March would have been a year since my son was last hospitalized so we almost made it. The other night he was so bothered by auditory hallucinations “hearing his own thoughts” is how he puts it, that he asked to be taken to the ER. He feels that the haldol injection isn’t working. They have him at a facility now and are changing him from Haldol to Abilify starting tonight. He had greatly improved on the haldol but apparently has had more break through symptoms than I was aware of.
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@Cat_Nip , I’m so sorry. It’s petrifying when meds don’t work or works initially then stops working.
I’m so glad for you that he “asked” to be taken to ER, and not fight it or deny it or got violent about it.
Please keep us posted. Wishing both of you a lot of luck and hoping he finds the “right” one.
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Thank you! Yes, the fact that he asked to go is huge for him so even if the haldol has in fact stopped working I’m not counting it as a loss because he has definitely come a long way from where he was!
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@Cat_Nip Agree. Awareness and taking responsibility for his illness is a HUGE win! Meds can be adjusted, insight is something only he can develop. I think next time it will be more than a year.
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“I think next time it will be more than a year”
Every once in a while someone says just the right thing at just the right time. Thanks @caregiver1 
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We’re all hoping that it’s a short tune-up and you’re setting a new record next year+. There are many of us on here hoping for one more week, one more day, one more hour of peace.
Sorry for the news but thank you for sharing your heart.
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It was awesome of him to recognize what was going on and to ask for help. I’m sure with everything both of you have learned in the last year everything will go smother for both of you. Many hugs and prayer to you both. Best wishes for a speedy and continuous recovery.
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Hello. My son was in very bad shape. He wouldn’t leave the house. He wouldn’t shower, shave or brush his teeth. His hair was all one length and just nasty dirty. I was devastated by him having schizophrenia for a couple years. He refused to take medicine. Maybe a year ago we found a psychiatrist who was able to get him to start taking the abilify pills. We started at like a 2 milligram. Nothing. Then to a 5 mg then 10 then 15 now 20 milligrams. I kid you not this is an absolute miracle drug. I had pretty much given up on him ever having a normal life again. It’s heartbreaking as a mom to see my beautiful baby change into a non responsive horrible looking young man. He was like a zombie before. The medicine has changed him back to almost normal. Maybe another 5 miiigram increase and we might be there. But I will tell you this. Christmas Day I went down downstairs and my husband had taken him to get a Haircut. He looks like my beautiful boy again. He is shaving and brushing his teeth and showering every day. He is eating a variety of different foods….before all he would eat was. 3 pounds of bacon per day and a certain orange juice from only one grocery. He is actually going out of the house. He is driving again. He went to Los Angeles and is spending the week with his brother. He drive himself! It was scary at first letting him go but I let loose a little at a time….and I do have a tracker on his car just for peace of mind. But it’s good! I wish you well with abilify. It worked for my son. It’s the pills. Oh snd he takes the pill on his own every day! Keep in touch and let me know how the shot works for your son. We are wanting to switch our son to the shot but he is responding so good with the pill that we are just holding off for now. I am sending lots of peace and love your way to both of you! 
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So inspirational to hear that Albilfy worked for your son. Gives me hope that someday my son will develop insight and agree to medication also.
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Sendng positive thoughts your way. I hope the breakthough symptoms can be brought under control. It’s impressive that your son has such good insight.
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He still doesn’t think he needs the medicine. He doesn’t think he has schizophrenia. It used to be a daily battle just to get him in the shower or to even brush his teeth. He wore me down. He would go weeks without personal hygiene. It was disgusting. I can’t even describe it. He doesn’t Remember how bad he was. It’s such a crippling sickness!
I don’t know what clicked but something finally did with this Ablify. I pray for a breakthrough for every mother out there going through this! Unless someone has been in this situation with their child they have no comprehension of the terror and heartbreak. I’m scared everyday that this may be the day he slips back into that other person again. Bless you and stay strong! 
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It’s so hard! It may be the worst condition possible for a human. My son lets me cut his hair (he won’t go to a haircutter) and I do my best. May today be a better day for you and your son.
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Wow! Thank you so much for sharing this! I have been somewhat uneasy about Abilify because so many have said it didn’t work for there loved ones so this gives me hope!
I could have written every word of your description of your experience with your son myself. When he was very ill he would only eat deli slices of ham and would only drink either milk or orange juice but it had to be a certain brand or he wouldn’t touch it. He was especially paranoid about bread and potatoes for some reason. That has thankfully went away since being on haldol (Thank God!) and he will eat everything now. He has greatly improved from where he was prior to taking meds but we still struggle with hygiene. He showers but I’m not sure he is always using soap because he hasn’t ran out of body wash and shampoo in forever. His hair is longer also and it gets super matted up from not brushing it and laying in bed so much. I’ve had to cut out several matted clumps but he refuses to get it cut short because he “wants to grow it out”. I try to tell him he can’t have long hair if he can’t maintain it but he doesn’t get it. When I realized he had allowed his hair to get in that condition I wanted to cry. I would be so happy if he agreed to get it cut! Also, it is a struggle to get him to brush his teeth. I took him to the dentist recently and they came down on him pretty hard about not brushing but I don’t think it did any good. I also have to constantly remind him to keep his nails trimmed. He rarely goes anywhere because when all this started he lost all of his friends due to his odd behaviors. Prior to becoming ill he was a very outgoing and happy young man. He had just graduated from Highschool and was beginning his life when this hit, as it does for so many. We don’t have a family history of schizophrenia so the only thing we can attribute it to is finding out he that he had been smoking pot heavily and had been trying LSD. Of course we will never really know if it was going to happen regardless of the drug use though.
Thank you again for sharing this! I am hopeful the Abilify will help him! I am so happy it did for your son! I will definitely keep in touch!
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Thanks @Caringforhim !
To be honest it was nothing short of a miracle that he gained insight. For months and months when this first started he had none and it seemed at the time he never would. Even now it comes and goes. Every now and then he will refer to himself as having SZ ( to my surprise) and other times, usually if I bring it up, he denies having it. Whether he admits it or not though I think now he knows something isn’t right and he doesn’t like the way it feels when he notices something is off. I pray that ability to tell the difference never stops, it is literally the key to getting them help. Don’t give up on your son gaining insight as well! For my son it was his first long term injection of haldol. It brought him out of his delusions very quickly. There have been ups and downs since then but it’s never been nearly as bad as it was prior to him being on medication.
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It’s a blessing that he acknowledges that he is ill and asks to be taken to the hospital and that he takes his meds. Wish my brother was the same. Just want you to see the positive side of your situation. Hope the abilify works for him.
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thanks, my son was like this too, and took abilify. It helps, but not quite all the way…but he did get a part time job, and can drive but doesnt want to and mostly stays home and plays video games. He wont cut his hair, but does now shower for work but prior wouldnt.
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My son has been on the Abilify injections for about 1 year it seems to have been helpful.
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Welcome Thager. Same w my son on Prolixin injection. Pray that we all find a medication that provides some relief to both patient and caregiver.
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