so. mental hospital.

[APieOfButter]

what do i need to k ow?
only going to here for a few days.

[APieOfButter]

ive asked for leave tonight, but am caught in a bit of a catch 22 in that i want leave because it is so busy in here, but the dr is too busy to grant leave. sigh. have read tge entire new statesman while waiting, and would have gone to buy the guardian if id known it would be this long.

seriously, it is like what youd imagine the stereotypical mental ward to be. lots of shouting and people running about crying, the poor dr is run off his feet, i feel mean putting something else on his plate, but if i am to meet dh in town, i need to set off in next 10 minutes.

sigh. not going to happen, is it?

v frustrating, esp as technically i am legally allowed to leave, it seems farcical that if i walked out tge door, they say they would call the police, when i am genuinely fully aware and no more mental than i was this time two weeks ago.

this is not mental, is it?

[nickschick]

How are you? never been in your situation but i think sometimes im more needy of it than you ....speaking as someone who gets knocked out by 2 sudafed you seem really more on form now and im sure it wont be long until youre home -dont stress too much about the getting out part its really only the blink of an eye in what will be the rest of a healthy life for you.

[APieOfButter]

sigh. still not asleep. fire alarm, fights, screaming, midnight feast (admittedly i was part of that) shouting etc.

now i bet they wont let me home because im going high. if i was at home now id be fine.

[madmouse]

Pie if you're high in hospital you're going to be high at home too - I'm sure you will get home as soon as it is safe x

[APieOfButter]

Well. Ive escaped. Kind of. Told them i was going on day leave and rang them from home and said ill be back for the review tomorrow pm.
At home now, feeling much calmer.

[nickschick]

Keep it up APie x

[cityhobgoblin]

Sorry so chaotic at night you couldn't sleep , apie , & the food is inedible compared to the meals you had after giving birth - don't let them say you're being fussy if it absolutely revolts you . Hope you've eaten well at home.

I saw your thread in AIBU & am very concerned they'll tell you today that they'll section you if won't take quetiapine whilst a voluntary inpatient - not even taking it at home / agreeing to depot ...I know it would be an outrage but have known this happen , & the detested MH Act of a few years ago is absolutely Victorian , with people sectioned far more often than they were 10-15 years ago , so be very cautious - some MH staff take a great dislike to their bright & indepenent - thinking clients , usually totally unconsciously of course . You sound intelligent , humourous & quirky & I really think that puts you at extra risk of those traits being interpreted as symptoms of illness

Your "escape" esterday and your suggestng off your own back that you take valproate rather than quetiapine (whilst on ward ), on top of blood test problems , make you that bit more vulnerable to being unfairly seen as uncooperative , but with luck sense will prevail - just be prepared to compromise most unfairly to keep your freedomm , sorry to repeat the advice of others ..

[cityhobgoblin]

sorry , sp

[chimchar]

thinking of you apie. hope you're feeling much better very soon. x

[APieOfButter]

Discharged :) will update fully later, but no new drugs, diagnosis of bipolar (with a random query of personality disorder that he sprung on us, but we can sort that out later) a couple of patronising explanations and a reassurance that i was a 'model patient'. Which was nice.

[cityhobgoblin]

Brilliant! Hope you have a peaceful time catching up on loved ones , good food and quiet time to yourself .

[Putthatbookdown]

rig ht do you trust us now? Glad you have medication.Now, once fully discharged you will be seen by MH usually a psychiatist in about 6 weeks.If your meds are no good demand something else .In order not to be sectioned you will need to go for regular appointments usually every 3- 6 months : if you do this they will not section you.You must go to the appointmets as they suggest

[Jannie49]

I was in local mental health unit voluntarily in 2003 for approx 10 days with the requirement I spend a further 2 weeks at parents house. Mainly depression, anxiety, self harm, addictions, suicide attempts, one only 3 days previously yet the inpatient stay still had to begged by my drug counsellor, I know they are trying to treat as much as possible out in the community, but me and my counsellor both knew that i wouldnt be here today had I been refused and sent home! I had a few issues with local mental health care as you can imagine.
Anyway, it was ok, 4 bedded room but had a bad first night, bags werent routinely checked, but they checked mine when they caught me trying to cut wrist with nail scissors on 10 min obs!
It does depend on what area you live on facilities available. There was nothing to do when I was in then several years later a volunteer service was set up which I started working for.
I now work helping to run a mental health drop in group not associated with the MHU but do still do some one-to-one befriending support.
I have also felt patronised, sometimes feel like saying "Ive had mental health issues NOT learning difficulties," as some people, even mental health staff assume that negative mental health equals low intelligence!
I probably have more qualifications than they do! Ive also met plenty of other highly intelligent service users/in patients/ex service users in my work.
Anyway you should always be involved and informed of any decisions concerning your health care/care plans/ discharge arrangements with your wants and needs taken into consideration. Also doctors/consultants/psychs should talk TO you not over you, how patronising and offensive!
Hope everything goes ok.

[Putthatbookdown]

JANNIE47 How do they diagnose people in hospital? My friend was sectioned but they could not come up with an assessment so she was released She has refused to ever go back -worst of all she is on the wrong medication.She does not have a mental illness like bipolar They took her off her meds that she liked and she takes some stuff but it does not work very well Can you help?

[Jannie49]

Sorry your friend has had some problems getting the correct diagnosis. When seeing any mental healthcare workers for an assessment/diagnosis they will talk to the person, ask questions, how they are feeling, any previous problems/issues/meds taken etc.
Could you tell me what issues she was experiencing at the time plus what led to the section in the first place? Something has to happen to lead to a section being enforced, usually the person being at considerable risk to themselves or others and as I said in my post isnt taken lightly these days.
You havent said what medication she is taking but it may be inappropriate or too high/low a dose for her particular problems and issues or that it just isnt working for her and she needs to try something different.
Has she had a diagnosis previous to the section?
If she feels, as often I did at the time, that she isnt getting the help and support she needs she must go to her GP and if appropriate ask if she can be referred or re-referred, if thats the case, to the Mental Health Team in her area. Would you or someone else be able to go with her and offer support? She also needs to stress that the new medication isnt working for her.
Many people, just as an example, have to try several anti-depressants before finding one that works well. Maybe they will put her back on the original medication if she feels that worked well.
Good luck and let us know how your friend gets on.
PS: Sorry for late reply but just had a major gynae op, (Thurs,) discharged Sat, this is first time on internet, bit sore n tired, all related on another thread on MN!

[APieOfButter]

The psychiratrist came out today with my cpn, he is upping my dose of lamotrigine to 200mg a day. Personally Im not convinced, but no harm in giving it a try as i don't get side effects from it.

He was talking about me having some aripiprazole at a low dose at times of crisis, but Im really reluctant to be on any antipsychotic if I can avoid it - aripiprazole was one of the ones I have tried before when I really needed it, and i still had psychotic symptoms but felt really sluggish and stupid. Not as bad as the dreaded risperidone though.

Cpn was talking about me making an advance directive, and Im going to have to leave the early intervention service soon and go to normal community mental health (hence why Im reluctant to trust any solution that relies on me getting help at the first sign of a relapse). Also talk of how to manage further relapses, if I need to go back into hospital etc.

I don't want further relapses.

But, in positive news, the dr was the first one ever (despite my repeated questions) to tell me that pregnancy and breastfeeding has a protective effect against these kinds of illnesses. Not that I can have more babies, but is a relief that i wasnt making it up.

Meh. This new dr says it would be unethical to prescribe valporate, but he did give another reason, which was a higher risk of polycystic ovaries. So Im kind of ok with that.

So basically, I agree to the aripriprazole, or take my chances with just a higher dose of lamotrigine. Severely reduced general quality (and length) of life, or the risk of a sudden relapse to severe mental illness every couple of months? Of course, the relapses might never happen, but by the way everyone was talking today (and how I was a few months after stopping bf) they seem likely.

What's better, a mum who is never really there, slow and stupid and unhealthy, or a mum that, given the wrong combination of bad sleep, food, brain chemistry and circumstances that might never happen but could, might suddenly be in hospital? But is relatively energetic, creative and proactive most of the time?

I wanted to home educate. I breastfed past 1y. I bake them bread and grow thier vegetables. I order in liberal picture books and take them to museums. I sit stroking thier heads all night if they can't sleep. I'm a good mum. I'm a brilliant mum. I'm being asked to give that up, so I can take a drug I know doesn't work for me. Or I can carry on as a ticking timebomb. Thing is, I believe the drs now that they are the options.

It's not fair.

[dontrunwithscissors]

I'm a little confused, to be honest. You said you'd give the increased lamotrigine a go as it doesn't come with any severe side effects (which is my experience, too, although I'm only on 125mg). Is it not possible that this might be enough to keep you stable most of the time? You said the aripiprazole was just for times of crisis? You can just have it sitting in your cupboard, for times when things get bad? I can more understand your reluctance to take it - I'm trying to get off quetiapine at the moment. But I'll probably keep some around, just in case. Can you give the lamotrigine a go, and see what happens from there?

I can understand why you're completely pi$$ed off, but are you sure you're not catastrophising? Perhaps I'm missing something here, but you should be able to take this in steps. Try the lamotrigine - it might work. Keep the antipsychotic around. If that doesn't happen, then you can worry about the next step. Nobody should ask you to give up being a great Mum - and even when you're ill, you're not a bad Mum, just an ill one.

[Putthatbookdown]

Jannie49-She was not really a danger etc She was sectionned for not going to mhappointments. She hadjust hadsome troubles in her life and now she says she wishes she hadkept quiet Her medication wastaken away and she refuses to go back .Her career is also ruined

[APieOfButter]

Tbh I'm doubting myself now. Everyone (even dh) is saying I wasn't well not on lamotrigine, but I remember being mostly well - I used to not use nursery, take the kids out every day, bake, sew, I was brill at my business, I socialised and I was relatively organised. Now I panic at the thought of going to the shop and I dread the two hours between nursery ending and bedtime.

[APieOfButter]

I always thought lamotrigine wasn't doing anything, good or bad, but maybe thats because I'm used to drugs that have side effects so I'm always aware I'm on them, if that makes sense.

I've had sertraline, rispirdone, aripiprazole, diazepam, lomazepam, zopiclone and quetiapine - I always get side effects. Generally I just put up with them, but maybe the fact that lamotrigine doesn't give me side effects makes me think it's not working. My favourites are the tranquillisers - I've never had them for more than a couple of days, but they give me a break, without the yucky feeling that antipsychotics give me. I couldn't be on them long term due to the sluggishness and the fact that they basically stop me thinking. Good short term in a crisis, but not good in general.

How would a temporary low dose of a drug work to contain a relatively minor mania (even the other week was v v controlled and much better than what I used to get, but back then I used to try and self medicate with drink) when none of them even stopped psychosis when taken long term on a higher dose? Now the psychosis has gone away, seems a bit daft to take rhe drug for it.

[dontrunwithscissors]

Ah, sorry, for some daft reason I was thinking you hadn't had aripiprazole, even though you said you had. I just thought a new AP might work. I'm trying to get off quetiapine so I know what you mean. I hate taking it. I'm planning on just keeping it as a back up. What about olanzapine, just as a back up to try to catch the highs before they go any further? I'm absolutely no expert whatsoever on any of this, but I thought olanzapine was known as one of the strongest AP's. (I was on a small dose of it for a while, and the muchies were crazy - I would hate to be on it for anything other than to stop a problem turning in to a crisis.)

It seems like there's quite a difference between how your DH and you remember things. I wonder why? Perhaps you're on to something with the booze - I've stopped drinking, apart from the occasional glass or two of wine, and am only just realising how much it must have affected my moods. I'm also exercising and eating well and it's doing a lot to keep me feeling stable. (I've never had anything other than mild hypomania, it's the depression that's the problem.)

Anyway, I hope you manage to find a med or lifestyle change that works for you.

[Jannie49]

Ptbd: WOW, that would never happen around here. In fact I didnt turn up to a whole series of appointments once, got several reminders, threats of discharge then finally the actual discharge letter.
No-one came and knocked on my door to see if I was well, still alive, basically, as I did have issues with self harm, suicide attempts etc.
I wasnt happy about the lack of care but wasnt ready for these appointments either at the time, I was withdrawn, spent most time at home and the appointments were early and I slept most of the day at the time. Which is why I think they tend to back off if someone is obviously not ready to access help and support.
SOMEONE should have checked at least once or offer home visits as its just by pure luck it seems Im still here today.
So it seems your friend didnt ever receive a proper diagnosis, wasnt a real danger, wasnt suffering any psychosis or mania, severe depression etc, yet she was instantly sectioned then later a medication that worked well for her was pulled?
No wonder your friend is upset and disillusioned with the care she's received. Seems to have had a complete opposite experience to the one Ive had. I had excellent care when I got it and didnt have to beg for it!

[midnightservant]

Hi BP so glad you're discharged. Will read thread properly later and see if there is anything I can add. Meanwhile, mine's a tea with no sugar x