P.S. - That is her in my profile picture. Her bright hair matches her personality. She’s so beautiful I cant get over it.
It’s great to research & learn, but it’s easy to lose site that the other person needs time to process & accept their illness, and they all do it at their own pace.
I would take it very slow and see how it goes.
She may not remember everything, she may not want to talk about it, and then again, she may want to go over it time and again. She might want to talk about other stuff and feel normal for awhile.
I’ve had to learn the hard way that if we focus too much on the illness, our loved one can get the idea that it’s all we see, and that we don’t see them as a person anymore.
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I’d second that. Amen! I am not my illness.
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ahhh Yes you all are right. Thank you for bringing me down to earth 
She is getting discharged sometime this week and will see a psychiatrist directly after. I’m sure the Psych inform her of the analysis… Should I just focus on the Holiday for the time being? She indicated that she was looking forward to being with us on Christmas. One thing is a blessing she still has her sweet side. Just moments of anger. And that is very seldom… Upon her release, do I or another family member need to take off of work until she is stable on medication? there are three of us siblings and my mother and father to care for her however we all have families, children, Jobs. Luckily I am on break from my college classes… I received upsetting news… I failed my accounting class by two points. I wrote the teacher and explained that she was admitted in a mental hospital the week of finals and gave a brief story of my past month. I explained that the school counselor is aware of everything as well. She hasn’t replied so I wait to find out if I will take it again next semester…
It’s easy for someone to be angry and frustrated upon getting or learning about this illness. It is the worst. Focus on being well and being together.
Jumping the gun maybe just a little bit-but understandable with everything being so new. Researching is great though. It’s going to take some time for your sister to come to grips with everything and it is always best she does that at her own pace and that you follow her lead on what she is ready to do and not do-any pressure to do too much too soon can be stressful and trigger symptoms…and there is a learning curve on what works and what doesn’t…helping others is probably a little ways off yet. In order to help others she will need to have been stable for a good while and then decide for herself if that is something she wants to do…I am so happy that she is feeling better-that is good news.
In New York, they have a social worker at the hospital, that works for the hospital. If your sister gives her permission, the family can get involved. My son was in denial and the hospital psych doctor went to mental health court and my son was mandated to take his medication, in the form of a shot, twice a month, till he became stable, and then was released to us. But the hospital cannot release your sister without a discharge plan, with appointments set up for future therapy and seeing psych doctor and getting his medication. Good luck.
My brother had his first mental break in October. Before that I was like you and didn’t really pay attention to schizophrenia. The past 2 months have been a few ups and mostly downs.
Upon release from the hospital, he tried living with our parents for awhile, but it was clear to everyone that wasn’t a good fit. Now, he’s in a group home. Time will tell if that will work out.
In the last 2 months he’s been in and out of the hospital so much I’ve begun losing track. I think it’s 4 or 5 times. His meds are still being adjusted all the time.
It’s hard to see how things will work out, but people who’ve been where we are now post that it does get better (at least for awhile while the meds work).
Get your support group of friends and relatives around you. Make sure your siblings and parents take care of themselves.
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I understand your desire to help your sister. I was like you when my daughter was first diagnosed – I was on the computer 24/7 searching for good information on sz and I tended to only want to read positive stories. Sz is not a sprint – it’s a marathon with lots of twists and turns that you will learn over time. Try to pace yourself – it’s a very long road and no one can predict how it will all turn out.
I guess if I was to stress one thing is find a good pdoc and hope that the right combination of medication is found sooner than later. It does take time to find the right combination. Take time for yourself otherwise you can burn out.
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My sister was released today. We finally got her diagnoses which confirmed what we already knew, and then some. Major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, psychosis, paranoid disorder, and paranoid schizophrenia were listed on her discharge papers. They didn’t give her a supply of her medication and when we turned in her prescription they didn’t have the meds on stock so she would have to come back tomorrow… she still is uncontrollably laughing and kind of snappy… but over all better than the day she landed herself in the facility… I don’t think I can handle the in and out of facitlities or hospitals like you all do. It’s kind of stressful… she refused to stay at any of our houses mine, a sibling, or my mothers. She insisted she stay at my dads house (he is not there working a night shift) so here I am worried about her safety… no meds the first night? Is that ok? She didn’t answer my call about thirty minutes ago I assum she’s asleep but I’m still worried…
I think it’s so irresponsible of pharmacies not to have psychiatric drugs in stock - at least enough to give people a few days worth.
I just had that happen last Friday - my son had just got out the hospital and they said, we won’t have it until Monday, is that OK? I said nope - start calling the other drugstores.
But, one night will probably be OK even if it’s not ideal. The problem you’ll have now is whether or not she’ll take the meds. Hopefully, she will.
That’s a lot of labels for such a short time. Hopefully, she’ll get a good regular psychiatrist and they’ll whittle that list down a little. It sounds like they listed every possibility they could think of.
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Hi Sharen,
You need to ask the hospital can make special concessions for you to visit outside of regular visiting hours because of the distance issue. They have all done it for me in Connecticut when I have asked. They can write it in her orders and if your sister signs the HIPA form, you can also call and speak to the nurses who are taking care of her. You can ask them what medicines she is taking and about her behavior.
I would also ask for a family meeting so everyone can be on the same page and the doctors can see your sister’s interaction with her family. This is also an opportunity for you to get some real answers from doctors about her diagnosis and medical treatment.
Getting your sister to sign paperwork for power of attorney or conservatorship now is really important. It will open up many doors to support your sister’s treatment if you can speak to the doctors directly. I agree that you should buy the book “I am Not Sick and I Don’t Need Help” written by Xavier Amador. I attended one of his lectures last month and it really helped me. I would contact NAMI and ask for their advice.
Good luck and keep fighting for your sister. The mental health system is difficult to navigate and the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
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Are they allowed to restrict their calls? My sister became very homesick her seventh day there. So she called me three times that day. Once in the morning, Once after lunch, and once at night. The calls in the morning and after lunch were somewhat short and didn’t go over ten-fifteen minutes but the night call was about 20 minutes. She was afraid she would be in there for Christmas and relied on me for comfort. She was then interrupted by staff members telling her she needed to get off the phone. The facility is primarily for substance abuse with mental disorder as a side… I think for cases as such they should be more supportive of the family and caregivers.
I have run into the same situation, but just kept searching for a pharmacy until I found one that had it. I think one time I had to get the prescription rewritten - it had specified liquid which was only available in hospitals.
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We should have looked at other pharmacies. I didn’t even think of that. However the pharmacy didn’t help by telling us they would have it filled within thirty min. and when we showed back up they told us we would have to come back in the morning for it rather than informing us upon drop off. They have her on four different medications and that is my next step of research. I will eventually jump on one of the medication forums here. But thank you I will keep that in mind next time we come across this obstacle. I’m sure it wont be the last time.
You’ll soon see which meds aren’t always in stock - usually the more expensive ones.
At one point, I’d call the pharmacy and have them check before I came in, or sometimes I’d even call a day ahead to let them know they should order it.
Between my son & my husband, I spend an incredible amount of money in the drugstore, so they know me. It wouldn’t hurt to try to make sure they know you & ask how you can make sure they minimize the number of times she won’t be able to get her meds filled on time.
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I am not sure what their policies and they may be different for each hospital. My son has been in hospitals where they have phones in the rooms and also in hospitals where there are phones in the hallways. Keep up the good work your are doing for your sister!
Hi Sharen,
I wanted to make sure you heard about First Episode clinics. I don’t know if there are any in New Mexico, but they show really good results when treatment is started within 74 weeks of onset of the illness. Here’s some information from NAMI: Early Psychosis and Psychosis | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. Also the outcomes are supported by NIMH research NIMH » Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE). I hear great things about the Navigate programs. I’ve heard these folks (from Oregon) speak about their program - they might be able to point you in the right direction: http://www.easacommunity.org/.
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Thank you! someone from NAMI New Mexico Chapter contacted me last night. I signed up for a 12 week caregiver course and even will participate in the NAMI Walk in May! I’m ready to turn this unfortunate event into a positive!
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