[jazzmk]

Hi,

I just came across the website and forum and decided to post and reach out. I'm 32, got married last December to my beautiful girlfriend. She has recently told me that she has been hearing voices for the last 2 years (so onset would be 30). She told me this about 6 weeks ago. Since then things have gone from bad to worse. Things have been getting worse for her, the voices telling her to kill herself, increased paranoid behaviour and very high anxiety and depression. She has been in a local mental heath hospital for nearly a month now and she is on aripiprazole, Quetiapine, temazepam for sleep and lorazepam when she needs. I can't remember the exact doses as I'm writing this after an exhausting day. We had an brain CT scan tomorrow as she has been experiencing bad headaches. She has been very distressed today - uncontrollable sobbing and feelings of guilt for 'putting me through this'. The early intervention team are wonderful. My wife as been with me and staying at our home over the weekend, they supplied all the meds and we had to return back for obs once a day. She seemed at her wits end today, I've never seen her this distressed with the voices. They are constantly telling her that she is a bad person, that she doesnt deserve to live and that everything that has gone wrong in her life is entirely her fault.

We haven't been given a diagnosis but they seem to be treating her for Schizophrenia. Does the above situation ring home for anyone? I'm completely in the dark with mental illness, I've been fortunate to have never suffered from it nor has my immediate, blood related family. I'm doing my best to help her cope with it but I am unsure as to how to talk to her about the voices.

Any advice on the particular meds she is on, what she is going through and how I can help her would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

-Wayne

[iris]

Hi jazzmk,

My husband is schizophrenic. It did take over two years of working with the mental health team and several assessments and stays in hospital to eventually get this diagnosis. I have now established that my husband hears three, sometimes four different voices. One of these voices says all the same things you have described your wife is experiencing... it's all his fault, he's a bad person, he doesn't deserve to live, he's destroying everyone's life. He to becomes extremely distressed with these voices at times. Sometimes they make him very angry, other times he will cry. Sometimes they drive him so mad he will start hitting his head. He often describes it as intense pain when the voices are at their worst.

So, yes some of what your saying does ring true. It sounds like you're getting really good help from the medical professionals, which is a real positive. I spent a long time battling with the mental health teams to get any real diagnosis or help for my husband. I'm sure that as soon as they have a diagnosis they will inform you, but I think it can take some time.

As for meds, my husband has been on aripiprazole on two seperate occasions. This drug really didn't work well for him. He became even more irritable with intense mood swings, and was even more angry than usual. So on both occasions I had him taken off them pretty quick. One of his current meds is quetiapine. This one seems to be working much better than any of the meds he's had in the past. Though it doesn't get rid of the voices, it does make him much more calm and relaxed, and helps him get a few hours sleep most nights. He was taking small doses of this drug throughout the day as well, but it was making him so sleepy, almost zombie like, that we stopped it. Now I just give it to him occasionally when things are really bad. I've had to give it to him today, so I should have a quieter day today... good thing too coz I'm drowning in an assignment due tomorrow. My experience with medications is that it may take several different attempts to find something that helps enough to counterbalance any side effects. I always monitor my husband carefully when he changes medications or dosage, so that I can well inform his doctors of how it's affecting him. Other than that, I put my trust in his doctors.

My husband has been suffering with this for five years now, and it's only the last few weeks I've actually managed to start talking to him about the voices. This isn't because of my husband, more down to me. Joining this forum has helped gain a better perspective and I've found it easier to talk to him. I've taken a softly, softly approach. Asking questions about what his experiencing both when he's been in the swings of an episode, and when he's been feeling ok. Sometimes he'll tell me something, other times he won't. But over the last few weeks I've managed to put together a much better picture of things, ready to tell his doctor. It's made things easier for me to, as I'm understanding it a bit better. I've started keeping a journal of the things he says, how he's feeling, what he eats, if he sleeps etc, which is proving worthwhile.

I don't know if any of this is any help. I'm afraid, as yet, I haven't really found a way to help my husband. When he's going through this nothing that I say or do makes things any easier for him, or me. I just keeping talking to the doctors and asking questions.

Hope you manage to get some of the answers you need. Take care x

[manic666]

if you wifes illness in is fairly new an not been long term .Med trails will take place till they find the one that helps, Its a stressfull time as the look to find the stasblizer for you wife, every one is different when it comes to meds what works for 1 is bad for another. So the rule of thumb is worse before better on most mental ill medications. So hang in with your wife an ride the storm, SHE WILL FIND A MED

[iris]

Hi manic... you describe the medications as a 'stabilzer'. Are these medications designed to stabilze the symptoms? Do any of them actually stop the voices, or other symptoms? Thanks x

[manic666]

IRIS my illness is not schizophrenia so i carnt answer as well as other,s but all meds for mental illness are to get you to a level that you feel better an can cope. You can loose the voicies on meds yes , but relaspe is always a threat . The docs will look to stablize first an possible remmisiom. but im no expert , someone will answer when they see your post

[iris]

Thanks manic x

[summer]

My son was sectioned over 10 years ago for 6 months when he was 22, and was put on several different meds until they found the right one for him, he has been on olanzapine for 10 years now and does not complain about voices any more but does have mood swings at times but on the whole he seems stable, and mostly happy.

When he was in hospital he found it really hard and at times seemed to get worse not better,the voices really took over at times, but once he was home with us he made much better progress.

Hope things go well with your girlfriend

[jazzmk]

Thank you guys for all the responses. My wife is back home now being visited by the Crisis Team daily. She had 1 good week and has now relapsed. She is still at home at the moment and hope she stays here...It is very difficult though. She keeps saying things like 'dont be sad if I die' and, 'please make sure you donate my body to science when I die'. She cries a great deal and has so many things pent up that she simply cannot tell me. I dont push her but I really feel she needs to let a lot of stuff out to someone...a psychologist perhaps. These drugs are good and well but I'm convinced they are not the answer to her problems...

[manic666]

jazzmk, on 22 April 2012 - 10:57 PM, said:

Thank you guys for all the responses. My wife is back home now being visited by the Crisis Team daily. She had 1 good week and has now relapsed. She is still at home at the moment and hope she stays here...It is very difficult though. She keeps saying things like 'dont be sad if I die' and, 'please make sure you donate my body to science when I die'. She cries a great deal and has so many things pent up that she simply cannot tell me. I dont push her but I really feel she needs to let a lot of stuff out to someone...a psychologist perhaps. These drugs are good and well but I'm convinced they are not the answer to her problems...

They really dont look behond there nose in hospital, just mess with your meds a bit, see a consutant once a week an send you home with nothing other than a experiece in hospital sat in a chair. Loads are not ready to be home like your wife, but have nobody to help her full time in hospital so they send her home still feeling lost, maybe more so than before hospital. then they send in the crisis team ???? i would sooner stick pin.s in my eye,s than lsten to them

[eyewashere]

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[firemonkey]

http://www.mhfa.com...._guidelines.pdf

[iris]

Hi jazzmk... I hope you and your wife are having a better week this week. My husband has been through several periods of time when he's seen the crisis team daily over the last few years. I know that it's not for everyone, but having the crisis team visit my husband in our home on a daily basis has generally always been really positive and helpful. He always seems to appreciate having someone there to talk to and it does seems to help stabilise the situation. It's always good for me too, as they've always been good at checking how I am and help me and my husband communicate when emotions are running high. I too believe my husband would really benefit from talking to someone that he can be honest and open with. He only says so much to me because he doesn't want to burden or scare me. This is something I've been battling for a long time. His Doctor tells me that any kind of counciling or talk therapy isn't available on the NHS in our area. He has been referred to several charities for counciling, but we never seem to hear anything back from them. I still think it would really help him to have someone to talk to.

I hope things are ok with you and the crisis team have been able to hep in some way. Take care x