DP's Mum is self medicating with prozac...............

[swiperfox]

I wasn't sure where to put this - here, realationships, feeling depressed.....could be all of them!

DP's Mum doesn't talk to us (long and complicated). His Dad stopped talking to us as well and then he died during a cycle race 2 years ago next week. I recently started texting dp's sister (who also doesn't talk to us!) and have got her and dp talking a bit. She said that their Mum can't get over losing her husband, is very depressed, often ill and talks of jumping from the bridge - although according to dp she has always been like that and that's where he gets it from (!?!)
Anyway - I made dp call his Sister and she said that their Mum is self medicating with prozac. She takes loads when she feels down, then won't take any at all. I know this is extremely dangerous but wondered if anyone knows the exact effects this will have on her health and mentality?

No-=one will stand up to her and get her to stop it, they're all too scared of her and use the fact that they don't want to upset her as their get out clause. The only person who will stand up to her is dp, but he says that she won't listen because they haven't spoken for ages. I think he needs to forget that and get over there before she does herself some real harm......

Any advice?

information

ok well it won't help her at all because anti-depressants need time to build up in the system. prozac won't start to take effect for 2-3 weeks... so taking them like she is will have absolutely no effect on her mood at the time

i am not entirely sure how easy it is to overdose on prozac, but depending on how many she takes at a time she could be in danger of od'ing

where does she get the prozac from? is she prescribed it? if so then ring her surgery and tell them what she is doing

Cases of overdose of fluoxetine alone usually have a mild course. Symptoms of overdose have included nausea, vomiting, seizures, cardiovascular dysfunction ranging from asymptomatic arrhythmias to cardiac arrest, pulmonary dysfunction, and signs of altered CNS status ranging from excitation to coma. Fatality attributed to overdose of fluoxetine alone has been extremely rare.

She gets the prozac from the doc. She was given it pretty much straight aaway when her husband died. I don't know how many she takes when she decides to take more than she should, but it also concerns me that suddenly stopping them will cause her to be more prone to depression and anxiety etc as I know you aren't meant to just suddenly stop taking them when you feel like it. Do you think if dp rings her doc they will discuss it with him? I should ring my Mum about that really, she's a medical secretary.
Sorry thinking out loud now! So it is likely that she is 'often ill' because of the erratic way she is taking them?

I think she's also on beta blockers for a thyroid problem which she's been on for years - would the combination of those and too many prozac make her very ill?

it certainly won't help... it depends HOW she is taking them

ie, if she takes a load for 2 days and then stops then it is unlikely to affect her.

but if she was taking it for a month or so and ten stopped suddenly then yes, it could make her feel a lot worse

True.

Does it sound like we should intervene or just let it go?

Personally, I would try and intervene. It is clear she needs help, but it's whether she would accept it?

She will do her utmost not to accept it. For definate. So do we skip going to her and call her docs I wonder?

It might be an idea. They could at least give advice, and would be aware of the situation then.

if the family won't do anything then def go to her GP

I don't feel able to tell you what to do swiper, but will tell you what I would have done if I had known what was going on with my Mum.

She was prescribed prozac during a particularly bad period in her life (my Dad went bankrupt, stressful court proceedings, they lost everything etc).

2 years after losing her home etc, she committed suicide.

I found out after that she had "stopped and started" her medication during this time and at the inquest into her death, this was raised as a possible contributory factor to her death. It was a very low dose and tbh, she needed more than popping a pill each day to help her through (she'd already had a pretty tough life and this was the last straw). However, clearly, doing this with her medication was considered not to be a good idea.

If I had known this was going on I would have had no hesitation in asking to see her GP to try to get her more help. She so desperately needed it.

So sorry to hear about your Mum puff, that must have been devastating. We almost certainly will do something I just didn't know if we should be going to the docs or where for help. She really isn't coping without him. He used to do cycling and raced every weekend. On the Saturday he broke the club record, on the Sunday he hit a pothole in the road ans went over the handlebars. He was fine all the way to the hosp and then suddenly collapsed so it was a massive shock to all of us. DP certainly isn't over it so can't imagine how it must be for his Mum. She's so flipping bloody minded though I know she wont let dp help her.

oh swiper. having read puff's post then definitely speak to her GP.
I Know they won't "discuss" her with you, but there is nothing to stop you telling them what she is doing with her medication

of course, if your dp would talk to her that would be good too, but bearing in mind she may take no notice i think that the GP should also be informed

Sometimes things go beyond the remit of what family can cope with, but the individual's GP may not be aware of how badly depressed their patient is, and therefore information from family members becomes extremely important.

You're so right Puff. Will tell dp to get on the case first thing monday morning

Probably would benefit from referral to a community nurse. They can be a real help.

Let us know how he gets on.

Good luck.

Very good luck.