Hi
Welcome back and yes this is a great place to visit good therapy for all involved…
I have been dealing with this illness with my son who had a psychotic break when he was 17 and is now 30…the illness reached it’s peak about 9 months after the break at which time we got him to hospital he was put on meds and released and from there he got community support which allowed him to live on his own since he was 19…he lived in the next city from us and wanted to move closer. When he moved to our city to be close to us the support in the community was reduced. Every city has different supports some less than others. That was 7 years ago and it was downhill from there. Instead of twice a week visits he was getting once a month visits. During those years he was hospitalized frequently. Finally after a lengthy hospital stay "the powers to be " deemed him unfit to manage his meds on his own…so I became his substitute decision maker (SDM)…(I live in Ontario, Canada and we have a provincial mental health act which allows for a SDM)…This SDM has been in place for about 3 yrs now…renewable every six months…His first relapse which was 7yrs in the making was about 9 months ago…he was completely off his meds and out of control…the meds where not working even when he was taking them as I think he has been on everything under the sun…His illness became more severe from when he first was ill…enough was enough…
… SDM also allows for police to pick him up immediately and take him to hospital. Once in hospital I requested the Dr prescribe clozapine. After many discussions between the Dr and my son, clozapine was prescribed…he stayed in hospital for several weeks and is now living with me and my husband (stepfather). I administer his meds everyday and we now have support within the community twice a week with phone calls on days in between. We visit his Dr every 6 weeks… I give my son his space with boundaries…one being he must take his meds every day. Clozapine is working. We are 10.5 months in and he is starting to have insight into his illness… He is not angry anymore and is not psychotic however he still talks at times to who ever he has conversations with but with no anger or yelling…it is tough however with both of us retired I do not have the pressures of a job to worry about which makes it a little easier…
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Hi Auzinste. That’s awesome that your son is 10 months into Clozapine and it’s helping him get clear and make progress. It’s been such a long road for you all. I hope with all my might that it continues. Best of luck.
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