Shit. My mum is losing the plot.

[charliecat]

This has been going on for the past year or so, she has a neighbour who when he first moved in, was noisy, keeping her up at night etc and driving her up the wall.
Nwow he is quiet, but she has came COMPLETELY obsessed with him.
Her whole life is about him.
The most extreme example I can give you is one day in her garden , she was pottering, and the neighbour shut his window and left his flat, and in her head he had been watching her, was irritated her so she followed him in her car with intention of running him over.
Now all he had ACTUALLY done was shut his window and left his flat, the rest was imaginary, in her head.
She has just popped by my house, she couldnt ring me because he would hear...shes been racking in his bins.
Ive just rang her best mate, and I said asd long as she doesnt run his over or go to his door and its all in her head its ok.
She said its too late, she went up to his door and tryed to kick it in.
My brother has paranoid schizophrenia. Even when hes ranting saying hes going to kill people they dont section him.
How can I make mum see the irrationalness of all of this?
Hes quiet....because hes listening to her. ARGH
Its not him, its her.

My late mum was schizophrenic and my ds also.
I know the fear are helplessness around a loved one when they are having an episode is dreadful. I think contacting the gp is a good idea but to also say to really try and mind yourself in all of this too. Easier said than done I know when if like me you sometimes felt you wold go out of your own mind with worry.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that as much as you can help your mum you need to mind you too. I really hope things improve for you.
x

i know BUT he won't be able to do anything at 545 whereas if you called now she could be assessed this afternoon, calmly. after 5 there are only emergemcy services and it will be more of a palaver for the Gp but also for your mum.

honestly he will thank you if you call now rather than sort it out at 545 (have has this situation many times and always wishe they had called earlier in the day)

i know it has been going on for months but these situations can change quickly, and sometimes you cabn't predict what is going to tip her over the edge

chances are the weekend will be the same as last, and it can wait till monday but please call now...surely its not going to do any harm....

they will do something with her - they will perform a risk assessment which you or she can't do and is vital

honestly if i was her GP i would much prefer to know now rather than after 5

i think luvaduck sounds an excellent gp

nobody actually noticed i was partuclarly un well

but then i do a good line in appearing to be well

and yes alcohol will have a weirdy affect

strange to start on home brew does she make it?

she does sound like she is behaving oddly

you need to put all this info together as it is serious

the sum of the parts will make a lot greater impact

this is how i am being referred gp thought you are fine then i told him a few other things andhe sort of changed his tune to a i shall write for a psychiatric appointment

i am waiting for one now, which is taking weeks but then i am not psychotic or delsuional

your mum sounds like she has flipped however

she must be shit scared

Just try to have as much info about your Mum to hand as you can. Esp about her state of mind.

No-one can know what it is - I would hope that the doc would want to see her to do a full check-up.

my mum thought she heard voices, regularly spoke to herself in vicious argument type whispers. everyone had an ulteriour motive. she particularly thought that unnamed people or organisations were keeping tabs on her via something like radio waves.

eventually one day when my twins were little she walked to my house and just sobbed - i thought she was going to tell me she had cancer - instead she told us that there were people listening to her through the walls.

DH bless him, went and stayed at her house - and bless him again - apart from the odd pointed look in my direction - never mentioned it again.

it turned out she had undiagnosed tinitus - along with a predisposition i imagine to paranoia - she translated the noise she heard into people listening to her with radio waves - that didn't reach her when she was in the town centre ( becuase there was a lot of noise to mask it you see!!

yes thyroid problems can cause mental health problems - usually its overactive but she could be on the wrong dose of her throid meds making her falsely overactive and this can def casue these symptoms

(if its the one that makes her thin ten its overactive anyway)

mention this to GP as well in case he doesn't have it clerly in the notes or deson't make the connection

the hardest thing was other people saw her as eccentric

only dh & i knew my mum was a loon. when social services came to visit her to do an assessment - as long as she could look after herself there was nothing further they could do

if ypou havethoughts in your head you cant get rid of then alcohol helps

so does moving

is she agitated and going out a lot or from room to room?

it wont do any harm to see what you can do anyway

Custy It's a fu*kin cruel illness.

Please contact your mother's GP.

Overactive thyroid aka thyrotoxicosis makes you thin and can affect your mental health significantly although really you should get in touch with them anyway.

I contacted my mum's GP when I had concerns about her mental health, did the same as bosdsybritches wiuth her friend, rang and said "Look I know that you can't tell me anything but I need to tell you x, y, z because I think that she's hiding things from you". It was very helpful. please do it.

I may regret this but im not ringing again eeek sorry. I am going to see her this afternoon. And then talking to him later.
If she hasnt of popped in this am, if I hadnt of rung her mate this would have be any other friday morning.....
Zippi, because you are already in the system dont you get a quicker appointment God
Shes not scared, I dont think, because it all real to her.
The brew is berrys and ???? dunno.

oh thanks zippi!

(i agree there are some shit ones out there...if i had my way i would sack um...but presented with these set of symptoms if a doc didn't act they are not competent)

She doesnt sit down. Sometimes she looks rough as shit, other times realy good. Not sure what thts dependant on.
Jeesus custardo

im not in the system

Not literally, I mean you have been to the docs before about it, saw people? Does that not mean you get saw sooner than someone who hasnt?

if i were you i would do this

call gp back and say
i think my mum is having paranoid delusions and i thought you would like to know about it now rather than wait until our phone appt after 5

oh and she has thryoid problems could this be relevant

and then say exactly what you have done here (write iy down before?)

sorry for sounding bossy

must go now but good luck

she will get well again

does she listen to music or anything

if she needs to be on the move then that is a symptom too

does she talk a lot?

Oh luvduck you are right, and I probably should. Doc has surgery this afternoon and will be busy..frowning to myself at making up excuses for him...
If I hadnt saw the state of my brother and the lack of jumping to help him, I would, but I know what they dont do. Thank You though.

forgot to add - communication with her impossible

the radio waves down the phone listening to her you see.

she wouldnt have a telly - same reason.

well no i am not even in the system that much

i am just a regular punter

hopefully it could just be that her mediaction for her thyroid is messing her up

think what a difference it could make if it was that and it got adjusted

but also it could be loads of things and perhaps solved quite easilyu?

we wish anyway

Shes not particularly manic ( I am!) shes on the go all the time tho. its ME who cant be dealing with life without music on to distract my thoughts..ARghh....worry about that later
God she has NO idea that im about to completelty fuck up her life has she.

you're not you wil make ity loads better
in a few motnhs she will thank you

i know how you feel with your brother too

exdps brother has schizophrneia and we spent 8 nyears trying to get him the help he needed during which time he was imprisoned rather than hepled ...and then a long spell in secure psychitric..its very hard all this stuff

you go round in circles

well i would be more than slightly put out if my dd1 started contacting my gp

but she doesnt have to

thats the difference

If mum had the slightest idea that was out of the range of normality, if she could be persuauded just for moment that she was being an ICKLE bit irrational I would leave her to it, but theres nothing there to grasp to al all. She is NEVER going to go to the docs with this problem because she doesnt know she has one.
My brother, apart from at the height of a delusion, knows he is ill. Knows hes not wuite thinking straight, is aware that hes not on the same wavelenght as others. And its easier to deal with.
Mums on a different planet.