Needed to talk and I chose you all

The meds don’t seem to be the right combination to me. My son did terrible on risperadal and Haldol. He had more paranoia and uncontrolled crying. He is doing well on clozapine luckily. I think all these labels of bipolar, schizoaffective, schizophrenia, are just words for the same condition in different forms. The only positive I can see in my son being called schizophrenic is that it sounds serious enough to hopefully get him the aid he needs.

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I hope your son is able to go to the Rochester hospital. Thinking of you and him.

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How wonderful at least one doc recognizes the need and can propose a path to move forward for his good. My husband believes that someday there will be a cure. Not soon enough for us. Keep us posted.

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Good news. NYS office of Mental Health came through for my son. They called up to the hospital that always treats my son and the head Psych Doctor called me yesterday at 4pm. She asked me what was happening and I told her I had to keep driving my son around in the car to prevent him from walking constantly in the 95 degree weather, WITH A COAT ON! She immediately had him MHA. He was at the hospital by 5PM
They called me last night at 2 in the morning and asked me if I was sure he was taking his medicine and I told them 100%. I give him his medicine twice a day and he takes them in front of me and eats a whole container of yogurt too. They told him his Depakote levels where at 7. When he had left the hospital last Friday I remember his doctor tell me how his Depakote levels had gone from 78 to 67 in the past two days and that he was metabolizing the medicine very quickly. So I’m pretty sure him walking over 100 miles in 3 days and drinking gallons of water and Gatorade were making him metabolize the medicine instantly. They also told me that he had lost 8 pounds just since Friday. NO &%@# Sherlock. I didn’t say that, but I thought it. Bottom line: he is safe, my husband and I slept last night and I do believe they care about my son there and will help him get better. One more time; SHOUT OUT TO NYS office of Mental Health in Albany and Buffalo, thank you for helping my son.

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Sandy, perhaps it was an illness that made your son need to self medicate to feel better. I’m sure that was what happened to my son.

It did work out for my son yesterday DianeR. (<: He’s safe and I know God has a purpose for him. I know he’s going to have a future someday.

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Wow this is incredibly great news!

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@Robin I was so happy to read this today! My first reaction was - YES! So glad it’s going in a better direction!

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Wonderful! So glad to hear this…

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That is wonderful news! It is great when the mental health system can actually provide what our family members need. My son is getting very good care and treatment in the state hospital where we live. It has literally been a lifesaver for him. Sounds like your son will get the help he needs- I hope they keep him long enough to help him achieve some level of stability. It’s such a relief when the system actually works.

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Wow…this is great news! This kind of public support does not exist everywhere.

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My son smoked cannabis against my advises. Cannabis induced psychosis since two years ago. He was in and out hospitals 4 times. He took prescription medicines and calm down for a while before another volcano eruption. He told me that he heared voices and saw black faces in the dark. He walked alone in the dark street at the middle of night. Every time he try to use alcohol and weeds to do self medicate then we have to send him back to hospital. This is a non ending games which family members suffered a lot.

Enough is enough, but I never give it up. I sent him to the best teaching university’s out patients program in Los Angeles four months ago. He told me the voices and haucillnation was gone over two months. He don’t walk at night anymore. His anxiety and depression was gone. I’m glad to see his recovery. But I have to cross my fingers that he never smoke weeds again.
He has one psychiatrist, family doctor and nutritionist MD to help him . There are always hopes for who needed. Never give up!

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So glad he’s finally getting help. I live in ontario canada. When my son was finally getting the help he needed he got a lawyer and went through a hearing. They ruling was that the treatment was canceled due to technicality the the paper work was not given to my son. Now my son hates me and my husband says we had him locked up and pumped up with drugs that destroyed his body. Now I see him starting to go down that path again. I don’t think I will be able to go through this again. We had him involuntarily put in the hospital 3 times. When the police came the second time they brock down the bedroom door and tazerd him and restrained him he was all brused up with the tazer stuck in his neck.

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This is probably the fifteenth time we had our son mental health arrested. In the past the police have tazered our son too. Your son and husband have to blame someone and they both know no matter what they say to you, your unconditional love will always be there for them. We have a lot of mental illness in our family, but my youngest sons is the worst. He started doing crazy drugs when he was 15. I kept telling him he was opening up Pandora’s box but he thought he was invincible. He’s been drug free for a couple of years but he did drink a lot of alcohol. He’s not the typical schizophrenic as he also is extremely compulsive and manic. It’s weird but after a few weeks in the hospital he does start getting better. But the DAY I bring him home the voices start and he walks uncontrollably. Don’t give up on your son, even if he tell you he hates you. Just keep telling him your there for him and you love him. Glad I have you and all the others there for me.

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Has he tried Clozapine. It was a miracle drug for us. I had to fight for it

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No lindag, he hasn’t. I don’t know why the Pdoc’s don’t want to try it. But he is getting better with the Abilify and Depakote.

Hello, I just wanted to update whoever is interested in my stream. Since May 28, 2018 my son has been in the hospital 57 days and home 29. He is presently in the psych ward for the past two weeks. Since May they have had him mental hygiene arrested4 times and each time after a few weeks he starts to get better, but it’s almost instantly when he is released he starts getting manic and the voices come back and it’s a disaster for him and us. It’s really awful because he can’t sleep and then he walks miles and miles each day and through the night. I visit him everyday and right now it breaks my heart to see him there, begging to get released. He is so much better and I can talk to him, I can’t detect any voices torturing him and he’s not constantly pacing. I love when I can talk to him. It is a dismal place, with nothing to do but watch TV or play cards, but I’m so afraid for him when they let him go. I’m so afraid that one of these episodes he will never come back. I read the stories of other care givers and I know I’m not alone. Anyone in the Rochester NY area? Wishing all of our sick loved ones a good future. Robin

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First of all, from what I have read, the laws in NY are more favorable to better helping persons with serious mental illness than in some other states. I’d be interested to know more from persons who actually live there. I suggest that you get involved with a local NAMI support group which should be a good resource. NAMI.org and look up your state and locality information. If they offer a Family-to-Family class that you can attend, I highly recommend that, also.

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Robin, Have they made plans to release him again? Like @hope4us said, Family to Family or your closest NAMI support group are both good ways to meet other folks struggling to help their family members.

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No they haven’t Hope. I got to take him out today for a car ride. He was so excited because he got to smoke a cigarette, actually 4 in 30 minutes. He is so wonderful, but just going out in the stimulant world for 30 minutes, threw him back a bit. When we got back he had a lot of anxiety, but kept saying how happy he was. The plan is to get him into transitional housing for 3 months then into a group housing situation. Sad news though, the Pdoc up at the hospital told me that she called my sons Pdoc of over 5 years and he said, my son needed a higher level of care than he could give him”. So now we have to find another Pdoc that really specializes in severe bipolar/ schizophrenic/compulsive disorder. The Pdoc st the hospital told me in the 30’years she’s been a Pdoc she’s never experienced a case like my sons. :disappointed: