I took Patches into see her psychiatrist this morning and after a very long talk he feels she is suffering from Schizo-Affective Disorder. I thought he said she also had BiPolar but I was looking it up online and I think I may have misunderstood. He did say it was complicated by her PTSD. He has spent an enormous amount of time with her while she was in the outpatient program for 6 weeks. He saw her every day and had feedback about her from all the therapists there. He changed her meds from Geodon to Abilify. He wants to hospitalize her if there is any sign of aggression. He explained with me that this was not her fault and going to the hospital is not a consequence but is to stabilize her meds so every one is safe.
I feel like she knew this was serious already and is relieved we are trying to help. She has been very scared by what is happening to her. I love this child with my whole heart and am scared for her. I know we will get a grip on things together. I told her that life isn't always easy but I will be right there with her.
Anyone have any experience with this? I would love any advice.
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My grandma has something like that, only her diagnosis is much older and was diagnosed as schizophrania with a mood disorder. She has bouts of violence and hallucinates. She burned down her house and nearly herself and has had shock therapy (old-fashioned but she has been dealing with this her whole life).
All the bad stuff happened when she wasn't medicated properly. The ahrd part is keeping her on her meds. Now that she is in her 80s, the meds seem to have lost their effectiveness or else she is just getting alzeimers.
The good news is, she was able to live a fairly normal life with the exception of the past few years. She got married, had three kids, had many long-term boyfriends after divorcing my grandpa and always lived independently (except for the last few years).
The key for her was finding the most effective medication. Without it, watch out. Good luck in whatever needs to happen with Patches! A stay in the hospital, with your support, might be good if the purpose is solely for med mgmt. You take care of yourself. i know from experience that dealing with mental illness is very hard.
I have no advice, only prayers. I've been thinking of you and Patches daily and praying for the best result. So glad to hear that you've at least got a DX. Blessings to your whole family.
Again, you are on my mind and in my prayers. It's a scary diagnosis, but at least it's a start.
You know that S-A disorder includes bi-polar disorder, right? It is a combination of bi-polar and schitzophrenia.
It can take a while to find the right combination of drugs but if you do it is pretty amazing.
Torina, thank you for sharing your story. It does seem pretty typical that they don't stay on their meds and have "relapses". I am am hopeful that we can find the right meds, Risperdal was great until her rear end blew up and she began to feel bad about it.
Debbie and Carmine, thanks so much.
Yondalla, I was a bit confused but after reading more, I see you are right and I didn't misunderstand him.
I'll be praying for you. And at least a diagnosis means you can make a plan of action to help her.
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