Hi, just wondering if anybody has managed to, or attempted, to get loved ones to take medication by doing thing like grinding them up and putting them into food (or is the taste too strong and foul for that to be successful), or put them into a multivitamin bottle and pretend they are multivitamins etc.?
1 Like
see i was already thinking about that but how do i get the meds cause he refuses to take meds cause there is nothing wrong with him in his mind
1 Like
I know someone on here who does. But I’m not sure how you get them without a doctor and you are supposed to be monitored by a doctor for side effects. I put sarcosine in my sons smoothies but he wouldn’t always drink them.
1 Like
I’m in the same situation. I’m assuming my wife will have to have involuntary commitment and then at that point will get a prescription. But as the IC is only 72 hours and the meds can take weeks or months to take affect, I’m wondering if there’s any way I could keep her on them after IC before they have a chance to take effect. Hence wondering about the food option.
1 Like
There is a chance to get her on a monthly shot to keep her stable every 30 days. I have learned from my NAMI group that there is a lot of success with this shot.
3 Likes
Hi Mung. I accidentally posted on the another thread, but to be clear, the 72 hour hold will turn into a longer period of time once they see how acutely ill your wife is. Then, they’ll start working on meds. It could and should take weeks to stabilize her. Hopefully by the time she gets discharged, she’ll have some insight and want to keep taking her meds. That’s the goal.
The key is to get her hospitalized as soon as possible, so the process can start.
As you probably know, the forum member said she buys the meds online. Interestingly, I just searched for online companies that sell anti-psychotic meds without a prescription, and there actually are some out there. I had no idea they existed and I have no idea if they’re legit. If the pills actually are what they’re being advertised as, I’m kinda shocked at the med choices that are available.
Yes that’s right you can get hold of them
1 Like
Hi mungbeans that’s what I’m doing a small 5mg of olanzapine every day in my sons food , I just crush the tablet . I recently stopped giving it to him and he relapsed And drank loads of vodka like mad , I only stopped for 5 days and it was hell to see him all over the place .
Sometimes these can last longer than 72. Sometimes it can be months, even years. My son was in a short term unit (3 weeks) then they moved him to a transition house for another 3 weeks (which is now being closed : ( due to budget cuts. At first they were going to send him to another hospital that takes people for longer and was 40 minutes away. There was also a possibility he would go to a different state hospital that was 4 hours away. I got lucky and he stayed in our town for the full duration.
1 Like
Wow Gursevak. I hope things are getting back on track again. So, it sounds like even just the 5mg of Olanzapine can keep your son in a better, more stable place. I’m so glad for you.
Keep doing what you have to do. Peace.
3 Likes
Hi Kellyshayne, before going onto a monthly shot, is it first necessary to find out which meds do and don’t work? I’ve read on here that it seems people have to try more than one sometimes before one is found that is effective.
1 Like
I called the Seattle King Country Crisis and Commitment line and they only said it was 72 hours, maybe they meant to say 72 hours initially? I’ll have to call them back and confirm.
Hi Gursevak14
Do you have to be careful and put it into strong tasting food like curries or stew etc.?
is she dangerous? my brother talks to the people in his head like they r right here with him and he threatens to cut their throats ect… thats really scary especially for my 70 year old mother
So true. My daughter doesn’t do well on anything it seems. She is very sensitive and I have tried Profrontal with a lot of success, which is a natural supplement and not a med. It worker perfectly for her, but she doesn’t think she is ill and no longer takes it. She just was released 3 weeks ago from a 40 day stay at a mental hospital and still doesn’t think she is ill. Quit her meds the second she walked out. I had her take Black Seed Oil for a couple of weeks and it worked well, but she quit that and it in her beginning stage of psychosis again.
@mungbeans and @Meridee68 I am going to tell my story to give you one example of what can happen after forced hospitalizations. My story is not like anyone else’s, and might be different than what your loved one might experience. Perhaps I could hide medicine in her food, but I have no prescriptions available, and only one set of medicines improved her greatly. But, she won’t even take vitamins from me right now after my forcing her into the hospital via the police.
There is no guarantee of commitment beyond a 72 hours hold per The Baker Act in FL. The Act is meant for those dangerous to self or others ONLY. A psychotic is not necessarily dangerous (most aren’t if they weren’t dangerous before psychosis). Per one judge in my county, “It isn’t illegal to be psychotic.” If, when you try to commit a loved one, the loved one doesn’t actively say or show danger to self or others (i.e. “I want to die” or “I wish everyone in the house was dead” or “I have a knife and I want to cut someone” or, in my daughter’s case, breaks a window and sticks her head out of it oblivious to broken glass to yell at the cops and my husband (her step father), the cops may not take your loved one. The police have been to my home 30+ times and only took her 4 times. Of my daughter’s 4 forced hospitalizations, she was kept for 1 week 3 times, and 30 days one time. She was put on drugs that somewhat helped, 3 of the 4 times. One time, she got an injection that magically ended all symptoms for about 4 weeks, but she refused meds or treatment once released and she relapsed totally within 7 weeks. She ended up in the same facility 3 times, and a different one once. Where she goes to depends on bed availability at the time she is originally held. If she doesn’t want me to know where she is or what her treatment is, the HIPPA law prevents me from participating in her treatment or from even visiting.
I believe the hold law in WA is a bit easier to get someone taken than in FLA, however, there is no guarantee of a longer hold than 72 hrs. There is no guarantee of a diagnosis of schz the first time a person is hospitalized as usually the Pdoc wants to know that this illness has lasted 6 months or more before schz is diagnosed. The person might be able to refuse drugs. If the person acts “normal” enough to satisfy the “not dangerous” criteria, they will be released. My daughter’s diagnosis, was different each hospitalization, as were the meds. The 30 day visit for my daughter resulted in med changes once during the hospitalization, she’s been on 5 different meds.
Apparently, a person needs to be on meds for some weeks before it is decided if it is effective or not but shows some changes quickly. The effect of the shot was apparent almost right away and she was to continue taking Haldol and Trileptal orally after release, but refused. She was only sent home with a 5 day supply of meds, and a prescription for 30 days. Even if she had stayed on meds, if she never went back voluntarily to a Pdoc, the meds would have ended anyway when the prescription ran out.
My daughter has anosognosia (lack of insight). She has it on or off of medication. It is a worse condition than the schizophrenia in my opinion. If a person has lack of insight (they don’t agree that they are ill, or see any illness in themselves), they most likely will not stay on meds once out of the hospital or seek any further treatment. About 50% of those with psychosis have anosognosia also.
My daughter stopped all supplements (which she used to believe in taking) as she doesn’t trust whatever I give her anymore. I believe she will NEVER stay on her meds voluntarily. I cannot force her to take meds even with a guardianship here in Florida, from what I have been told. This is why my daughter is unmedicated after 2.5 years of active psychosis. She has learned not to say anything bad to the police, and they won’t take her anymore (they were just here again 3 days ago). Per the Sergeant, "she is a smart woman and has learned the ropes). If she didn’t eat, or didn’t bathe or otherwise threatened her own health, I could get a court ordered hold, by applying on paper to a county judge, but again it would only be for 72 hours if she presented no danger to others and ate etc. in the hospital.
She is not bad enough to be held, but yet not sane enough to lead a normal life. I personally know several parents of schz adult children in my city thanks to NAMI meetings. Four have gone on to have a normal life caring for themselves, working, having a relationship. One, after 7 years, realized something was wrong with her and has recently started on meds and treatment. One was 17, about to turn 18, and could be forced onto meds by his parent, and successfully recovered before he turned 18. Three, including my daughter, are still unmedicated and oblivious to their illness despite several 72 hour holds initiated by police. Several others have recovered somewhat, and while not working and participating in life and still in full time care of their parents, are not actively distressing their family caregivers on a daily basis.
The only way you will know if meds will work is to force a 72 hour hold, sometimes over and over, until several meds have been tried, and you know if your loved one has anosognosia in addition to psychosis even while medicated.
This above is my opinion and observation only. I could be wrong in some of my statements, however, I wanted you to have more information about me and my life to help with your decisions.
I know for a fact that one set of medications would return my daughter to herself IF SHE WOULD TAKE THEM, but she won’t. The other medicines were not worth taking or trying to force her onto. I probably will not try to force her again, but I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t tried, and there was the CHANCE that she would have stayed on them and gotten well.
The sad thing is that even on meds, there is no guarantee of great improvement, but in some cases, meds have been totally lifechanging, from what I have seen
3 Likes
It can mix with almost anything,dissolves in hot food as well sori late reply.
That Profrontal seemed to work well, can you put it in smoothies or banana and milk shakes?
2 Likes
Yes you can just crush it with the back of a spoon first