My wife has been in a pretty constant state of psychosis for a year now
She has been committed twice with basically a diagnosis a prescription and a best of luck push out the door.
Of course the meds start to work and we see flashes of her come back and then she stops won’t go to therapy and the cycle repeats itself.
My inlaws brought her to the hospital on feb 2 the hospital said she would be admitted and begin treatment soon as leave the facility the hospital releases her of sound mind and tells no one for nearly a month we assume she’s getting treatment.
Finally after not hearing from a social worker or no updates we discover the truth and file a missing persons report I get a text from her the night we are looking for her claiming her real name is Jackie Kennedy she’s married to an anime character and has 23 kids in California.
We find her the next day in a homeless shelter my mother in law has a protective order issued she’s picked up and brought to the hospital where once again we are being told she’s being placed in a facility to get treatment.
And once again she’s released without anyone being told of sound mind and she goes right back to the shelter.
She is very delusional and very out of touch she claims we all abuse her (not true) and her parents are poisoning her and sex trafficking her we have tried about everything outside of a medical power of attorney and it’s an astronomical cost does anyone have any advice on how I can try to get thru to her to get some help or at least come home where we know she is safe ? I’ve tried not arguing and just listening I’ve tried the leap method but I can’t get her to hardly even engage a conversation with me anymore everything is just the worse things you can say about a person thrown at me
So sorry you are going through this. I am in Iowa and I have called the police 3 times now and they all know that my daughter needs help. But that won’t happen because she is 34 and an adult if she doesn’t want to go they won’t make her. The only way they told me they would pick her up would be if a friend of the family and I go and sign papers at the court house to have a court appointed committal done. It does not cost anything. Only thing is you have to say she is a danger to herself or someone else. I believe then they do a evaluation then a court trial over phone which you can attend. If the courts decide she is required by law to take meds or they can be arrested or put back in hospital. This is not the exact thing that happens you would have to look it up for your state. They may not even have it.
It goes thru the coroner here and we tried it the coroner approved it for 72hrs and the hospital still released her soon as her mom left
At least your inlaws can see the truth. Mine just discard me when the wife does. They take her side and blame me. Its wrecked my life I can tell you.
It started that way until they seen it for themselves trust me I know how it feels
I’m so sorry this is happening to your wife and to you. I am lucky that there are three hospitals near us, so when one didn’t help, we hoped another would. Really, the only thing that saved us from my daughter’s psychosis which went on for over 3 years was repeated Baker Acts and court enforcement of her taking meds after her 2nd arrest. One of my friends initiated court ordered Baker Acts (7 of them?) until her son finally made the connection that meds were helping him. He is stably on meds now, and making steady improvements. But it took years, including two homeless stints for him. He lives with her now.
I wish you luck. It must be super hard to lose a spouse to psychosis.
This is absolutely frustrating and defeating. When our daughter was hospitalized the second time our older daughter hired a lawyer. He said that there are three aspects that need to be included: medication, hospitalization and the often missed third part is outpatient care.
It sounds like the hospital doesn’t feel responsible to let anyone know when she leaves. Do you have POA for mental health or durable POA for her?
My other thought is if they know you need to be contacted when she is released can this be part of her release plans? It’s important that there is follow up after the person leaves the hospital. Of course, you could hire a mental health lawyer but that can cost plenty. I’m so glad she has you and her parents to care and support her.
I’m so sorry you are going through this. It’s a horrible situation and we’re left feeling hopeless and no one really gets it if you’ve never dealt with this. I would seek to get a guardianship so that you or someone else can make decisions on her behalf. This story is repeated so many times, where these “mental health” facilities give them a few meds, discharge papers with a # for outpatient treatment and then discharge them. I had to fight with the last hospital that my sister was in to not release her until I got there. I wrote the CEO, the chief of staff and the state dept of health. They waited for me. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. I was not playing with them. I was 5 states away. Anyway, you may want to consult an attorney to determine your state laws to help your wife. I wish you all the best and pray for healing and resolve for your family.
Sorry to hear about your situation. I am in a similar position. It’s been two and a half years of trying to convince my wife (psychosis) to get help. She will not go to a doctor, blames the medical establishment for past medical issues and is locked in her psychosis. We managed to get to a hospital only once. After a pre-meeting with the hospital, once we got there the whole situation was grossly mismanaged by the resident psychiatrist resulting in my wife losing near complete trust in us. I wish I had better news but we are struggling, too. The only positive in our situation is she is still in our home so we know she is safe. Good luck and strongly suggest you join a caregiver support group.