The important thing is that what might be helpful is a “cannabis-derived compound”, in which case it is derived from cannabis and separated from all the other very harmful elements contained in the cannabis which people eat and smoke, much like digitalis.Take digitalis when it is prescribed for your particular health problem and it will help you. Eat a foxglove, from which digitalis is derived, and you will very probably die. Or be very, very ill indeed.
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I too flagged the sales pitch. Inauthentic and completey invalid information.
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My daughter was diagnosed 4 years ago with sz. She has a lot of both positive and negative symptoms. Anti social, hearing voices, flat emotions,
Deterioration of personal hygiene • Depression
• Bizarre behaviour
• Irrational statements
• Sleeping excessively or inability to sleep
• Social withdrawal, isolation, and reclusiveness
• Deterioration of personal hygiene • Depression
• Bizarre behaviour
• Irrational statements
• Sleeping excessively or inability to sleep
• Social withdrawal, isolation, and reclusiveness
• Shift in basic personality • Unexpected hostility
• Deterioration of social
relationships
• Hyperactivity or inactivity—or
alternating between the two
• Inability to concentrate or to cope
with minor problems
• Extreme preoccupation with
religion or with the occult • Excessive writing without
meaning
• Indifference
• Dropping out of activities—or out
of life in general
• Decline in academic or athletic
interests
• Forgetting things
• Losing possessions
• Extreme reactions to criticism • Inability to express joy
• Inability to cry, or excessive
crying
• Inappropriate laughter
• Unusual sensitivity to stimuli
(noise, light, colours, textures) •
Even more symptoms than these. With the profrontal formula, not simply sarcosine alone, she appears very normal and most all of both positive and negative symptoms are not noticeable. The one symptom that I did notice was she was a little irritable and she said she was thinking too fast, so we lowered the dose.
I felt like I was reading about something I would say about my own son. Only difference is that he is in the hospital now and I believe because he has increased smoking it. Felt suicidal, deliousian and paranoid. Upon release arentalking about a partial hospitalization program addressing dual diagnosis. Taking things day but day.
@Day-by-Day How are things with your son after that hospitalization?
Our son has had several episodes of true catatonia but sometimes there are less dramatic situations that I wonder if they could be selective, especially in regard to mutism. I just don’t know. Currently, son is not eating, drinking or talking for most of the last 2 weeks after doing WONDERFULLY in a residential treatment program for 3 weeks. I can see where STRESS causes this. In the program, he was forced to face his illness, which he has never before acknowledged. I know of at least two other stressors that occurred. He was hospitalized and released after 11 days because the hospital doctor said “there is nothing more we can do…he will just keep going back and forth from the med unit (NG tube) to Psych Unit and he will eventually die in the hospital.” Great, thanks, doctor, for telling me what you CANNOT do instead of trying to offer ideas of what we MIGHT do. At home I am giving fluids to son with a baster and spoon feeding what I can. He has been in the same chair for 3 entire days except to get up to go to the restroom. We are trying to get him back into ECT treatments. His ECT doctor has been AMAZING. He made a house call the day after our son was discharged and is pending an involuntary hold or just having us call 911, if needed. The delay to go to hospital is because the hospital (where he can get the ECT) is refusing his admission due to insurance company has not yet paid the bill (son was there for 3 months) from earlier this year. The doctor has made high level phone calls. I think this will be resolved by Monday (today is Friday). Son is still on Invega Sustenna and oral (dissolving) meds were added recently. Hoping that meds kick in as we await ECT. We are very concerned for our son’s life.
I am so sorry you and your family are going through this.
Do not listen to that bad doctor, if you can help it. I’m so glad there is a good doctor helping your son. We finally found a good doctor and he made a difference; honestly, I think it’s also the fact of genuine care that ultimately helps. Our family member still went through psychotic episodes and terrible situations because of psychosis. I remember looking back kind of fondly on the beginning because he was catatonic, but not to the point that I feared for his life. I now see how dangerous these symptoms can become.
Against doctors’ “orders”, our son was kicked out of the hospital by the insurance company when he was very psychotic. It’s so frustrating to know there is help and not be able to get it. No, it’s worse than frustrating. I hope your son gets the treatment that helps him ASAP.
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On my gosh hope4us. I’m so so sorry your son is so ill, and he can’t eat or drink on his own. He’s in such a dangerous situation.
When my son started what initially looked to us like a catatonic state, he couldn’t or wouldn’t talk, and his body went limp. He would have fallen to the ground if the hospital staff tried to stand him up. This was all while in the ER, literally moments after we checked in for the psych evaluation.
Staff weren’t able to transport him to the psychiatric floor in this state, so he was then injected with Ativan (a Benzo). After about an hour had passed, he was able to stand and he started communicating to me only through text message. Later, he was able to be transported to the psych ward, but he remained pretty much noncommunicative for about a week. I guess as time went on and he started to feel safe again, he started to improve little by little. By the time he was discharged a few weeks later, he was quiet but alert.
We still see him go in and out of periods of non communication, but there hasn’t been any issue with him being physically in a frozen state. Today, my son sat on the beach with me, and we just went for a walk around the neighborhood. He whispers a lot, but that sort of thing has been been going on for a while. Trying to keep things as stress free as possible.
My son’s psychiatrist during this last hospitalization said my son wasn’t experiencing catatonia, but was instead experiencing an extreme case of selective mutism, because he was able to move or talk if he needed to, like when he was texting me or when he was able to get up and go to the bathroom. But, during the first part of the hospitalization, he didn’t eat or drink. Again, I think he started to improve as his anxiety started to decrease and he started to feel safe again.
Has your son been given any benzodiazepines, like Ativan? To me, it seemed like our hospital knew that type of drug was the exact thing my son needed, and the order was given for it right away.
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Thank you @Day-by-Day and @Hereandhere. Son was getting Ativan occasionally in hospital but was discharged with Clonazepam (generic Klonopin) which is a benzodiazepine. I read that benzo drugs are first choice to treat catatonia and work quickly, but are only 59% successful if the person also has a SZ diagnosis (85% successful otherwise). No change over the weekend. We will be in close communication with the hospital/ECT doctor on Monday to decide on a plan. This is not sustainable for his survival although PB and pulse are OK. Fluids or food is sometimes getting swallowed wrong and into his lungs and he just isn’t moving. I rub his feet and try to move his legs occasionally. When he got up yesterday for restroom, I tried to get him to walk one time through 2 rooms on the first floor and back to his chair in the den but he resisted beyond what I could make him do. I’ve tried talking to him to give him some hope for the future. Tried leaving food and drink where he can access it easily if he wants to when we are not looking, but no results yet. Thankful I have a supportive spouse who can run errands.
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I’m so sorry hope4us. I’m not a religious person, but I’m praying for your son and you all.
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Son actually had a huge grin a couple of times…almost laughed…as we watched Toy Story 3 and we laughed together. It is such a little thing, but I’ll take that as a good sign!
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Maybe playing his favorite music would help? That seems to trigger change for my son.
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Great idea; I need to put together some playlists with a variety of artists he likes. I do know that he likes Christian music and that has been a calming influence in the past when things were tense as we were driving somewhere. Thank you for your prayers!
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@hope4us - Somehow I missed all these posts. You are an amazing advocate for you son and it seems you are trying all different avenues to get him help. Shame on that doctor for giving you no hope. Thanks to the ECT doctor. I hope your son starts to eat and drink and glad to hear you had some smiles with the movie. Prayers for you and your family!
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