Most of them need their psych meds to function and have a life outside their rooms.
My son is taking his meds and has no life outside his room besides trying to sue doctors
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I know they often don’t get as much life as we hope for them. Do you think he feels he has a purpose to his life? Doing research to sue people is at least something.
I know my son objects to meds that affect virility. Is that perhaps the issue?
Hi @Linda, To me, doing research to sue people does not sound normal. To me it sounds like he’s in a constant state of mild psychosis, which I firmly believe some meds can enhance.
I don’t think there’s a positive in this scenario, and you should not think “well, at least he’s doing something”.
I hope you’re well, please reach out to me if you need to talk.
Hi , i know its not normal and he is in a constant state of mild psychosis and my hands are tied as he won’t try different meds or take a higher dose on the other hand Hope is right he does feel he has a purpose in life in suing . It saddens me and i just don’t know how to help him anymore. Ive discussed this with his therapist and psychiatrist and they have told me he is clearly psychotic and the problem is that he is stubborn , paranoid and does not comply with them, how else can i help my son who has no insight ?
Generally lawsuits on this level work like this:
Client goes to a law office and tells their story. Lawyer or paralegal thinks they may have a case and signs them up. Medical records and other discovery is done often at lawyer’s expense. A demand letter is sent to insurance company or whoever else might be liable which basically says why the client thinks the plaintiff is liable and what they want to settle. At this point there might be a settlement and lawyer takes a substantial cut. Otherwise a lawsuit is filed. Only in very rare cases does anything go to trial. Often judges encourage parties in a lawsuit to settle outside of court.
Once a client has won a settlement, the law office may inquire about or encourage other possible lawsuits. It’s a form of business development or marketing.
I pray and hope this doesnt go to court , i really do . Thank you for your knowledge .
Yes we all know your son feels “justified” and “normal” for wanting to pursue his ventures, but you & I know better.
Would he agree to med change? Not sure if Abilify is working for him. I mean he’s already taking meds, maybe have him try something else, slowly, and on a low dosage.
I don’t have any answers, other than my thoughts on how scary it can get when they’re in constant psychosis like that.
There has to be something that will click for him, med wise I mean…
That can make all the difference in the world.
Sexual side effects are common with psychiatric drugs. The effects are generally spelled out explicitly in the drug pamphlets. Progesterone production and feminization effects like man boobs have been an issue and there have been a few cases won on these grounds.
Even the distonia mentioned by @GSSP that his wife experienced on Abilify was very explicitly mentioned by psychiatrists I have encountered that prescribed it.
One could argue that psych patients are incapable of understanding these warnings, but they often are there.
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Even if it goes to trial, it’s extremely unlikely that your son would testify. He may have to give statements or depositions or help with responding to interrogatories, but this is not done in court. Mediation is also commonly used to come to settlements rather than court.
On a whole, I think the legal system is even more poorly understood by lay people than SMI. Lawsuits take a considerable amount of time and rarely go to trial. And civil trials are often decided on information compiled over a lengthy period of back and forth between lawyers. Lawyers and judges do most if not all of the speaking and if your son is an unreliable source of information, his lawyer will make sure he never testifies because it hurts the case and he loses money.
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In Nami’s Family to Family class, they tell us we will get to a “new normal”. They also tell us to not get used to the new normal as there will be another “new normal” in the future.
I am so sorry your son is suing the people who are trying to help him. I have worried that my son would do such a thing.
One of the things that has helped me has been reading about the new normals everyone else has to deal with in their families. It really helps me to understand that I am not alone - even when I am pretty sure I am alone in my own unique situation.
My son has anosognosia as well, and is totally unmedicated for scz, he is also stubborn and paranoid and only complies with anything when he agrees. He makes it clear that he is the one steering his boat in his life. I guess I am the water that tries to keep him afloat.
He refuses to change meds . Refuses to try any other meds so as of for now id rather him take the Abilify than nothing . It saddens me : ( as he is clearly psychotic but having said that he does have good days as i get glimpses of my son back and bad days when he thinks everyone is against him and evil.
Very interesting ! Thank you for this eye opener .
I go to Nami usually once a month and never took the family to family course . How do you cope with him being unmedicated ? how long has he had this illness ? does he live with you ? my son is very stubborn , and always trying to be in control , he is a bully to try and get what he wants and annoying like a 5 year old until he gets it , he is extremely impulsive , on the other hand he is very caring and tells me he loves me many times a day . I want to help him in so many ways but at the same time i want him to learn to be independent if im not around if you not what i mean . Im scared for his future when im not around anymore , who can you trust ? there is no one out there better than mothers love .
Hopefully that will change over time…
My son’s behavior started changing seriously his last two years of college. He is in his late 30s now. We had absolutely no idea what was going on when it started. We went to Family to Family to get help learning how to live with someone who claimed he had severe social anxiety. The teachers there were able to enlighten us and we finally got him to a doctor (bribery) and diagnosed when he was 31. He kept getting fired from jobs, it would start out well at a new job, the paranoia would kick in and then it would go badly.
My son has constant psychosis that he attributes to whoever is closest to him. Its always just a short time before he hears the voices that he believes are co-workers, neighbors and family saying ugly things to him.
We brought him home to live with us and that went badly as well. We became the focus for his paranoia delusions. Fortunately by that point we had him on ssdi and ssi with SNAP, Medicare and Medicaid. He now lives on his own and that works much better. Its a pretty simple life. When things begin to go badly, we move him to a new place to live.
The hardest part of scz is beginning to understand that our love won’t heal them and sometimes we can’t make them do things that would be better for them.
People have various results getting their family members on meds. Some believe its through their personal perseverance. I suspect that they have just been fortunate enough to figure out what works for their family member. Where anosognosia is involved, its a tough haul.
It is impossible to get some of our family members on meds. Some of our family members are on meds and are med resistant. Those of us who are there with unmedicated family members just do the best we can to figure out how to make their lives work. The one thing I have learned is that for my son, I am better off supporting his decisions and helping make those decisions work.
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I hope and pray as 2 years ago he changed Abilify twice , one made him throw up and the other one zyprexa made him manic and gave him migraines . Since then he refuses to try anything else and doesnt really want to take Abilify either
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We brought him home to live with us and that went badly as well. We became the focus for his paranoia delusions
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This was my fear too thats why i managed to get him an apartment 5 min from me , that way i can keep an eye on him .
When you say if things go bad you move him to a new place , how does that work ? is he renting ? do you break the rent contract ?
This is really the hardest part and breaks my heart : (
Is he in and out of hospital ? im asking as i believe one day my son will stop his meds and want to know what to expect . I am still digesting this horrific disease and the loss of my son to a new son that im trying so hard to understand . i love him so much . Even though he is taking meds he is still psychotic but stable and the doctor says its trial and error to see what will wrk with him , even if one takes meds it may or may not eliminate symptoms . I pray and hope all well for your son and everyones loved ones on this site .
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Usually landlords and rental management places are eager for him to move on.
Mine’s never been hospitalized for scz -to my knowledge.
Thanks for the prayers. The Family to Family course is worth taking. Realizing we have to live our own lives while helping them, and figuring out how to do it, can be quite a challenge but it is possible.
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