Posted by Pboauk on October 13, 2008, at 15:59:00
Hi everyone Im after a little advice and am posting this here with permission and knowledge of the lady mentioned below,
Trying to dig my way out of my own problems with depression Ive ended up helping out at a user-led mental health group where I am now supporting a lady who has been diagnosed as schizoaffective disorder (was schizophrenia until two psychiatrists ago). That diagnosis is now being questioned by her psychiatrist and myself, but only after twenty years of psychiatric medications and probably fifteen years in institutions.
The lady in question had been led to believe by the medical services that the only thing keeping her safe was the medication; this has been repeatedly reinforced by a family member who has a vested interest in this lady being drugged up to the eyeballs. When I came on the scene she had not long been released from an institution. The psychiatrist wanted her on 4-5mg per day of Risperdal a day (at most) and she was taking a minimum of 9mg, usually 12mg and occasionally up to 16mg in the belief that more was better than less. On top of that she was swigging away at Broflex (trihexyphenidyl hydrochloride) for tardive dyskinesthia until she got a warm floppy feeling that made her forget everything. More medication was always better than less and the more she took the better she felt because days could go by without notice. Most people involved with her care didnt seem to care what she took as long as she took enough to keep her quiet...if she ran out of medications early it was topped up, because it was far better than her not taking enough.
Anyway we were suggested to the lady by a social worker looking for an easy life and she came to us in a bad way. She was one big mass of side effects just about holding everything together due to her fear of a return to an institution. With my support shes got down to 4mg a day, most days, over a period of about six weeks. I would have liked to take it slower, but her medically trained relative once upon a time said that anything less than two tablets taken at a time were no use at all...which has meant that weve had to come down in jumps of 2mg and we have been on a deadline before her psychiatrist took her drugs out of her control (something she sees as only one step away from an institution). Were getting there but the anxiety; panic attacks, depression and general feeling of being unwell are becoming greater and greater, especially now that shes starting to feel things that have been numbed by medication for so long. Theres been no psychotic symptoms, and for various reasons I and the psychiatrist dont really think were going to see any, but at this moment shes starting to believe that the withdrawal symptoms are her psychosis (everything else in her life has been seen as a symptom at some point, so why not this).
So basically Im after reassurance for her that this living hell as she called it today is to be expected and isnt part of her psychosis, were both wondering how long she has to go through it and Im wondering what the hell I can do to help her beyond being on call 24/7 for the foreseeable future...
Any advice or thoughts are most welcome,
Phil
poster:Pboauk
thread:857248
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20080220/msgs/857248.html