If your son doesnt like the Abilify because it makes him sleepy and fat isnt there a different medication that he can switch to ? my son also has been prescribed a certain medication that has both those side effects weight gain and sleepiness he hasnt gained too much weight but he doesnt like it and wants to switch to something else so thats the first thing on the agenda with the meds right now because he doesnt like the side effects of this medication ( will avoid abilify thanks for that info ) but i was just curious why your son is not changing his medication if he doesnt like the side effects there are many other anti psych meds and a different one might work a lot better for him so just curious what is preventing a medication change
ive heard of community treatment orders but i dont think you have to take a certain medication just as long as you are on some type of anti psych med but the consumer should have a choice in what medication they have to take if there is a court order to take an anti psych med for public safety reasons - were the messages he was recieving telling him to hurt other people and who did he think was sending the messages has the medication stopped those thoughts/messages ?
Yes, he can change his medication. He is seeing his psychiatrist today. I suggested he should write down the things he wants to say before he goes, otherwise he may forget them if he feels stressed (same goes for people without sz, of course). They may change his med or his dose. What I noticed, though, was how much this med improved his motivation (and avolition is supposed to be a negative symptom untreatable by APs) and his concentration became much better. He is finally able to study again effectively.
He doesnāt have a CTO yet, anyway. They just warned him that it could be the next step so he is being careful. His last episode involved delusions of persecution and he threw a can of coke at a complete stranger (who was involved in his delusion). He was not arrested or charged but the police picked him up and took him to A&E, where he was detained.
But I do think that the med side effects are miserable and the weight gain is particularly bothersome for young people who do care about their appearance, aside from the risk of diabetes, etc. My son hates the weight gain and heās only got a little belly so far. But he has always been very slim until this.
I know my son had mixed feelings about seeing his dad, but it went fairly well. I only got on one āHes starting to scream, what do I doā message. My son brought himself down.
My son did decide to challenge his diagnosis again last night. He asked why he is taking medication. I said because he has schizophrenia. He said a secret government agency - which he canāt name for security purposes - fully tested him and declared him mentally healthy. Sigh. How ironic is it that he uses his symptoms to argue against his diagnosis? I am left speechless when presented with that kind of statement.
Any suggestions on how to respond to such claims? His delusions still pretty much control his life.
have you ever tried challenging his delusions like asking him how he first got in contact with this secret government agency and do an investigation with him to find out if its real or not ask him specifics about how he was contacted when the next contact will be how he first came in contact with this secret agency , details about their conversations and then go do some fact checking with him . my son has not experienced paranoia or delusions but i think if he ever did start having them i would try to challenge those ideas to convince him that they are not real so he would realize hey something is definately wrong with me this doesnt make sense maybe mom is right and be more accepting of the diagnosis .
or he could be lying and realizes that hes lying and is just trying to convince you that he doesnt have sz because he doesnt think that he really has it but i dont know why challenging a delusion and finding out the truth would be a bad thing
Iāve definitely done that. Those guys are very tricky. They can communicate thru his cell phone, the internet, and even implant chips into peopleās brains.
He sometimes claims to have invented certain things (which aliens or the military have either stolen or really want to get). Trying to pin down when he could have done it turns into a conversation that leaves MY head spinning. Challenging a delusion usually just ends in him being angry that I donāt believe him.
This is the truth about delusions and voices. It all seems so real that trying to use logic against it just doesnāt work. When he is really sick, the voices will keep him up all night, interrogating him. Horrible way to live.
Abilify is generally recognized (from what Iāve heard) as the medication that has the lowest incidence of weight gain. Most others (of the 2nd generation antipsychotics) have more weight gain - but of course, it depends on the person.
More details here:
and here:
Also - everytime you change meds there is risk of relapse as if the new med doesnāt work, going back on the old medication may also be problematic.
Hello Everyone, Itās been a while since I post, but I just wanted to update on my son. He went to his appointment on last Thursday and has been going to therapy. He started taking his Rispedal pills 3mg on last Monday as instructed from his doctor because he didnāt like the side effects from the Invega shots. He is taking his medication and heās not complaining of any bad side effects.He said it makes him move a little slow, but heās not saying heās not going to take them. In fact, He said he will continue to take his pills because he donāt want to go back to another hospital. He hasnāt smokes any marijuana, but he has been smoking a lot of cigerrettes. I am taking it one day at a time and can finally breath for a minute. Since Sept 2015, We have been on a roller coaster ride with him going in and out of the hospital and not following up with his doctors nor taking his medication. This time heās willing to take the pills and has been going to the doctor. He is still saying heās not sczo, but he is Bipolar, so thatās why heās taking his pills. Heās still delusional, but itās not as bad. He was motivated to get a job, but now heās not. Maybe one day that will change and he can live a fulfilled life, until then he has our support. I will continue to keep all of the parents and love ones in my pray. Iām on the site daily, so Iām not going anywhere just because heās doing a little better. I know it can change with a drop of a dime. Be blessed!
This sounds like good, solid progress. We all understand the shaky ground you are standing on right now, wanting to hope but afraid to. But getting a breather can be a great relief! No matter what reason he does it for, if he continues to take his meds, he will have a better chance at avoiding a relapse.
Hello Everyone, Itās been a while since i updated. My son has been doing good. He WAS taking his medication every night until last Tuesday. He decided that he didnāt want to take the medication anymore. He is Parnoid sczo and bipolar. We have started to see some old and new symptom. He said he will continue to go to his therapist, but heās not taking anymore medication because it makes him feel tired. For the past couple of months, we have had peace. He has started back pacing, slamming doors, and not sleeping. Well, I just thought I would give an update. Take care and be blessed!
@myson
Iām in the same boat. My son - who has been doing well on clozapine since January, but has been skipping doses lately and it is starting to show. It leaves me feeling so frustrated to think we might start this cycle all over.
Vallpen, I am very sorry to hear that about your son too. It is very frustrating ! The whole family had a peace of mind for the past 2 months. He was still a little delusional, but we was able to handle that because he didnāt talk on it for a long time. Heās been taking the medication, so we thought and going to the doctor, but on last Tuesdayā¦ He decided to stop taking it. I canāt get him to go anywhere nor do anything. Heās very paranoid. Heās pacing, angry, but heās not a threat to himself or others. When he was on his medication, I was able to leave him along for about an hour and I would go to the gym to workout, on my days off from work, so I can keep a clear mind. Iām afraid to leave because I donāt know what he will do. He has a weight bench in his room, because he didnāt like to go to the gym. We have notice new symthoms. My husband had to shut down the Internet on his computer to keep him off of FB because he THINKS heās a celebrity singer. He has changed his name on his page to the celebrity singer name and he has post his songs on his page. The people are telling him heās not that person and those not his songs. They donāt know heās Iāll. He was anguing with them and thatās what trigger him. This is a new one to us. I didnāt know he could have new delusions. We didnāt argue with him because we know not to go against him and tell him itās not true. He told us he made a song with the singer. We was like oh ok. Donāt know what to do know.
Iām going to just sit tight and see what happens. He took his meds last night. He had a reasonable explanation about not taking his evening dose, which is the main one, on 4th of July.
I wish they would make all the doses of some meds look alike - he is not taking his morning dose, Iād like to just add it to his evening dose, but he would get angry about a change.
The stories we could tell - and sometimes do! - about delusions.
My son was taking his medication at night only because thatās what he wanted. He said he didnāt want to take it anymore because it makes him tired. His doctor told him to start taking vitamins but he donāt want to take those. We donāt know what to do now, but itās not in my control and Iām just going to let it play out tooā¦ I just donāt want to be walking on egg shells in my home. I know itās not him itās the disease, but when heās not on medication. He say hurtful things to me, but not his dad. Itās kinda hard to take when I know he wasnāt like this before he was diagnosed with this sczo on last year. Itās good your son took his medication on last night. Be blessed!
I know exactly the situation you are in, so sorry. This illness messes up so many lives. I HATE that walking-on-eggshells feeling. That build up of anxiety whenever I open the door, whenever I see a new text on my phone.
@myson My heart goes out to you, I felt the same as you did before I took the NAMI Family to Family classes. I always felt like I needed my son to come āhalf wayā or cooperate or anything besides being defiant. My son also had a weed problem and smokes cigarettes and the money things was always a huge problemā¦in the beginning I worked full time and I was always a single mom so it was just me from the beginning. I guess my main response is that I understand. I canāt say what approach will work for every individual because every patient and every family is so uniquely different. For me I had to get full legal guardianship of my son and have him declared incompetent. It is tricky and scary to approach this subject but I feel that it saved my sonās life and in a round about way it saved me too. My son doesnāt appear incompetent when he is stable so the guardianship is not addressing those timesāit is when he is delusional and non compliant that the guardianship is critical. I applied for guardianship when my son was very delusional and no medicine was working and he was still getting his hands on pot and whatever else he could find. It was a blessing that I started the proceedings then because even though he was dead set against it and I heard āI hate youā more times than I can countā¦I knew it was right and I knew someone sane and stable had to be in charge-regardlessā¦and the court gave him a court appointed attorney to argue for him against the guardianship which is his rightā¦but because he went into the judges chambers delusional it took the judge only moments to declare him incompetent and make me his guardian and rep payeeā¦(I failed to mention that I had already established disability social security for him prior to this because he could never hold down a job for more than a week or two) so anywayā¦because of the guardianship I made all of the doctors talk to me and listen to me and stop pushing me out of the room so they could talk to my delusional son and take his word as gospel and I made it clear that medicine compliance was non negotiable, I was fortunate that once my son realized that the right medicines could ākill the voicesā as he puts it-- he was much more agreeable to complianceā¦which is not always the case. The Family to Family classes made me realize that I had to suspend all of my prior beliefs about my sonās capabilities and potential. I had to start over because essentially as a properly medicated schizophrenic he is a different person in some ways (not in his heart) but his realities are not the realities I had expected for him when he was a little boy and his abilities are whet he can manage on any given day and that is always in flux. I could push him to work at something and I did in the very beginning and he became unhinged and had some symptoms return. I could push him to go back to school or take remedial classes and I did in the beginning and again, he didnāt deal well with it well at all, I pushed him into counseling if for no other reason than to give him one other person besides me to talk to and after 6 weeks of apparent silence his counselor said she couldnāt see him anymore because he basically said nothing every hour he was there. I even tried a monitored/support group home and that effort ended when he slit his wrists with a broken safety razor. He did eventually decide to attend AA meetings even though alcohol was never really his drug of choice but the people there are of a mindset that he can really relate to and he likes listening to them talk and tell their stories although he doesnāt contribute he goes when he feels like it and it is often 2 or 3 times a week. Anyway I am rambling (sorry) most of all these problems were when my son was in his 20ās when the active symptoms were at their peak, now my son is 32 and I see more negative symptoms than anything, the lethargy, confusion and memory issues, and apathy, he remains religiously compliant and he has been street drug free for at least 6 years now. He is usually calm and a very likable fellow, he helps around the house when he can about 3X a weekā¦he showers at best 2X a week which is hell when it is blazing hot out and he goes to the gym with me, which is helping to keep his weight from increasingā¦he was 180 when he started out and that isnāt bad for 6 foot tall but he quickly ballooned to 280 and it was still rising until we started at the gym, he has even dropped a few pounds sinceā¦but he will rarely go unless I goā¦he rarely does anything without me and I cannot tell you how frustrating that is for me. One trick I started lately is he will go across the street and pick up an item from the store for me, one or two items onlyāI tried a list and it was a fiasco of confusion so one or two and he is doing something successfully aloneā¦(baby steps) I adore him but I want to be an individual and not a Siamese twin. Still there is what I wish and what is the reality and the reality is that I am his best chance to stay as healthy as he is now, he does not have whatever it takes to maintain the environment that I have created that keeps him sane and stable and calm and the two of us in a peaceful relationship. In 2010 I went on disability which in retrospect I think was better for my son because I was home all the time and it helped stabilize him. I went on disability because my health went to hell because I had no time to address anything for myself, My asthma and diabetes were out of control, I had constant debilitating anxiety attacks and I was in terrible pain all the time. I mean it made sense handling everything alone and never knowing what my next day or my next hour would bring with my son. Fortunately being on disability allowed me to juggle things better and I got help for my issues and I am still getting help for them, I feel better today and more at peace but this lingering feeling that I am not so much an individual as a necessary appendage to my son is extremely hard to process through. I accept that he will live a limited life that he seems to feel comfortable with from his point of view. I am not okay with a limited life for myself, so I am slowly working on very personal things I can still do from home or near home that give my life meaning and enrichment. I canāt leave my sonās well being up to another stranger because after all the strangers I have given that chance to in the past with utter failureā¦it makes no sense. I work hard on my health because I truly donāt know what would happen to my son if I were gone, his brother lives in California with his wife and has said he is not able or willing to step in-in a crisis, he says he cares and he would visit or send money but he said after watching me dedicate most of my adult life to my sz sonās well being he is not going to do the same and he assures me it has nothing to do with loveā¦because he loves us but that sacrifice is where he draws the line. I understand. I am going back and taking the Family to Family class again in August because I want to see it with new eyes and a new perspective and see if I learn something elseā¦it canāt hurt. Sorry if I rambled way too muchāit happens to me sometimes and I go on and onā¦but just know someone out here really does understand. Take care.
Thank you for your post. You did not rambled at all. It was very helpful. My son has been hospitized 3 times. On his last hospital stay, My husband and I looked into getting guardianship. The cost is to high and we would need a lawyer. My husband and I both have great jobs, but $ has been hard to come by lately because we are taking care of our 25 year old adult son. We provide everything for him and has to pay his co pay for doctors, medication and etc. We have a daughter in college and we still provide half of her expenses. I have applied for his disability for ssdi, but he was denied, so I had to reapply for Ssi. We donāt complain about those things because we know heās MI and canāt help himself. When heās on his medication, Heās a different person, but when heās off. We canāt hardly stay in the home. I work night shift and my husband work day shift, so someone is with him at all time. I have tried to get him involved in day groups, volunteering and going to the gym. He just wouldnāt go and I try not to push him. About 2 months ago, he was motivated to work and He even went on an interview, but lately heās hasnāt been doing much of anything, but smoking a lot of cig and laying around. This is still all new to my family with the sczo diagnosed. Heās bipolar/sczo. He was diagnosed with sczo on Sept of last year and boy this has been a roller coaster ride. I really need to sign up for the family to family classes, but I work at night and most of the classes starts around 7 or 8pm. I have to get some sleep before I go to work at 11:00 pm. We are his only friends. He has no friends. He used to have friends but he push them away. My son has had said many hurtful things to me . At first I didnāt understand why he would talk to me like that, but I learned from the parents on this site that itās the disease not my son talking. When my son is on his meds, Heās a totally different person. You canāt tell heās ill, until he talks about what he thinking. Thank you so much for replying and giving me some more helpful information. Be blessed!
@myson I guess the cost of guardianship must vary from state to state- I did not think of that, (I am in Ohio) I was working when I applied and I recall that most of the fees were waived or reduced because I claimed financial hardship (someone there told me about doing that) The SSI disability was a snap because I had a Social Security attorney (that is all they do is SS) which costs nothing for them to handle it other than the 25 or 27% of the retro pay that they take once they win the case. The retro is whatever monies would have been due to your son for the time that has passed since he was diagnosed and unable to work. It is a one time payment and you actually never see it (the amount that the attorney gets) but you get a statement with the breakdown on it. It can go back years or a few months but it is well worth giving the attorney the 25-27% of it to have them take care of itā¦Also with disability comes medicaid or medicare or both (my son has both) and then medicine and everything is covered (such a blessing!). I wish you and your family the very best.
My son takes Invega orally. In shot form the effects can last for 3-4 weeks. I hope he sees a difference in how he feels and is willing to comply with medication.
I applied for guardianship directly thru the county, they provided a lawyer for myself and for my son (tho my son was so psychotic and paranoid at the time, he would not involve himself in the process, which was actually a blessing!) and it cost me NOTHING.
Thanks Everyone for all of the info. It has been very helpful. Heās calm. If he can just stay like this, we could handle the fact that heās not taking his meds, but when heās angry, slamming doors and pacing is what we canāt handle. We will take it one day at a time. I have to remember that some things are not in my control. I will keep everyone updated.
