Please help - Scared for my daughter

[Bepis]

My daughter is 18 years old but she has special needs so is a lot younger in her mind. She has suffered with anxiety for the past 5 years or so, to the point where it stopped her attending school and she had to be under CAMHS. Her anxiety was mainly around people she didn't know and new situations.

The past couple of weeks have become so difficult and I just don't know what to do or where to turn.

I noticed her hearing things and she would say to me that her stepbrother swore, or I swore etc when that never happened. That went on for a while but now she is panicking if her sister is on the phone. Her sister will talk to her boyfriend in the evening in her room (they have separate rooms) but my eldest daughter is just flat out panicking about it and refuses to go upstairs. When I finally get her into her bedroom, she will not get in bed but just sits on her bed until 7/8 in the morning.

I tried laying with her this morning so she would get some sleep and she managed an hour or 2.

She's also started putting her fingers in her ears whenever someone talks. Not in a rude way but it's become a reaction. This is within the last couple of days.

She says she can hear her sister talking on the phone at 5/6/7 in the morning despite her sister being fast asleep.

She is also zoned out (I can't think of a better way to describe it). Like when I talk, it's like she doesn't understand me. She's also started whispering instead of using her real voice and is even starting to become non-verbal.

I'm so scared, I don't know what's wrong with her and I don't understand.

I took her to the doctors today and they prescribed Sertraline. She had her first tablet tonight. This seems like more than just anxiety though.

Has anyone else experienced this? Im scared and in tears.

You’re a lovely mum OP. Make sure you get some sleep too!

@2023pending Thank you, that's sweet. I've felt so helpless towards her though, I hate to see her or anyone suffering like this. I am so relieved she is asleep, I was getting scared for her health. She's stopped twitching now so I think she's gone into a deep sleep which is what she needs. If I have to sleep like this with her every night, I will do it.

I'll get some sleep when she wakes up or when me and DH swap over.

She is a bit wet with urine but I'm not waking her up.

Bless her and you op. You’re doing such a great job with your dd. I don’t have experience in this but I’m really disappointed at the lack of help from primary care. I hope your dd is more calm and relaxed on awakening. 💐

@Bepis, I have read the entire thread, and could not leave without saying hello and acknowledging the tremendous job you are doing. Your posts say a lot about who you are as a person. 💐

The lack of medical and psychiatric support is a disgrace, and I am angry on behalf of you and your daughter. Your daughter's condition is undoubtedly exacerbated by sleep deprivation, but she clearly needs further support and investigation to figure out what's going on and whether other interventions are required.

I don't want to sidetrack this thread into politics, so I'll just leave one plea - if any readers who are moved by this story are also planning to vote conservative at the next election, can you please reconsider this.

I’m sorry - but how useless is your daughter’s doctor?? She needs to be referred to a Psychiatrist. This could just be severe sleep deprivation or it could be bipolar or even schizophrenia.

Sertraline is Zoloft and in some cases causes insomnia. I’ve been on it and it’s very helpful for OCD and I know some use it for depression - but I have no idea why it would be prescribed here.

Did the GP caution your daughter on going on and getting off it? You need to increase and decrease dose very slowly. Even if you’ve taken it before.

She needs a sedative and a referral to a Psychiatrist. The NHS is completely broken.

It’s possible it’s just sleep deprivation. But she really needs to sleep. Zoloft won’t help her sleep.

Does she have a weighted blanket? That might help with sleep for her too

@Intrepidescape even if her Gp refers to a psychiatrist it will take months to get an appointment.
OP if you can, go private, i joined my works private health scheme to get my daughter help and even that didnt work as waiting lists are still at least 3 months. In the end I got a loan and an appointment with a psychiatrist within 4 days.

I'm utterly appalled by the lack of interest from your GP.

I hope she, and you, get a decent sleep.

Just read your thread OP. The care you have given to your daughter is just amazing.
i agree with others though, she needs urgent mental health assessment. A possible psychosis is a mental health emergency.
if you still have the crisis team number, I think you need to keep contacting them or take her to a&e yourself.

aside from the lack of sleep, she seems to have lost all sense of the present, is hearing things that aren’t there, and she is losing the ability to go to the toilet when she needs (unless this isn’t a new thing). She isn’t eating or drinking (not drinking is a medical
emergency if it continues).

I feel the paramedics informed you incorrectly when they said they wouldn’t be able to assess her at A&e. She’s a young woman with an learning disability going through a potential mental health crisis. You can communicate and support her with any assessment.

I hope just now you are getting some sleep yourself. It sounds a very stressful situation and I’m sorry it’s been so hard to get help so far for your daughter, but please don’t give up.

My DS has melatonin from GP but when he runs out l order these:

gb.m.pipingrock.com/night-products

An over the counter medication I've used is called Phenergan

I know this is a long shot but it might be worth googling your local early intervention in psychosis Team and phoning them for advice, some teams (not many) take self referrals and they're required to assess within 2 week's maximum

OP, I've not read the full thread but I've read all your comments. I'm so sorry you're struggling like this and I can't believe how unhelpful your GP is.
If you're in the UK, Google Early Intervention in Psychosis services. There should be one in your area. These are community based, NHS secondary mental health services. I work in one and we take self referrals and referrals from family members, AFAIK most teams are the same, hopefully it will be the same in your area.

If I took a call from a parent wanting to self refer and they said everything that you've said in this thread, we would absolutely offer an assessment. Worth being aware that all EI teams nationally are commissioned to assess new referrals within two weeks maximum, so she won't be waiting for months as some posters have falsely said.

Good luck and feel free to pm me with any questions x

Im so sorry you are going through this. I work in neurophysiology and see many cases like this to rule out organic causes so my first thought was is she having seizures.. i know the general knowledge is seeing someone physically seizing but seizures can also be subtle and silent - there is a very rare type called gelastic seizure which is demostrated by uncontrollable laughter. However this is a long shot.
I think the best advise is to take her to A&E before she gets too dehydrated and Get her referred to the MH to do a psychosis assessment indeed. They might also do MRI scan and EEG to rule out organic causes.

If she has psychosis an SSRI won't help and might make things worse.

I had very mild auditory and visual hallucinations when I was diagnosed with bipolar a decade ago - hearing my siblings talk at night when we didn't live together etc.

Being withdrawn makes it sound like it could be anything from schizophrenia to schizotypal personality disorder. Maybe bipolar. Could even have a physical cause.

She needs to see a psychiatrist though waiting lists are long. Go private if you can.

You can get compression sheets if she likes being hugged tightly might help

Have you tried taking her out of the house, to go and stay somewhere else? Maybe she doesn’t feel safe in your house because of the door kicking incident. I wonder if staying at the scene of a traumatic incident is causing her to stay in a trauma response?

I have two close friends with schizophrenia and this is how it started, same symptoms. 10 years later one of them is on medication (not retalin, but an anti-psychotic) and is doing much much better, almost has a normal life and a lot of support around. The other friend refused to take medication and is not doing well. It all started with hearing things that were not real and a "huge conspiracy" happening around them which had them on edge on day. To you and me this conspiracy is obvs not real for for schizophrenics it's very very real. I'm not a psychiatrist by any means but this story on this thread reminds me to my friends story too much. I'm not sure Ritalin is the right drug. Try to take your daughter to a good private psychiatrist specialising in this stuff and give her a proper diagnose. CAHMS is shyte. Our public health system is not equipped to properly deal with mental health illness.

Hi op you need that very incompetent GP to refer her to the mental health team for an assessment or you request a letter from him to get a private referral. She can have a one of assessment which is around £250 in my area.
Hopefully this is just a set back and she will settle.
Im sorry you are going through this but you are a great mum - loving patient and kind. She’s lucky to have you. 🌺

Can you change GPs once this crisis is over?

It won’t help the bigger picture but I briefly took phenergan tablets (antihistamine but heavy sedative) when I was suffering new onset insomnia.
I say briefly because they worked so well that I slept thought alarms and was out for hours. I have a high tolerance as well and can take very heavy painkillers with no issues.
You can buy it online or in pharmacy. Might be worth a try just for sleep management in the short term.
good luck. Keep pushing. You’re her mum and she isn’t well. She needs help.

Hope you both slept good OP. She felt safe with you hugging her :( I hope you get help today- and look for organic causes first ( like one ms suggests) and rule out infections/ seizures etc before seeking mental health team.

Reading this, I wonder if a weighted blanket would be helpful l, they are a bit like a big hug. I'm so sorry this is happening OP, I imagine you are beside yourself 💐I really hope you get her sorted soon! You sound like just the most amazing mum, she's so lucky to have you in her corner.

@Bepis

You need to get your daughter seen TODAY. She needs urgent mental health treatment. I know you have tried with the GP and paramedic. I appreciate your frustration but you can’t go on like this. You don’t need to be verbal to have a mental health assessment done.

You can phone 111 and say what’s happening and they should send an ambulance out for her. Get your husband to sit with her whilst you go in a quiet area and write a concise list of what’s happening. Say she’s urinating herself, pacing up and down, wanting the blinds closed all the time, checking the doors, the laughing etc. This will trigger that she needs urgent attention. I know you have done this before but you need to keep doing it until someone listens and they will. Focus on the above symptoms.

Can you get someone with a car to come round then you and your husband get her into the car and get her to A&E. It might be a struggle but it will be worth it. Once the health care professionals see her in this state then they will help.

Thinking of you all 💐

There is a wonderful group on FaceBook called Parenting Mental Health- a support group which supports YOU as you support your child. Take a look.
Also,I would definitely ask for her to see a psychiatrist. At 18 she needs to be in the adult system i'm guessing. It does sound like psychotic behaviour- when my DS was diagnosed with psychosis, I was horrified/ terrified ..... but on reading around the subject, it's usually nowhere near as bad as I initially thought....

@Bepis I hope you feel a little stronger knowing how many people here care so much about you and your child and your situation. Your child is lucky to have you. Truly great people never show more courage than when they are at the very brink of despair and keep moving forward. Even the worst storms can be navigated safely, just look at those 'Deadliest Catch' Alaskan fishermen out in the Bering Sea.