On mental health meds for 6 years after a mental breakdown

Family
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I have a husband he is 46, 6,2 225 lbs. in 2016 he was working 4 part time jobs in our small town. 2018 new year Eve he has a metal break down. 2019 was a year from h#ll. in and out of hospitals. since then he has seen three different Dr for mtanl health. the last one is doing more for him. Spent 6 months on olazinoe 20 mg to stop the voices, and 3 mg ingava. Did nothing was moved all the way up to 12 mg ingava did nothing . He took 2 months off all meds. Oct the end he started the bosster shot of ingava 3 mg. Nov he got his 1 st monthly shot.nov was better calmer inside. Dec came and he was looking into get back into getting one of his old jobs back, just about ready to go back to work. 20 days with no voices life was great. Clear headed,almost back to 2017 in life. End of dec about 4 days before new years eve the voices started in again. By Jan 6 he got his shot but was trying to hide the voices from me. I say the signs. fed 4 the was to be his next shot. He refused it did not want to go to the Dr.stoped his olanapine all of Jan. said why shod I take the meds they stopped working again. I love him and I want him back. I don’t like seeing him yelling at voices that are not there, and the stress of not sleeping for two nights and days its taking its told on both of us. why can I do? what can he take to get back to dec. health? Nothing changed in the end of dec. or Jan. life is the same nothing new no changes. I wrote a letter to his Dr to tell her what is going on in hopes that she can come up with something help him. The meds don’t work the shot stopped working. what else can they put him on as a guinea pig to get his life back. in 2019 they tryed him on fanape, then raspoide, then haladol, and ingave all the way from 3 to 6 to 9 to 12 mg and not change, to different ones at night some at night and some at day. nother worked most of the time he felt like he was druges all the time in a fog. or he slept his life a way. 6 yeas of h#ll. what else can I do to help him. I support him the best I can I am the only one working right now it that puts a lot of stress on him as he wants to be the one to support his family and he cant.

I do what I can to support him,.I go to his mental health appotment with him for support that he asked for. I try to give him his space, and be support. I do the work to pay the bills and the work around the house. he is in his own world that I get 2 mins a day with the really husband. the rest he is yelling at the voices and believing the voices, or he is talking about aliens and this is the 4 world that they have inhabited and he has been around for 1200 years.Or he is the CEO of the FBI and trhe CIA and he is a senior of this state. and he is in charge of everything. The next he is crying because his world is so bad. He has a falts memory that he had a inhaiectane that was stolen from him. it started out at 5,000 dollars now its up to 8 million that was taken from him. first it was that he was kicked out of the house 3 times now it he was kicked out 21 times in 3 years. I try to rane him in and call him to the really world but it does not get me any were but now he thinks I don’t believe in him. what can I do I am at my wits end, please there has to be something to help him. he has bipolar, schizophrenia, personally disordrer, ptst, abuse as a child , depression .

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Have you heard of Clozapine? It’s known as the last resort med, to be taken when nothing else works. Has your husband been hospitalized lately? In the hospital it is a safe place where he can get stabilized on meds. You’ve got a sad situation there, some people are just med resistant, that’s where clozapine might help.

Your situation sounds very stressful, how are you getting support for yourself amid all these crisis’s? Are you in the U.S.A.? Have you heard of NAMI? It’s a mental health organization and they have support groups for the mentally ill and also for caregivers of the mentally ill. It might relieve some of your anguish to go to one of their support groups.

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try it and it did not do anything for him. he was on it for over 6 months with no help from it. they raised the does toi think it was 20 at the end. it was like he was not taking anything. I know he was last on the ingeva shot at 3 mg shot he had the bosster shot it started to work, a week later he had the 1 st monthly shot really started to work. dec had 2nd monthly shot worked great was ready to go back to work. Jan had his 4th monthly shot voice came back its like he was in Sept when you went off all meds. I am his rock. as a long as I am in the room he feels ok. if he needs something I get it for him. but it kills me that since 2019 with his break down there cant get him back to normal for more then one month. it was his best month today.

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The poster was asking about clozapine. I think you were responding about your husband’s experience with olanzapine. Also, 777nick777 mentioned hospitalization to get stable, which sounds like a good idea.

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76webb, SMI is challenging for everyone concerning. My son has gone over 3 decades with different medications, fist, second generations even last generation medication, Cobenfy; he was doing well on Uzedy shot every 2 months which is very convenient but due to side effects it had to stop. Not all medications are for everyone, he had tried Olanzepine (Zyprexa), he tried the low dose of Cobenfy 50/20 which targets motivation and sluggishness but after 3 months he decided not to take it any longer, a lot of the symptoms he was experiencing are very similar to your husband’s but unfortunately he’s not a little kid to whom I can push down the meds. After attending so many presentations on Clozapine I’m working on it, but we’re still miles away from it. I’ve learned that after the second antipsychotic try if it doesn’t work the patient should be put on Clozapine, REMS are gone (not completely) but there’s hope. It’s important for you to join a support group, though this forum is an excellent source of information, support and comfort it’s a good idea to sign up for a F2F NAMi education course. You’ll learn more about mental health and as you can see you are not alone; a great book to read is Dr Xavier Amador “I AM NOT SICK, I DON’T NEED HELP” and you can download it on your phone free of charge.

Good luck on your journey. There’s no reason for you not to be able to talk to your husband’s doctor. Taking care of yourself is priority.

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