C
CUBLINGTON
Member
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2009
- Messages
- 5
Hi! Advice for worried boyfriend whose partner has recently had a psychotic episode!
Hi all!
Not sure if this is in right place so posted elsewhere-pls feel free to move it if needed!
Ok...will try not to waffle (!) Other 1/2 (who lives here now-4 last 10 yrs- but is from France) had a psychotic breakdown mid-Jan this year-bought on by acute stress/anxiety relating to a work problem (it was something minor that she worried & worried about & increased the worry to an all-consuming panic/worry-eventually not sleeping properly for 7 days-then the breakdown). No family history of this & has not happened before ever. She does however have a VERY anxious personality (& is a born worrier-looks like she may have GAD).
This 'problem' in her mind went on for a week or so & I watched her become more & more introverted & disturbed due to lack of sleep. Her work colleagues started to notice this too. She kept saying 'I've lost it all' (despite her boss-she works at a College-telling her 100% this was NOT the case) & her brain was constantly turning over the same thought.
GP was a joke-he was writing a sick note before even asking her what was wrong & prescribed SLOW ACTING Prozac as a 'general' anti-anxiety pill (changed GP now)-had emergency doctor out & took her to hospital where nurse advised to 'keep an eye' on her & I might have to bring her back to see crisis team if no improvement'...Anyway....3am on a Sunday morning she starts trying to move all stuff from our top floor flat-convinced we were being 'evicted' at 7 the next day! Can laugh a bit now but frightening at the time.....called an ambulance (she was not happy about this) & the ambulance guys were BRILL -how they persuaded her in to the ambulance I'll never know (I wrote in expressing my thanks for this)...so after 6 hours in A & E (you can imagine it on a Sunday am in a city!)-Doctor saw her & said it was 'paranoid delusion' (she also thought they were taking her to jail & was too scared to leave bay & go to another room in case they were going to lock her up) & called the 'crisis' nurses (who were brill)-they talked to her-we got 2 x 2mg diazepam’s to calm her (I got her to take one before we left) & they arranged to come back at 5pm to see her. The diazepam gave her a 'high' for 45 mins or so then back to the delusions about going to prison, eviction, etc...
Crisis team came back & basically said (as she was refusing to take the diazepam) she either comes voluntarily to the Hospital or they would come the next day & it might involve police/social workers, etc in the sectioning process. Luckily she listened to me & came voluntarily but was sectioned that night when trying to leave the unit.
Anyway-I am waffling now! She came round after 9 days realizing 'what am I talking about re
rison, (she thought the hospital was a prison & all the staff/patients were actors?!?), etc...& after some afternoons out & home visits she was taken off the section 2-so she came through this really fast.
In hospital they had her on rispiredone-2mg in the morning & 2 at night & also 20mg Prozac a day. This continued when she came out except they gave her 1mg in am & 3 at night (taken 2hrs b4 bed to help her sleep) as the 2mg in the am was making her sleepy in the day. No other discernable side effects. She improved very well-so much so that the Occupation Health Docs gave her a 'graded' return to work (a few less hrs daily-she started back 3 wks ago) & she was able to have 3 nights in France with me to see her folks-who were obviously very worried.
All was going well until after her 1st wk & a 1/2 at work she suddenly had this 'prison' thought pop up in her head (COMPLETELY does not believe it at all-knows its irrational) -which so I'm told is bought on by increased stress (i.e. I'm guessing going back to work, etc). her being an obsess ional/born worrier type she 'worried' that she had this thought & it went downhill over a period of a week-to the stage where I had to come home from work 3 times as she was so panicked by having this thought & said' please take me back to hospital' etc.....
They increased risperidone to by a total of another 2mg-now 2mg in am & 4 at night-plus an extra Prozac (2omg) tablet. This was changed to 1mg in am (as it 'zombied her out' in the morning-her words!) & still 4 at night.
In the last 7-10 days or so the 'panic' & intensity of the thoughts has diminished somewhat-in fact she is now in France with family until next Saturday-but she more or less still has these thoughts (I guess part will be the illness & a big part will be her general obsessive nature) & it's really upsetting her that she can't get rid of the thought!
She does breathing exercises, etc -given to her by her psychiatric nurse-who's been BRILL (the team concentrates more on the psychological side & to help her in the future)-they do help a tiny bit but not that much.
What also does not help is that she has no friends/family nearby so when I'm at work she often spends long periods of time on her own which is not too good I guess.
The 'plan' is to move her on to olanzapine (a fairly low dose) & keep the 2 tablets of Prozac-apparently works together very well on the anxiety side of things?? This is due to start from the 21st April.
I also read from the web that olanzapine is good for OCD which she does not have in full (very messy house!) but she IS obsessive about everything!
Just wondered if you guys/gals had any opinions on the new course of treatment & also in the interim to help her tackle the thoughts? Has the increased rispiredone a way to go before it tackles the thoughts?
Anyway-thanks for listening!
I'm feeling really really guilty that I'm enjoying being on my own while she’s away but it's been the hardest 4 months of my life! Any input would be great!
Hi all!
Not sure if this is in right place so posted elsewhere-pls feel free to move it if needed!
Ok...will try not to waffle (!) Other 1/2 (who lives here now-4 last 10 yrs- but is from France) had a psychotic breakdown mid-Jan this year-bought on by acute stress/anxiety relating to a work problem (it was something minor that she worried & worried about & increased the worry to an all-consuming panic/worry-eventually not sleeping properly for 7 days-then the breakdown). No family history of this & has not happened before ever. She does however have a VERY anxious personality (& is a born worrier-looks like she may have GAD).
This 'problem' in her mind went on for a week or so & I watched her become more & more introverted & disturbed due to lack of sleep. Her work colleagues started to notice this too. She kept saying 'I've lost it all' (despite her boss-she works at a College-telling her 100% this was NOT the case) & her brain was constantly turning over the same thought.
GP was a joke-he was writing a sick note before even asking her what was wrong & prescribed SLOW ACTING Prozac as a 'general' anti-anxiety pill (changed GP now)-had emergency doctor out & took her to hospital where nurse advised to 'keep an eye' on her & I might have to bring her back to see crisis team if no improvement'...Anyway....3am on a Sunday morning she starts trying to move all stuff from our top floor flat-convinced we were being 'evicted' at 7 the next day! Can laugh a bit now but frightening at the time.....called an ambulance (she was not happy about this) & the ambulance guys were BRILL -how they persuaded her in to the ambulance I'll never know (I wrote in expressing my thanks for this)...so after 6 hours in A & E (you can imagine it on a Sunday am in a city!)-Doctor saw her & said it was 'paranoid delusion' (she also thought they were taking her to jail & was too scared to leave bay & go to another room in case they were going to lock her up) & called the 'crisis' nurses (who were brill)-they talked to her-we got 2 x 2mg diazepam’s to calm her (I got her to take one before we left) & they arranged to come back at 5pm to see her. The diazepam gave her a 'high' for 45 mins or so then back to the delusions about going to prison, eviction, etc...
Crisis team came back & basically said (as she was refusing to take the diazepam) she either comes voluntarily to the Hospital or they would come the next day & it might involve police/social workers, etc in the sectioning process. Luckily she listened to me & came voluntarily but was sectioned that night when trying to leave the unit.
Anyway-I am waffling now! She came round after 9 days realizing 'what am I talking about re
rison, (she thought the hospital was a prison & all the staff/patients were actors?!?), etc...& after some afternoons out & home visits she was taken off the section 2-so she came through this really fast.In hospital they had her on rispiredone-2mg in the morning & 2 at night & also 20mg Prozac a day. This continued when she came out except they gave her 1mg in am & 3 at night (taken 2hrs b4 bed to help her sleep) as the 2mg in the am was making her sleepy in the day. No other discernable side effects. She improved very well-so much so that the Occupation Health Docs gave her a 'graded' return to work (a few less hrs daily-she started back 3 wks ago) & she was able to have 3 nights in France with me to see her folks-who were obviously very worried.
All was going well until after her 1st wk & a 1/2 at work she suddenly had this 'prison' thought pop up in her head (COMPLETELY does not believe it at all-knows its irrational) -which so I'm told is bought on by increased stress (i.e. I'm guessing going back to work, etc). her being an obsess ional/born worrier type she 'worried' that she had this thought & it went downhill over a period of a week-to the stage where I had to come home from work 3 times as she was so panicked by having this thought & said' please take me back to hospital' etc.....
They increased risperidone to by a total of another 2mg-now 2mg in am & 4 at night-plus an extra Prozac (2omg) tablet. This was changed to 1mg in am (as it 'zombied her out' in the morning-her words!) & still 4 at night.
In the last 7-10 days or so the 'panic' & intensity of the thoughts has diminished somewhat-in fact she is now in France with family until next Saturday-but she more or less still has these thoughts (I guess part will be the illness & a big part will be her general obsessive nature) & it's really upsetting her that she can't get rid of the thought!
She does breathing exercises, etc -given to her by her psychiatric nurse-who's been BRILL (the team concentrates more on the psychological side & to help her in the future)-they do help a tiny bit but not that much.
What also does not help is that she has no friends/family nearby so when I'm at work she often spends long periods of time on her own which is not too good I guess.
The 'plan' is to move her on to olanzapine (a fairly low dose) & keep the 2 tablets of Prozac-apparently works together very well on the anxiety side of things?? This is due to start from the 21st April.
I also read from the web that olanzapine is good for OCD which she does not have in full (very messy house!) but she IS obsessive about everything!
Just wondered if you guys/gals had any opinions on the new course of treatment & also in the interim to help her tackle the thoughts? Has the increased rispiredone a way to go before it tackles the thoughts?
Anyway-thanks for listening!
I'm feeling really really guilty that I'm enjoying being on my own while she’s away but it's been the hardest 4 months of my life! Any input would be great!
Hi all......