Schizophrenia ? What a mess :(

[dustysky]

Good news!! I just spoke with the nurse at the hospital and they have found that my grandmothers potassium is VERY low, I do not have the numbers yet but it will be interesting to hear what they are.
I sure do hope this is the proble/solution.

Thanks again guys for all your support

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Good news!! I just spoke with the nurse at the hospital and they have found that my grandmothers potassium is VERY low, I do not have the numbers yet but it will be interesting to hear what they are.
I sure do hope this is the proble/solution.

Thanks again guys for all your support

So good to know that they are working her up for the various possibilities. Hopefully they will get her hydrated, get her electrolytes back in line, and improve her nutritional status (and give her psych meds if she needs them).

I know my dad was delusional and hallucinating (had Alzheimers) before we put him in a geriatric psychiatry unit for 10 days-- they started him on an anti-depressant and it made a HUGE difference.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Sounds like she could be in good hands. KUDOS to you for being persistent.
Always trust your gut is what I tell people. You know your person and no one is going to care about that person more than YOU!
Hang in there!

 

[dustysky]

So far she is still being "ok" with being in the hospital, she stil has no idea she is baker acted (and yes that means being held against your will) she has a one on one "assistant" with her at all times, I am pretty shocked that she has not put that together.
She did in fact have the potasium issue as well as a UTI. That being said the psych Dr. feels that is nott he only problem and that she will still need mental heath help, meds. etc.

This has been so hard, I feel like such a HUGE piece of crap, I know she needed the help but WOW, I just never thought I would feel like I did something wrong.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

It is tough to take over care of a person. You will get better at it, trust me. Yea, you feel like crap but heck, you have kids right? Sometimes you have to do what is necessary for the sake of the person.

What you do now regarding her health will save her life. Esp. if their are "mental issues". People that are in psychosis cannot properly take care of themselves. This is a very key thing to understand.

{{{HUGS}}}

 

[chris1gill]

Have you been in to see her? How is her demeanor? She may be happy to be there, she's got her own assistant, and the doctors are finding issues that I'm sure in her mind must justify her being there? You shouldn't feel bad, you did what had to be done IMHO...

 

[tinkamom]

So far she is still being "ok" with being in the hospital, she stil has no idea she is baker acted (and yes that means being held against your will) she has a one on one "assistant" with her at all times, I am pretty shocked that she has not put that together.
She did in fact have the potasium issue as well as a UTI. That being said the psych Dr. feels that is nott he only problem and that she will still need mental heath help, meds. etc.

This has been so hard, I feel like such a HUGE piece of crap, I know she needed the help but WOW, I just never thought I would feel like I did something wrong.

Please don't be so hard on yourself. I think you are doing the right thing. I tried to help an elderly lady I saw just standing on a busy road dressed inappropiately for the weather and couldn't get anywhere. It broke my heart and all I could think was "Where is her family?" "Why don't they try to help her?"

 

[Laura]

Oh, you totally did the right thing. She's getting the help she needs--if she understood the whole situation, she'd thank you. Maybe she will be able to do that when she's better.

 

[NotUrsula]

She's getting the help she needs--if she understood the whole situation, she'd thank you.

Um ... I wouldn't bet on that. People who are delusional almost always do NOT trust "help." They often become very devious once they have been involuntarily treated, and will begin to hide their delusions from anyone they know will insist on medicating them. My schizophrenic mother ended up killing herself this way; she started cheeking not only her psych meds but ALL her meds. She was convinced that the doctors were in league with "them". The only way to be sure that a delusional person is really taking prescribed meds is to do daily urinalysis, not an easy thing for a frail elderly person.

 

[KristiKelly]

I hope everything turns out ok with your Grandmother. My Grandmother has Alzheimers and has often been very jealous of the relationship between her best friend & my Grandfather, however there is no relationship. They can just say "hey" and my Grandmother thinks she is "coming on" to him. It's so sad what the brain can do to someone.

I know you feel bad but you are doing what needs to be done. You would feel 1,000 times worse if something bad happened and you had not done anything. Keep us posted.

 

[lisaviolet]

Hi,

I'm sorry for everything that you are going through. Hopefully, you'll get some more answers.

We looked after my mother-in -law for three years when she had Alzheimer's and the delusions were rampant. A man in the kitchen was after her. Only she saw him. Her granddaughter became "the little girl with the black bag who is stealing from me". We were poisoning her with her meds.

The Young and the Restless became "real" suddenly. Some of us were on it. And all storylines were part of her life.

A lot of people think Alzheimer's is all about memory loss. Delusions and change of personality and an irrational thought process are just as apparent in many.

All the best to you. It is my hope that your grandmother's medical concerns are of a simpler nature. Please try to take care of yourself as best as you can. You are in our thoughts.

Best wishes to your entire family,

Lisa

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Um ... I wouldn't bet on that. People who are delusional almost always do NOT trust "help." They often become very devious once they have been involuntarily treated, and will begin to hide their delusions from anyone they know will insist on medicating them. My schizophrenic mother ended up killing herself this way; she started cheeking not only her psych meds but ALL her meds. She was convinced that the doctors were in league with "them". The only way to be sure that a delusional person is really taking prescribed meds is to do daily urinalysis, not an easy thing for a frail elderly person.

I am so sorry. I do want to say though, that MANY delusional people appreciate the help once they are better--in my two years working on a locked geriatric psychiatric unit, I (and my fellow nurses) had many, many people thank us for the care we provided and tell us to the effect of "I didn't realize how bad off I was until I got better." But I agree that this is not true of most people with schizophrenia--they seem to not ever realize how sick and delusional they are.

To the OP, we saw MANY people with new-onset delusions/hallucinations/behavioral problems who had UTIs! It's a common cause of delirium in elders, and especially elders with some dementia. Hopefully once they clear all this up, your grandmother will be back to just her usual more minor issues, with a big decrease in the delusions.

 

[dustysky]

well, she is still at the hospital but today they took off the baker act. She never knew about it from the start so to her its not a huge deal.
The difference is that now she is alone in her room, before there was a 24/7 nurse with her. She never once asked why there was someone with her like that and I never told her. Today she speaks of the neighbors jut as she did before she was put in the hospital. I talked to the mental heath worker who has been assigned to her and she feels that her stage of delution is so deep that no meds will ever turn that around. At this point there main goal is to keep her mind from getting bigger delitions and they want to do that with meds.

I am pretty sure she will be sent home tomorrow simply because they do not see her as a threat to others.
The mental health worker wants us to make sure she gets moved to a new apartment (that was already in the works) and hope that we can keep her taking the meds.

At least now when she gets to out of controll I have a contact person as well as a history on file with the hospital. I think that will help in the future.

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

Good luck in the future with her and now it is nice ,like you said, that you have a contact person at the hospital. Will she be having any kind of support out in the community ...will there be a social worker or VNA to follow her after discharge? Make sure you have any and all questions answered for you before she is sent home. Be strong ...we are all here supporting you.

 

[dustysky]

I got a call last night at 9:00 pm, she started acting out. Threatening that if they did not let her leave she was going to hit them or throw things at them. She was standing in the hallway with her bag, all the bag had in it was unerpants and depends pads. She had no shoes or clothes, it was 49 degrees out last nioght and she was tetermined she was going to walk home.

When they called me I had no other option but to tell them it was ok with me to re-backer act and that they should do what ever they see fit at this point.

She was given a sedative and restrained to her bed, they will be sending her to the geriatric pschc. ward within the next day or two.

 

[chris1gill]

OMG!!! I was reading the update, thinking things were going well & now I have just read your last update... my mouth is literally open, I can't believe what has happened with her! I am so sorry, but I am relieved to hear they didn't let her leave when it was only 49 degrees... What kind of facility is she in now if it's not a geriatric psych. facility?

I have a question, sort of OT.... Why in this case did they use the Baker act, whereas sometimes you are allowed to check out against medical advice? Was it because of how she was dressed or that she was combative? I'm just curious because I once checked myself out AMA, they weren't happy but I was allowed to leave, which in hindsight was pretty stupid....

Anyhow, I am passing on positive thoughts and vibes, and hoping that you will feel peace very soon....

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am just thanking God she is somewhere where they are trying to help her.
Stay strong!

 

[minkydog]

I have a question, sort of OT.... Why in this case did they use the Baker act, whereas sometimes you are allowed to check out against medical advice? Was it because of how she was dressed or that she was combative? I'm just curious because I once checked myself out AMA, they weren't happy but I was allowed to leave, which in hindsight was pretty stupid....

....

Because she is clearly not in her right mind and unable to care for herself. A normal coherent person can check out AMA.

Dusty, you're doing the right thing. You're in a terrible, overwhelming situation, but you know in your heart that she cannot take care of herself. Now she can get the help she needs. I hope they don't consider sending her back home; anyone who is so deeply delusional they can't be helped with meds should not be living alone.

You didn't cause this problem. sometimes stuff happens to us as we get older. You're doing all you can to keep her safe and I don't think there is anything to forgive. This is a safety issue and she can't keep herself safe. Kudos to you for stepping up to the plate!

 

[dustysky]

I called her a few minutes ago expecting to get screamed at for what happened last night but instead she never even said a word about it.
She is very heavily medicated and thinks she is in the town she lived before the hurricane.

CHRIS1GIL, it is not unheard of for a person to leave against the Dr.'s advice, however when you have to be in the right state of mind to make that choice and she is not.

MINKYDOG, Thank you very much. It is very hard to not feel like I played a roll in this simply because I was the one who insisted she be taken to the hospital. It is however getting a little easier to deal with not that the hospital is accually seeing what I have been saying.

Her saftey is my top concern now, and if that means she is mad at me then so be it.

 

[dmslush]

Just stay steadfast and remember that you are doing what is best for your grandma!!!