Exactly the same here. You guys are just reinforcing my thoughts that my husband is bipolar.
Yes, he does. But I did not give it to the sheriffs the other night when they were leaving. I was thinking since I donât know how they dispense meds there, I am not giving it to them where he may trade it for something or who knows what. He was complaining to his juvenille affairs worker that he isnât getting his Abilify or his Adderall. I sent his Abilify so I donât know why they would be withholding that.
I donât think they would purposely withhold it.
I think those places might just be unorganized & choatic - and either the meds or the instructions may not get to the right people in a timely manner.
My bet is that they donât hand them the bottle, but whether or not they make sure the medication is taken & he doesnât cheek it for trading later is another thing all together. Plus, Iâm sure if someone wanted his Adderall, theyâd have all kinds of suggestions about how he could get it back to them.
Dont know if this is helpful or not but I have heard very good things about a facility for youth in Texas called Meridel. I have had students from the east coast go there for residential treatment. It certainly seems that your son requires intensive treatment. I am thankful that nobody was killed the other nightđȘ
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Update: just talked to his Juvenile Affairs worker. One of his charges was Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, a felony, so probation is not a possibility anymore. He is going to push for placement, but there is a waiting list, so he will be in the juvenile facility where he presently is for 4 to 5 months. Then at least another 7 months in placement. The place he is going, they have staff pscyhiatrists, therapy, etc. They also have them work on how to better deal with situations, anger issues, etc. We have his first hearing Monday afternoon at 1:30. He claims he doesnât remember what happened the other night; says he was drunk. I donât believe this is possible as we found 3 beer cans (weak 3.2 beer is the norm in our state unless you buy at the liquor store). Told the Juvenile Affairs worker he is sorry, etc. I still do not understand why the sherrif did not take him to a mental health facility the night of the incident. It is state law! Especially since he was suicidal, they should have definitely taken him for psychiatric evaluation and so he could be under suicide watch. I want to call the Sheriffâs office and ask if theyâre not familiar with state law, but I donât want to alienate them if I need their help again.
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Do they have a psychiatrist & other medical staff at the juvenile facility?
I would imagine that there are a lot of kids there who have mental health problems.
I would hope that they could get him some treatment while heâs there.
Here, I do know that inmates have a right to see their own doctor. The only condition is that you pay the expense to have them transported, which includes guards. Iâve seen what looks like juveniles come through my sonâs old doctorâs office - in handcuffs, with two officers, and sometimes a parent meets them.
Yes, they do have a psychiatrist, therapists, and nurses, etc. at the juvenile facility. I know this because a friendâs son âservedâ time there. He actually came out a much better person than when he went in. The facility looks like a typical prison with razor wire but inside itâs much more casual than an adultâs prison facility. They allow you to send books for the boys to read. The visitor polciy is pretty liberal. They also have fairly decent food and more than adequate portion size. They do special things for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. So itâs not a completely terrible place; certainly much better than where he presently is.
That sounds about on par with one of the lock-down mental hospitals my son has been too.
It looked a lot like a jail inside. I feel better for him now - it might be the best thing that ever happened to him. At least, youâd hope they have a lot of experience with this kind of thing & theyâll know when the treatment is working & when it isnât.
Praying for all of you. I wish I had bether advice. You are very unsafe when he is living with you and you cannot have him there. Stress to the policeditor and all professionals that he will kill either you or himself. This should be sufficient to have him on a 48 hour hold, and then they will see how deep his illness is themselves. I donât understand what they are telling you about insurance. I would remind them that you are already in debt and trying to pay his previous mental health bills. Does he receive SSI? You are in a terrible situation, as is your son. His meds are not controlling his illness adequately. He needs a psychiatric workup, I suspect. I am so very sorry and will keep you in my prayers.
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Hi, I hope you are doing alright.
A psychiatrist told us our family member was not a candidate for Abilify because of agitation. I personally had terrible side effects from Wellbutrin. These personal experiences are not meant as advice, but information.
There are so many medications; maybe a different one will be more helpful?
To be clearâŠJust because our loved ones take âdissolvable medsâ doesnât mean these drugs are being ingested. These meds do not âmeltâ on contact. They disintergrate over a period of time and can be spit out very easily, even 10 to 15 minutes later. For us, the only full-proof method for a med-resistant person is by depot injection.
Iâm not trying to be negative, but even sitting with our son for a period of time (every single night) after he was given his âdissolvable medsâ didnât guarantee ingestion. He could easily move the pill from his tongue to the front of his teeth, to avoid having them dissolve.
I think you are wise to stay on the good side of law enforcement. Is the better juvenile facility where your son would be placed after four or five months?
Thank you so much, I am an open book, ask me anything and I will always do my best to answer if know an answer, if I donât I am good at finding resources. Stay strong Mom 
Okay, now we can all breathe a sigh of relief - not that our sighs of relief ever last long.
Did you get some sleep last night?
Thanks to everyone for your good thoughts and prayers. I finally got a good nightâs sleep last night for the first time since Wednesday night. I did get to nap on Saturday and yesterday, maybe trying to make up for the lack of sleep since the incident. I have been scared in my own house, even though I know he is locked up. I guess that is normal when you go through a traumatic incident. Having your child slice himself to bits and blood covering the floor in three rooms of your house is pretty high on the trauma list I would think. My husband also said he tried to hang himself from a tree in our backyard. My husband is having sciatica pain, Iâm sure from been thrown to the tile floor the other night.
He called Saturday three times. I refused his calls twice, and my husband talked to him on third call. He never apologized and did not sound remorseful. He is just trying to get us to bail him out. We have decided against this since he is violent and my husband explained this to him. He kept begging and pleading. Finally my husband had to hang up on him as he wasnât hearing the ânoâ as he repeatedly told him that and why. We have court today at 1:30, so would appreciate your prayers, good thoughts, etc. I am not looking forward to this. But know it has to be done. I am going to inquire if itâs possible he could be moved to a state-run locked down pscychiatric facility, if there is such a thing for someone his age.
Prayers are with you LisaS. You are doing the right thing and unfortunately, it is heart wrenching. I am hoping for all of your sakes, that this is the beginning of some real help for your son, and for both of you. Let us know when you can, how it all went. Stay strong!
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I looked at their website. It does sound like a tremendous facility. I like their approach. The facilities my son has been to, they just drug them up and send them home as quickly as possible. It sounds like this facility really tries to get to the bottom of what is ailing each patient individually and they really try to work with your insurance company to try to get the longest amount of care possible. I would suspect it is terribly expensive if you go on private pay after your insurance runs out. I wish I was wealthy; I would definitely send him there.
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LisaS how did court go today?
So glad you got some sleep - the trauma that we parents have to deal with is rather unbelievable - no wonder other parents who donât have issues like scz with their children are clueless about our struggles to parent our children.
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My son is schizophrenic⊠heâs had a couple of episodes where he lashed out at his brother, but never that violent⊠we are now in the process of getting him his own apartment since he can no longer live with my other son and he will not move in with me or my ex.
Thatâs really scary. I canât believe the mental health facility would not take him!!! Are there other places in your area that will?
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LisaS, with medicine it can absolutely get better in our experience. If he wasnât violent before, I think he can return. God bless you and Iâm so sorry for this heartache. This will pass and I hope you recover as well. It breaks our hearts but we donât have to stay there.
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