rudiraven
06-29-2006, 11:02 AM
My nephew is currently in a mental health facility. He was taken there after being examined at a hospital where the police took him at his parents' request. He was delusional, saying he was the second son of God, that he owned a business & had hired people and was going to be a millionaire. That happened on June 6 and he's still there. He seems completely normal according to my sister except for the fact that he still believes his delusions. They had him on Zyprexa, but the doctor switched him to lithium. The first Dr. diagnosed him as Bipolar, second Dr. hasn't said yet. He's 21, dropped out of college and was working as a waiter; seemed ok, parents have been paying for everything but nagged him to return to school, etc. The Dr. said these things are mostly genetic, but we can't think of anyone in the family with these problems. How long could he remain delusional and how should we act around him. We're going up to visit this weekend. Thanks for any help and insight.:confused:
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GatsbyLuvr1920
06-29-2006, 11:51 AM
Definitely sounds like classic bipolar mania to me. I think it was very wise that the doctors switched him to Lithium, which works wonders for people with classic, "euphoric" manias. The big clue that it's mania is the grandiose delusions, such as thinking he's a millionaire. Religious delusions are also common, and almost always involve being the son of God, being Jesus, or having God or Jesus communicating directly with them. Good luck, God bless, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask! :angel:
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
rudiraven
06-29-2006, 12:32 PM
Gatsby......thanks for the speedy reply:) How long can the delusions last? My sister is feeling that they are not helping him sufficiently. She said he's really upset now and wants to leave. I think she expects the medications to work more quickly. They put him on the lithium last week. When we see him how should we react if he brings up his delusions? My husband has cancer and my nephew called our house before he was hospitalized and said he could cure him. I'm hoping he doesn't go there when we see him. Any suggestions would be appreciated:confused:
GatsbyLuvr1920
06-29-2006, 02:55 PM
The duration of the delusions really depends, but here's an important question: is his mood back to normal? You mentioned that he's been in the hospital since June 6th. In a severly acute manic patient who's having psychotic symptoms, doctors usually prescribe a heavy anti-psychotic such as Thorazine or Haldol with Lithium for about a week, and then wean the patient off of the anti-psychotic and continue the Lithium. It usually takes a couple of weeks for the patient to be brought down from their "high." However, if he's back to a normal mood, and he's still having the delusions, then that might signal that he has schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Schizoaffectives are different in the fact that they experience psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, no matter what their mood is, be if manic, depressive, or normal; bipolar patients only are psychotic if they are bipolar I and are experiencing full-blown mania. It is probably best not to encourage his delusions if he mentions them, but it also would probably not be wise to tell him that they're not true. They're very real to him, and hearing you say that you don't believe him probably would make him resent you. I'd talk to his psychiatrist about how to handle it. The thing is that you never mentioned other symptoms that he had when he first went into the hospital. Did he have any of the following: lack of sleep, flight of ideas (jumping from topic to topic so that his speech wasn't cohesive or made any sense), pressured speech (so talkative and talking so fast that you could barely understand what he was saying), going on spending sprees, feeling as if he was "on top-of-the-world" and thinking he could do anything, engaging in many different projects all at once, or feeling hypersexual? The first three are almost always seen in bipolar I mania, so if he didn't have any of these symptoms other than the grandiose delusions, then you might want to question the diagnosis. Also, if the Lithium doesn't work soon, then he may have to play around with his medications to find one that works, be it another mood stabilizer, an atypical anti-psychotic, or a combination of the two, but since he just started it a week ago, don't lose faith about the Lithium yet. Do you have any more questions? :angel:
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
rudiraven
06-29-2006, 03:58 PM
Gatsby......thanks again! Yes he did have the lack of sleep, spending spree, many projects and talking fast and loud (don't know about the hypersexual thing). He doesn't seem manic anymore, as a matter of fact my sister said you would never know he had a problem until he brings up his grandiose delusions. He also wants them to lend him money to start his million dollar business:confused: As far as being the second son of God; he said God told him he would have to suffer this persecution and disbelieving and that it would pass. I'm not aware if they gave him any other meds than the Zyprexa and now Lithium and I guess some group therapy. He's in a state facility because he has no insurance.
Sorry to ask so many questions. This is all so new to the family and I've been doing lots of internet searches, but this is the first place that I can actually talk to another person. You're an:angel:
Sorry to ask so many questions. This is all so new to the family and I've been doing lots of internet searches, but this is the first place that I can actually talk to another person. You're an:angel:
GatsbyLuvr1920
06-29-2006, 05:46 PM
Well, that's good that he had the other symptoms because that's almost surely bipolar mania, so he seems to be getting the right treatment with the Lithium. I once saw a graph of a patient with bipolar I who was being hospitalized, and it showed them slowly coming down from their "high," and how the symptoms slowly diminished. He probably is still having some hypomanic symptoms, as evidenced by him thinking that this business idea of his cannot possibly fail. It seems as if the Lithium is indeed working if a lot of his symptoms are gone. Again, if he's still having delusions in three weeks or so, then it may be time to add an atypical anti-psychotic, but the doctors seem to be taking very good care of him, medication-wise. :angel:
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
rudiraven
06-30-2006, 11:11 AM
Gatsby,
Thank you for all the information. It has helped me a great deal. I just heard they are considering transfering him to a "house" setting. Perhaps it's like a halfway house. They still have restrictions and visiting hours, so I'm not quite sure what it is. I'll keep you posted.:confused:
Thank you for all the information. It has helped me a great deal. I just heard they are considering transfering him to a "house" setting. Perhaps it's like a halfway house. They still have restrictions and visiting hours, so I'm not quite sure what it is. I'll keep you posted.:confused:
emeraldeyes114
07-02-2006, 07:29 PM
I am sorry that this has touched your lives and wish I could post something that would be more helpful but Gatsby seems to have done a very good job, as usual. :D The only thing I can say is that he needs the support and love of his family. It is good to see you are trying to get as much information as possible. I wish my own family did the same thing.
emerald
emerald