I’m sorry too and he is still there somewhere. Hope you have good day today.
1 Like
fyi, Abilify make my son VERY aggressive.
1 Like
Whenever u think meds are making your loved one WORSE let the docs increase one time if no improvement don’t keep falling for we need to ncrease speech. Switch meds.my son was so much worse on risperadal and half ol and I had to insist he be taken off them.
3 Likes
Sorry auto correct haldol
He’s been ok the past few days, I was a bit like that with zuclopenthixol and knew he had to come off that one. I will monitor this and give it some time.
1 Like
Are you in the UK? The best thing that happened to my son was that he was sectioned for ten days. They made it clear he wasn’t leaving without a depot injection and told him that if he was sectioned again they would keep him for a minimum of six months and possibly up to two years. That scared the daylights out of him and he stayed on depot injections for two years. His behavior is now completely normal. He tried to switch back to tablets recently. I didn’t argue. After two weeks he chose to go back on injections because he kept forgetting to take the tablets. The longer he is back to normal, the more he realizes he was not normal before. He marvels at how deluded he was. I suggest that next time your son shoves someone, call the police. The UK is not like the US. They won’t shoot him! My son was sectioned for throwing a can of Coke at a shop assistant in the middle of a complex political delusion. It was hardly a great crime but the police did not charge him anyway (so he didn’t get a criminal record). They picked him up, took him to A&E and he was detained.
3 Likes
My son’s on Abilify and it’s just about perfect for him. Also it’s the ONLY medication he’s on. In the UK they don’t give the kind of ludicrous multiple diagnoses (e.g. “schizoaffective with bipolar and borderline personality disorder”). For example, symptoms of bpd - which is simply an unstable personality - disappear when you treat the sz or bp adequately, and sz and bipolar are just different points in the same continuum, not two different illnesses. But that also means that in the UK you don’t get this “polypharmacology” - combinations of several different drugs, like you do in the US. It’s all because of the diktats of the insurance companies in the US, it seems. In the UK doctors don’t have to ‘name’ disorders to get the NHS to pay for stuff so they can treat more objectively. I agree with the recent suggestion in the UK that they are going to start referring to “psychosis spectrum disorders” so the labeling stops interfering with treatment.
3 Likes
Thanks hatty that is so positive to hear that Now your son actually can realise his delusions wereren real, That must be so uplifting for you.
Yes my son was “sectioned” twice and as you say, not for major incidents either, our gp and menatal health team really took into,account how his delusions , behaviours affected his dad and me.
He was non compliant and first time was in hospital for three weeks, walked out with no meds etc, eight months later he was back on again and after two weeks refusing meds was told he would have to take them. He was discharged after five months. He stayed on depot for 15 months but now been on ariprorazole tablets for four weeks. Pleased to hear your son is doing well.
Mostly his diagnosis was non specified psychosis , now it’s delusional disorder. Wonder if we had been in the USA would it be a straight diagnosis of schizophrenia .
1 Like
They avoid using the word “schizophrenia” in the UK because it’s so stigmatized. My son takes his medication but has never accepted the term “schizoprenia” (at his appeal about being sectioned his psychiatrist used the term but it seemed to go over his head then). Anyway, between us we talk about the symptoms, “psychosis”, “delusions”, “ideas of reference”, “dopamine/motivation problems” etc, and that allows us to communicate about it. He is most interested now in the idea of studying/learning etc as a way of “repairing” his brain. So he tries to study a bit every day and go for a walk to get his Vitamin D and stay healthy. He has his own place but he’s still on ESA. God knows what will happen when Theresa May’s plans to make people with mental health problems work (my bet is on slashed benefits, major breakdowns and reversal for lots of people).
1 Like
This is VERY helpful to me - yes the term is way to fearsome for my son to take in. So appreciate your message.
1 Like
Im really pleased Hatty, about your son, not about this government proposed plans!
1 Like
Pray. That’s what I did every time my daughter took off. I told God that if he wanted me to save her that he had to show me where she was. It worked for me every time. God knows where he is. Do your research but ask for his help. Have FAITH that you will find him and never give up trying to help him. There is hope.
1 Like