Family member ill

[leila63]

My stepsister Tracy 47 last summer was hospitalized for the first time last summer (and boy was it hard to get her ip) with very detailed paranoid delusions. 5 weeks after she was released she tried suicide via sleeping pills and was again in the hospital for a number of weeks.

Lately she's been doing better but still with vestigial delusions. I know her first diagnosis was bipolar but given what I've learned on various forums, knowing her half of my life and also knowing that she is taking 2 anti-psychotics and no mood stabilizers I think that dx has changed.

She lives about 5 hours north of Edmonton so we have had to depend on her husband to try his best to manage.

This weekend her husband gave her a plane ticket to Edmonton and some cash and credit cards. She was supposed to visit my Step Mom and Dad but she said she wanted time to herself in Edmonton. We were thinking West Edmonton Mall hotel, shopping etc. Then she phones her daughter back home and tells her that she is staying in a hostel. Then we get a phone call from her husband that the police have called and she's been found in an alley and is being taken to the hospital. One of stepsisters is going to the hospital now to find out what's going on so we're waiting by the phone.

Just needed to talk to someone and maybe you guys can give me some advice if she's physically alright but ends up in patient again.

[gtchamp]

leila: I'm sorry I have no words of wisdom but I just wanted you to know that I was hear and was listening. Good luck. I'll be thinking of you and look forward to hearing how it turns out. Tracey

[paul m]

Hello Leila63. That is terrible news. Hopefully they will keep her in the hospital to give her treatment. Anything I say from here on is only a WAG (wild a*s guess). I would think that if she is taking two antipyshotics in any size dose(parnoid and suicide=large doses) she probable feels pretty horrible 24/7 just from the effects of the drugs and probable hates them. The first tendency for people who really hate their meds is to stop taking them. (I know all about blood work etc, you just quit and then start up again before your next blood test)

One thing someone can do is simply ask her why she quit taking her meds.(just assume she has) Meds have made me feel horrible, to the point of rather dying then continue to take them, especially large doses of anti pyschotics.

Docs do not seem to understand that concept.

If its not the meds, once again ask her why she did that. Once she becomes rational you might be surprised at the answers. Sometimes people are exceedingly unhappy for what to us are simple things, especially if we think we have ruined our own or other peoples lifes. It's our thoughts that count, not whether or not we did.

Most provinces have a specialists for the really hard to treat who work at one hospital, sometimes it is part of a teaching hospital. Perhaps you could suggest she be transferred there(any GP or shrink could tell you, probably even their secratary)

I went though something similiar with my son. Long distances, paronia, suicide worries etc. I know how painfull this is for you right now. You have my complete sympathy.

May your God provide you with strength and guidance during this difficult time. paul m

[uni]

Hello Leila63. I hope things turn out o.k. for your stepsister and everyone concerned. My thoughts are with you, my forum friend.

[leila63]

An update

Apparently all her med bottles were found empty beside her so she probably ingested a lot of Seroquel, Clozapine, and possibly Ativan.

The Tox screen came back clear but I'm not sure they screened for those meds. I guess they are waiting on liver function tests and are giving a lot of fluids. She is in ICU.

They have her in a medically induced coma but I guess they are going to try to bring her back to consciousness today. It is planned that she'll have a psych assessment.

It is a good point you bring up paul m about a teaching hospital because the U of A is. It has a really top knotch psychiatric department so thanks for reminding me.

[Woody]

Sorry to hear about your stepsister Leila
I have to ask, what are "vestigial delusions"?

Doctors are finding that anti-psychotics have a double purpose as anti-depressants. For example Seroquel is approved now for the treatment of depression.

Keep us posted

[A.E.V.]

I hope everything goes well for her!
my thoughts are with you and your family leila!

[leila63]

Hi Everyone and thanks for your good wishes.

Woody, vestigial delusions are my words. When she was really ill, she thought there was this vast conspiracy, thought people were talking about her on the radio, and other things. Once she was medicated these subsided but there were some that hung on like her obsession about emails and the fear she was going to be in big trouble about them and again some other things. I don't even know if bipolar is still her dx. This whole thing doesn't seem bipolar to me.

She's still in a medically induced coma and we found out she hasn't seen her pdoc since Sept. so you're right paul m about her being off her meds.

All we can do is hope for the best and take it one day at a time. Thanks again everyone.

[paul m]

Hello Leila63. I hope that things will turn out OK. Assuming that they correct her overdose the good news is that they will really take her seriously now.

What follows is just some examples of what may happen and how I have reacted to the meds. You may already know some or most of this.

Being paranoid has only a few causes. Some mental and some physical. Some of the more common are during an acute manic phase of bipolar and skizophrenia. Both are usually treated with large doses of anti-pyschotics.

When my son was really paranoid he would seem really normal most of the time, but he would become obsessive about certain people or things. He also would take a dislike to someone and become positive the person was dealing drugs or worse and this somehow was going to harm him. To the point of repeatedly calling the police. Nothing would change his belief. So really strange behaviour can occur.

The problem with large doses of anti-pyschotics for many is it really bothers them. I felt like a zombie when I took large doses. My son used to refer to taking seroquel as living in Seroquel Land, a dreamy land where one has no worries or cares, nor feelings or a life.

I know that some people tolerate large doses just fine.Sometimes people adjust to large dosages. I am not trying to scare you either. My son has recovered and now holds a full time job. I no longer need to take heavy doses of an anti-pyschotic. A big problem is nobody tells you all this and you say to yourself, no damn way I'm going to live the rest of my life like this.

You like you really care for her. When she is well enough to talk ask her why. I know from personal experience that it is very hard to talk to someone about a possible suicide attempt. I don't know why that is, they know what they did. I hope things go well. Take Care. paul m

[AJ]

Leila I'm so sorry to hear the bad news. With that drug combination I wonder if Tracey has Schizoaffective disorder. Whatever it is, I hope they get it figured out while she's in the hospital this time. If compliance is an issue, and I'm guessing it is, they may need to give her a long acting antipsychotic injection.

I hope they make arrangements for her to have proper follow up after she gets discharged. Sounds like money and car keys are not a good combination for her right now. A therapist (as well as a P.doc) might be helpful too. I wish I would have had one from the get go.

Take care Leila.

[Woody]

Thanks Leila

Did they say how long they where going to keep her in a coma for?

[leila63]

Hi Woody,

They brought her out slowly of sedation today. I went to see her today and she was still pretty sleepy and bloated from all the fluid they had been pumping into her to try to stave off ill effects to her liver.

There were a few smiles and hints of a laugh. I am encouraged. The next big thing is a move to a regular ward and a psych assessment though I don't know if that will be tomorrow or not because she can't really talk due to the breathing tube she had down her throat though the nurses tell me that it should clear up shortly.

I am a little worried though because apparently she told one of my other stepsisters that she didn't want to stay in the hospital and would just go see a tdoc. I've just decided to not think that far ahead and not get worried about what might happen. All I can have is faith that things will get better.

Thanks for all the good thoughts; they can't but help.

[paul m]

Hello Leila63. I am glad that she is coming around. I hope you are doing ok too. Take Care. paul m

[Woody]

Sound like what ever happen in that alley was pretty serious.
I hope the staff at the hospital are taking it just as seriously.
How are you doing with all this?

[paul m]

Hello Leila63. Twice during my long recovery I quit seeing a shrink without my wive's knowledge. Disasterous things happend.

I changed shrinks and got one that would allow my wife to phone and see if I was keeping my appointments(I had to sign a release). Perhaps someone could try that with your step-sister.

I hope she is improving. Take Care. paul m