Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 1120356

Shown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

questions about inpatient treatment

Posted by Roslynn on August 15, 2022, at 17:13:13

Hi everyone,

I am not planning on inpatient treatment at this time but was wondering what it is like nowadays.

Do they change your meds however they see fit or do you/your doctor have any input?

If you take your meds in with you do they confiscate them? Do you get them back?

Would they take you off meds you've been on a long time without regard for withdrawal side effects?

What would they do to treat you if you've already tried basically all meds, TMS etc.?

Also,
Do they let you keep your phone or other electronics?

Is it true that they lock you out of your room after breakfast so you can't stay in your room during the day?

Obviously I have heard a lot of horror stories. I suppose some of this depends on the quality of the institution.

Any feedback welcome and thank you!

Roslynn

 

Re: questions about inpatient treatment

Posted by undopaminergic on August 16, 2022, at 8:42:31

In reply to questions about inpatient treatment, posted by Roslynn on August 15, 2022, at 17:13:13

> Hi everyone,
>
> I am not planning on inpatient treatment at this time but was wondering what it is like nowadays.
>
> Obviously I have heard a lot of horror stories. I suppose some of this depends on the quality of the institution.
>

Exactly. Different institutions are qualitatively different. So are different wards that are part of the same institution.

Pretty much all the horror stories are true of different hospitals, or have been true in certain eras. They don't do lobotomies any more, for example.

In my experience, all of them are in love with neuroleptics, though Thorazine (chlorpromazine) is not popular any more. On the other hand, I did receive haloperidol for a short period.

> Do they change your meds however they see fit or do you/your doctor have any input?
>

I'm sure this varies, including depending on whether you have some kind of agreement on the matter prior to being admitted.

> If you take your meds in with you do they confiscate them? Do you get them back?
>

I only brought my meds once. I was not allowed to keep them at my room, but I got them back upon leaving.

> Would they take you off meds you've been on a long time without regard for withdrawal side effects?
>

Some of them definitely do. In my experience, they cared little about what medications I had been on. Once, they did continue lamotrigine at a familiar dose. So this varies.

> What would they do to treat you if you've already tried basically all meds, TMS etc.?
>

They choose one of their favourite neuroleptics and put you on it. OK, that's a bit of a parody, but it's partly true. Often, I did have some choice in the matter of which one of them, eg. telling them I had used X or Y in the past, or that I didn't fare well on Z. In my experience they are bad at following up on how the medications are working, except probably if you have florid symptoms that are easy to spot the presence of absence of.

> Also,
> Do they let you keep your phone or other electronics?
>

It varies. On my current ward I'm allowed all of the electronics, including my computer and Internet. A lot of wards don't allow it however, and one of the wards I've been on a lot didn't allow phones except in a particular "phone room" which only one patient at a time could use.

> Is it true that they lock you out of your room after breakfast so you can't stay in your room during the day?
>

Again, it varies. Nowhere where I've been did they lock you out for the whole day, but on one ward they said they used to do it in the 80s. On some other wards I've been, they locked you out for a shorter period of time, but it was still always annoying.

> Any feedback welcome and thank you!

You're welcome.

A couple of more things:

On some wards, they require you to do certain chores in the name of so-called "rehabilitation". This is particularly true of wards for patients who are in a relatively good shape (stable, non-suicidal, non-psychotic, etc.). These same wards are also the most open and permissive ones. And these same wards are less likely to lock you out of your room.

You may already be familiar with this from your experience with doctors in general, but most of them are not very empathic or understanding, and they don't take you very seriously. One example from my experience is when I complained, with emphasis, about choking on food from the clozapine and that I wanted to switch, the doctor just brushed it off and didn't seem to care. In retrospect, I should have refused to go on clozapine to begin with. So make sure you have an advance agreement about stopping a medication trial if you find the adverse effects too bad.

-undopaminergic

 

Re: questions about inpatient treatment » undopaminergic

Posted by Roslynn on August 16, 2022, at 17:05:10

In reply to Re: questions about inpatient treatment, posted by undopaminergic on August 16, 2022, at 8:42:31

Thank you for the information, very helpful. Good luck with your current treatment.

 

Re: questions about inpatient treatment

Posted by Hugh on August 18, 2022, at 23:36:58

In reply to questions about inpatient treatment, posted by Roslynn on August 15, 2022, at 17:13:13

I'd recommend reading Voluntary Madness by Norah Vincent. She describes her inpatient experiences at three different facilities. The first one is public and urban; the second one is private and rural; the third one is private and suburban.

https://www.amazon.com/Voluntary-Madness-Mental-Healthcare-System/dp/0143116851

Vincent also wrote a book called Self-Made Man. In it, she describes her experiences passing as a man for a year. Vincent was a wonderful writer. I say "was" because it was just announced today that she died last month.

 

Re: questions about inpatient treatment

Posted by rjlockhart37 on August 20, 2022, at 16:44:49

In reply to Re: questions about inpatient treatment, posted by Hugh on August 18, 2022, at 23:36:58

i went into a rough psych, i was there for 2 days, they didnt treat me and then ripped me off diazepam and nuvigil, when the whole point of going in there was to gt sleep. They ignored any of my statements that i could not sleep, until 2 days later i saw nurse practitioner. She skyrocked me on librium, because i was manic and near having siezure activty from phenibut witbhdrawl. Yes, they did rip me off meds they didnt want, they just....didnt do it, ignored and annoyed at any request for help. That was a rough psych, im sure others are more that are much less toxic than that one

 

Re: questions about inpatient treatment » Hugh

Posted by Roslynn on August 20, 2022, at 17:01:46

In reply to Re: questions about inpatient treatment, posted by Hugh on August 18, 2022, at 23:36:58

>

Thank you for the suggestion!


I'd recommend reading Voluntary Madness by Norah Vincent. She describes her inpatient experiences at three different facilities. The first one is public and urban; the second one is private and rural; the third one is private and suburban.
>
> https://www.amazon.com/Voluntary-Madness-Mental-Healthcare-System/dp/0143116851
>
> Vincent also wrote a book called Self-Made Man. In it, she describes her experiences passing as a man for a year. Vincent was a wonderful writer. I say "was" because it was just announced today that she died last month.

 

Re: questions about inpatient treatment » rjlockhart37

Posted by Roslynn on August 20, 2022, at 17:03:06

In reply to Re: questions about inpatient treatment, posted by rjlockhart37 on August 20, 2022, at 16:44:49

Thank you for your feedback, I wish it went better for you.

 

Re: questions about inpatient treatment » Roslynn

Posted by beckett2 on August 20, 2022, at 23:14:26

In reply to questions about inpatient treatment, posted by Roslynn on August 15, 2022, at 17:13:13

Since everything you mention varies depending on the program, you could put out feelers for potential inpatient programs you'd prefer. The one facility in my town has a terrible reputation. Another in the next county, which I went to, was great, with a less restrictive environment. TV was always available until 10pm and we could select the show. I didn't need to give up the safety pin holding my shorts, as I needed to in another program. That was nice.

I didn't have my phone. That might be a standard. But I had desk phone use and visitors.

 

Re: questions about inpatient treatment

Posted by Lamdage22 on August 23, 2022, at 4:46:22

In reply to questions about inpatient treatment, posted by Roslynn on August 15, 2022, at 17:13:13

If you are not suicidal, you could go to a place where people go that aren't suicidal. That should give you more freedoms. Are you suicidal?

 

Re: questions about inpatient treatment

Posted by rjlockhart37 on August 23, 2022, at 9:39:39

In reply to Re: questions about inpatient treatment » rjlockhart37, posted by Roslynn on August 20, 2022, at 17:03:06

it depends on the hospital you go too, most psychs that are covered by good insurance are good, but the ones are not, when i went into this hospital, i kept saying i cannot sleep, they said ok we'll get you a doctor, no doctor, for 2 days. I fianlly went nuts, i didnt go nuts on puprose, i was taking phenibut, its a depressant that's buy and i was having withdrawls from it. They had no idea what it was, so they brushed off my sayings, i went manic, out of my mind, they finally forced a nurse practintion to see me, she said you manic - and siezure threshold was going, they skyrocked me on librium, its a benzo they use for drug withdrawl, its an old benzo and it's potency is low. They put me on twice the max dose, and it took about a day to come back down to earth. I met some very intresting people also, at least i know im not all so crazy. But, the hospital was a adequate one, and it is a good hospital, but the staff and their attitude towards treatment is shadey, maybe not to everyone but defiently to me. I hated that hospital, it's for the metroplex around where i live, so it's one of the hospitals that treates the metroplex, they were not a high funded hospital. Anyways, you should find a good one, do background check and reviews before going in. Not all hospital are toxic like that one


This is the end of the thread.


Show another thread

URL of post in thread:


Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ


[dr. bob] Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD, bob@dr-bob.org

Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.