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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by emmanuel98 on December 13, 2011, at 19:14:09
My 23 year old nephew has been living with his older brother and unable to hold a job. His brother called their father (my brother) to tell him something was very wrong. Apparently, my younger nephew (I'll call him Jim) started banging on their downstairs neighbors' door because he kept hearing them saying negative things about him. Jim told his father that he has been hearing voices telling him to kill himself. He was committed for a week to a locked ward and my brother is bringing him home when he gets out. They have prescribed risperidone and ativan. I hope these help. Jim has had two traumatic brain injuries, the first when his drunken, psychotic mother drove in the wrong lane and killed the driver in the oncoming car. Jim crashed into (but not through) the windshield. He was nine and not wearing a seat belt. But my brother told me the doctors are less concerned about that and more about the fact that his birth mother is psychotic and delusional.
This is very sad. Jim has always been a weird, interior, shy kid. He is an amazingly talented guitarist, but unable to connect with others to make music. His older brother thinks he has lost jobs because he talks to himself.
I told my brother to try and find an older psychiatrist, one who did therapy and meds. Older p-docs were generally trained at hospitals where they worked closely with schizophrenic patients and helped them learn to talk about and control their delusions.
Posted by sleepygirl2 on December 13, 2011, at 22:16:39
In reply to nephew may be schizophrenic, posted by emmanuel98 on December 13, 2011, at 19:14:09
I'm sorry to hear that :-(
I hope he keeps his interest in guitar. It can really help.
I hope he finds some good and solid treatment now, and a lot of support too.
Posted by Phillipa on December 14, 2011, at 10:17:34
In reply to nephew may be schizophrenic, posted by emmanuel98 on December 13, 2011, at 19:14:09
Emmanuel maybe post on med board also. How does a schizophrenic learn to control voices? Is that possible? I always thought the meds did that. Funny how the pdocs I worked with never used this approach but then don't know what the treatment after discharge was. Phillipa
Posted by Dinah on December 29, 2011, at 22:33:19
In reply to nephew may be schizophrenic, posted by emmanuel98 on December 13, 2011, at 19:14:09
I have some schizophrenic (or possibly bipolar with delusions) relatives. My aunt, when she took her meds regularly, lived a normal life. When she didn't, it wasn't as positive an outcome. My other aunt is also meds compliant, but I have two cousins who aren't. Frankly, their lives aren't all that pleasant. However, they have more problems than schizophrenia. While all of them have spent time in mental hospitals, I think the emphasis has been more on meds than therapy. I agree with you that a combination would be more helpful. It's a chronic illness, and learning to cope with it and adapt is as important as medications.
It's scary, and it's certainly not what any parent hopes for with a child. But hopefully they can resist the stereotypes and treat it as matter-of-factly as possible.
He sounds like a good kid. I hope he responds well to treatment, and can learn strategies to cope.
This is the end of the thread.
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