm going to have to ask whoever is administering the tests about that a bunch of times.

Anytime you answer yes to a question like, "Do you have a relative who is an alcoholic?," or, "did you start drinking before the age of 21?," it's another risk factor and another strike against you.

I'm not owning up to anything I didn't talk about in the driving class because I don't want to score so high that they're forced to recommend a ton of counseling. But I did talk about bipolar disorder and that's going to throw up a ton of red flags and there's nothing I can do about that.

Then they do a face to face interview and I can explain what I've been doing about my bipolar disorder and alcoholism since my DWI. Hopefully what I've already been doing on my own will be enough for these people to give me a reasonable service plan because I doubt I'll be able to get off scott-free.

Unless they're (expletives) they shouldn't hit me hard because of everything I've been doing on my own and because my problems ultimately stem from a mental health condition that I've been aggressively addressing.

I'm going to have pdoc write a letter for me to bring to the evaluation. She's extremely proud of me for the work I've done and I think it's important that these people know that.

My husband will have to take the day off from work to take me to the evaluation. He'll need at least a week's notice. It sucks because he'll have to take at least another 2 days off later in the process when the ball gets rolling again and I'm ready to get my license back. I'll probably end up paying the extra $350 so I can see a counselor in my area because of transportation issues. Of course I'll have to pay cab fare and the cost of the appointment unless my insurance company will pay for the substance abuse counseling, but I'll have to look into that.

I hope these people just call me when they receive word from the driving school instead of sending me a letter. If they act upon the new information quickly, I suppose I could get a letter within a week, but like BF said, the government works slowly. So, I'll still stick to my one week plan.

It's such a shame that I went from that high of being able to handle that weekend so well to quickly facing a (expletive) storm...
Maybe once the evaluation is over, I find out what kind of service plan I'm facing, and start working on it I'll feel like I'm getting closer to getting my license back again and start to feel better about things.

I'm so wound up right now. I was back to 1mg of Klonopin in the am and now I'm taking 2. And I'm at my limit because I'm taking 1mg in the afternoon as well.

My mother-in-law gave me a joint about 2mo ago for the parasthesias in my legs (which by the way have been horrible lately) . But I haven't smoked it because I don't know how it will interact with that 600mg dose of Seroquel and I haven't smoked pot in over a year...

It's been in a drawer, but it's calling my name. I'm going to skip my afternoon Klonopin and take a couple hits this evening. I'm not using my legs as an excuse, I'm just hoping it will help me relax.

Thank you for reading all of this (expletive)... all these long posts...
I just have to get it out because it's weighing so heavily on my mind.