Okay, my daughter is still not wanting to go on medication… we are still in the process of getting a diagnosis… still looking for a psychiatrist…right now waiting to hear recommendations from her doctor… but my question is how do help her understand that she might need medication to help her keep balance… she had been given some tools that have been helping her deal with panic attacks, and her counselor had also told her that medication might help make it easier to do this…
it is not easy to convince someone to take medicine if they do not want to.
you can intervene only if she is dangerous to herself or others.
** I would try reading this book:“I am not sick, I do not need help” by Xavier Amador, PHD. he is talking about LEAP Treatment ( Listen, Emphasize, agree and partner) with the loved one.**
it may give you a clue on to better communicate with your daughter.
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These are progressive illnesses. I have wished that I had known what was going on in the early years when my son initially felt something was amiss. The longer she is not on meds the harder it may be to get her on meds. So time is of the essence. Can you force her to take meds at age 17 in your state? Your doctor would know.
At Family to Family they said that if you can persuade her to try meds, the best evidence you can provide to keep her on meds later is your daughter’s own journaling of her med experience. Sometimes people are willing to give things “a chance” - maybe she would agree to “try” meds for six months with both of you documenting the differences.
CAAR2016 has mentioned a great source for learning to communicate with our family members that do not believe they are sick and are refusing to take meds.
Does the closer NAMI group have a support group for your daughter? Maybe it would be on a more convenient day for her than the family group was for you.
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I Most of the NAMI groups in my area meet at times that do not work for us… but I watched one of the videos on the LEAP institute website… “Living with schizophrenia”. It gave me some insight and understanding what she is going through… for the most part, she is afraid of side effects and the stigma and thinks that maybe the therapy with the counselor and her faith will be enough to manage… but my wife and I see that she doesn’t manage as well as she thinks. So even though she is aware she needs help, there must be some level of anosognosia.
If what she wants is to be out there in the mainstream of life, without anyone realizing she has a brain disorder, she needs to know that many of our family members do achieve that through meds.
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My daughter actually accepted on her own that she is not handling things as well as she could and she could benefit from seeing a psychiatrist and that medication may be helpful… she has been research on her own
She is nervous about it all, but she is willing now
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She actually said that there is glimmer of hope! Her words: “having the medication may be helpful to have your happy Allie back” (holding back the tears)
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@Windyhill63 oh that is very heartwarming. I’m happy for you and I wish my afflicted sister (and now brother-in-law) reach this stage
She said that the thing that helped her come to this conclusion is the realization that she has a chemical imbalance and her illness does not define who she is.
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Just an update of where we are in this whole process… my daughter is eager to get an appointment with the psychiatrist to get the ball rolling. Right now she feels she is a good spot or as she said it metaphorically, “I feel like ‘my wings’ are free to fly!” We are just waiting for a referral from the regular doctor. She will be 18 by the end of month, so we will have to think of things like HIPAA and health care proxy
Since she feels she’s in good place ask her to sign consent for doctor to talk to you. This will help avoid HIPPA problems in the future. Don’t forget even if she does not agree you can always share information with her doctors and other health care providers. They may not be able to talk to you without her permission, but there is no law or regulation to prevent you from sharing your observations.