My brother is 35 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his early 20’s and has lived with my parents ever since. I moved in with them 4 years ago as they are getting older and needed help with him but it was immediately clear that the situation was worse than I realized. It’s impossible to convince him that he has an illness and to take his meds so his doctor put him on a monthly shot which makes it easier but the type of medication he is on is clearly not working. Several times over the past 4 years we’ve had to call the police and they were able to talk him into going to the hospital only to be sent home the same day. Three weeks ago after a visit to his state appointed counselor he was hospitalized by court order but they released him after only a week claiming he seemed fine and didn’t need a change of medication. The day after he returned home he was worse than I have ever seen him. At least 4 days out of the week he his completely unmanageable. Punching walls and screaming about conspiracies. He is extremely hostile to my parents and the stress of taking care of him his making their own health fail. When my mother tried to speak to his counselor about it she just said “Yeah Indiana is a bad state for help with mental health” I keep thinking that if he was only on the right medications things would get better but they never keep him in the hospital long enough to see just how bad he can really get. Does anyone else have problems trying to get help with something similar? When we got him into treatment we thought the hard part was over but after almost 15 years he’s only gotten worse and it can’t go on like this he keeps everyone in the house awake at night. Friends and family won’t even visit anymore because he scares them. Would very much appreciate any feedback.
ECT or eviction coupled with restraining order and let the county handle him. Buy him his own home, condo or trailer many miles away… you cant make him do anything, self preservation will soon kick in… must think long term plan…
I would try and change Psychiatrist as the meds doesn’t seem right for him or discuss with current doctor that its time for a change and describe to them what you are all going through . You and your family can not live in fear and your brother seems very anxious and stressed . Maybe his dose is too high or too low . When my sons dose was too high we went through hell , they need to find the right balance or change meds
@Sam88 I am trying to demand a generic test to help narrow the drugs down but unfortunately cannot find anyone to order it. I’m going to make an appointment with a physician I know to ask if he could please order this and a handful of other tests nobody seems to care about. Unfortunately the tests will be out of pocket that way but at least we may be able to get some answers. Sometimes it just feels like you’re hanging your head against the wall. Hang in there and you may want to consider putting him in a separate dwelling from your parents. But I know that may not be possible. Stay safe…
Can you tell us the medication he is on? I found that the medication Abilify seemed to be getting pushed a lot, and while it can be a great help for some, for others - my son being one - it can increase agitation. If the medication is not working correctly, then being a strong advocate for your family member to get a change to another medication is the most important thing you can do.