Mental illness

[HighPitch]

I know ill regret posting this but.....

trying to be a good brother. Flew out to wyoming to spend a weekend with my paranoid schitzophrenic brother who has been off meds for 3 years. Just did 12 straight hours of listening to him ramble non stop and i mean non stop like not a single 3 second stretch of silence all day about everything from dogs hearing radio waves to ted cruz being the leader of a secret vampire cult. I wouldnt wish this torture on even a guy like hitler. Seriously, to say its exhausting is an understatement. I think i took 8 months off my life today. Have another day tomorrow then the plane ride back. I want to put a shotgun in my mouth. Im drained.

anyone else have this kind of torture in their life? Its unbearable....

[Beerfish]

23 minutes ago, HighPitch said:

I know ill regret posting this but.....

trying to be a good brother. Flew out to wyoming to spend a weekend with my paranoid schitzophrenic brother who has been off meds for 3 years. Just did 12 straight hours of listening to him ramble non stop and i mean non stop like not a single 3 second stretch of silence all day about everything from dogs hearing radio waves to ted cruz being the leader of a secret vampire cult. I wouldnt wish this torture on even a guy like hitler. Seriously, to say its exhausting is an understatement. I think i took 8 months off my life today. Have another day tomorrow then the plane ride back. I want to put a shotgun in my mouth. Im drained.

anyone else have this kind of torture in their life? Its unbearable....

Yup, also had a schizophrenic brother.  Extremely hard to deal with and you can only do so much.

[Bombdirt]

It's a frustrating situation; I've been through it myself. Mental illness is tough, since (in most situations) legally you can't force someone into treatment if they don't want to do it. 

[T0mShane]

Have a similar scenario in my own life. It’s horrible, but you have to shield yourself from it a bit or else it’ll drag your life into the toilet with theirs. I get midnight texts about “the Deep State” and about a coming “Civil War” etc etc. I try to reassure my relative that I’m there for them if they need it, and I suggest “talking to someone” as a way to work on their “anxiety.” It never works, and it won’t, but it’s all you can do. 

[The Crusher]

Yep. My Aunt. She is in her 70’s now and has been in a full care facility for 30 years. We actually moved her closer to here to try and take better care of her.

I have found it easier to visit her a few more times and just keep the time of the visits for a shorter duration. It’s really sad and very taxing at times.

Hardest part for me are those times she still shows a little bit of herself and then she totally disappears into her illness like she was never there. As she aged it’s got even more difficult. Prayers and patience to anyone going through this. 

[HighPitch]

Wow no dickhead comments. 

Thanks. 

Yes its awful. And like stated, they are adults and cant be forced into anything. The most peaceful years weve had was when hes been locked up in a mental hospital for 6 or 7 years. 

Sad that you have to hope he slugs a cop again to get him back in there. Ive evn considered smashing my face into a wall and calling the cops to claim he tried to kill me.. But im a pu==y

[RutgersJetFan]

4 hours ago, HighPitch said:

Wow no dickhead comments.

It's been tempting.

[Thai Jet]

8 hours ago, HighPitch said:

Wow no dickhead comments. 

Thanks. 

Yes its awful. And like stated, they are adults and cant be forced into anything. The most peaceful years weve had was when hes been locked up in a mental hospital for 6 or 7 years. 

Sad that you have to hope he slugs a cop again to get him back in there. Ive evn considered smashing my face into a wall and calling the cops to claim he tried to kill me.. But im a pu==y

So sorry for your ordeal. You are a good brother to try to help out. It's GOT to be so frustrating for you and the family. Good luck with your last day there with him today and remember God never gives us more than we can handle. You'll get thru this. All the best.

[ZachEY]

On 6/2/2018 at 11:57 PM, HighPitch said:

I know ill regret posting this but.....

trying to be a good brother. Flew out to wyoming to spend a weekend with my paranoid schitzophrenic brother who has been off meds for 3 years. Just did 12 straight hours of listening to him ramble non stop and i mean non stop like not a single 3 second stretch of silence all day about everything from dogs hearing radio waves to ted cruz being the leader of a secret vampire cult. I wouldnt wish this torture on even a guy like hitler. Seriously, to say its exhausting is an understatement. I think i took 8 months off my life today. Have another day tomorrow then the plane ride back. I want to put a shotgun in my mouth. Im drained.

anyone else have this kind of torture in their life? Its unbearable....

Antipsychotics are brutal drugs, so I empathize with the resistance to taking them.  Sorry you and your brother are going through this.  Real schizophrenia is terrifying and poorly understood by the public and professionals alike.

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

On 6/2/2018 at 11:57 PM, HighPitch said:

anyone else have this kind of torture in their life?

One time the football team I root for traded for Brandon Marshall. 

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

9 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

It's been tempting.

Better man than I.

[batman10023]

7 hours ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

One time the football team I root for traded for Brandon Marshall. 

The giants picked him up on waivers. 

[Kleckineau]

The symptoms you describe sound significant enough to assume this psychosis is preventing him from taking care of his most basic needs.

Has he been prescribed meds and has stopped taking them?

Is he alone and not eating well?

Has his living environment degraded to the level of becoming a health danger?

Is he driving while he is psychotic?

Does he express any dangerous thoughts?

Does he have access to any weapons?

If 2 physicians agree he is clearly a danger to himself or others he can be hospitalized and evaluated and in some cases given medicine in the hospital. (state mental health laws vary)

As EY pointed out neuroleptic meds are rough on the the body but many times just a low dose can have significant therapeutic effect.

Good luck.

[ZachEY]

4 hours ago, Kleckineau said:

The symptoms you describe sound significant enough to assume this psychosis is preventing him from taking care of his most basic needs.

Has he been prescribed meds and has stopped taking them?

Is he alone and not eating well?

Has his living environment degraded to the level of becoming a health danger?

 Is he driving while he is psychotic?

 Does he express any dangerous thoughts?

Does he have access to any weapons?

 If 2 physicians agree he is clearly a danger to himself or others he can be hospitalized and evaluated and in some cases given medicine in the hospital. (state mental health laws vary)

 As EY pointed out neuroleptic meds are rough on the the body but many times just a low dose can have significant therapeutic effect.

 Good luck.

Minus S/I or H/I, or at least extremes in his inability to care for himself... In today's healthcare climate, there's almost no way he'd get 2 PC'd based on what's described.

[Beerfish]

Well the thing about that illness is that the person they were before is gone 100% forever after it comes on.  My brother was an excellent high school football player and basketball player and had just started to study journalism when the psychosis set in.  That person was gone forever.  Being the youngest of my family I picked up something from each of my older siblings interest wise and it was from him I got my love of sports.

He died about 3 years ago (I think he he was 59) or so but he lasted a lot longer than I ever thought he would.

[Kleckineau]

2 hours ago, TeddEY said:

Minus S/I or H/I, or at least extremes in his inability to care for himself... In today's healthcare climate, there's almost no way he'd get 2 PC'd based on what's described.

Agree but caveat is OP certainly did not conduct a thorough mental health exam so who knows.

 

[peebag]

Hey HighPitch, good luck.  It's going to be hard road ahead.

[jmat321]

Sounds like one of best friends from college.  He was always a bit paranoid, but was a cool & pretty smart dude.  Behavior got stranger and stranger after college.  He was in law school during 9/11, got really into the whole conspiracy stuff with all that.  Everyone brushed it off as him just being a paranoid dude.  Until friends and family all starting getting calls from his girlfriend, about him disappearing.  He popped up in Atlanta, sold his car and belongings, starting living on the street.  Pretty much been traveling around the country doing odd jobs since then.  Sometimes he's homeless, sometimes he isn't.  He maintains a social media presence where he makes post after post about secret societies, aliens, new world order, fema camps, etc.  He's had some run ins with law, done a few stints in mental institutions, diagnosed as a Schizo. 

[southparkcpa]

On 6/3/2018 at 11:08 PM, HighPitch said:

Wow no dickhead comments. 

Thanks. 

Yes its awful. And like stated, they are adults and cant be forced into anything. The most peaceful years weve had was when hes been locked up in a mental hospital for 6 or 7 years. 

Sad that you have to hope he slugs a cop again to get him back in there. Ive evn considered smashing my face into a wall and calling the cops to claim he tried to kill me.. But im a pu==y

Nope...  this is a serious problem.  My dad suffered from mental illness, depression really.  I am a HUGE believer in therapy. A good therapist is doing God's work in my opinion.    If your head aint  healthy..nothing else matters. 

[HighPitch]

On 6/5/2018 at 6:24 AM, Kleckineau said:

The symptoms you describe sound significant enough to assume this psychosis is preventing him from taking care of his most basic needs.

Has he been prescribed meds and has stopped taking them?

Is he alone and not eating well?

Has his living environment degraded to the level of becoming a health danger?

Is he driving while he is psychotic?

Does he express any dangerous thoughts?

Does he have access to any weapons?

If 2 physicians agree he is clearly a danger to himself or others he can be hospitalized and evaluated and in some cases given medicine in the hospital. (state mental health laws vary)

As EY pointed out neuroleptic meds are rough on the the body but many times just a low dose can have significant therapeutic effect.

Good luck.

Oh no man this has been going on for 35 years. Hes been diagnosed with a slew of stuff, primarily PS, and hes been in and out of mental places mainly because he thinks hes fine but everyone else is nuts. He hits the road, hitchhikes, walks and eventually gets confronted by police where he gets aggressive and punches cops. That has happened several times in several states. Hes been tazed a few times. Then, he gets i to the psych ward, stabilized with meds, feels better, released and the cycle continues

[HighPitch]

16 hours ago, jmat321 said:

Sounds like one of best friends from college.  He was always a bit paranoid, but was a cool & pretty smart dude.  Behavior got stranger and stranger after college.  He was in law school during 9/11, got really into the whole conspiracy stuff with all that.  Everyone brushed it off as him just being a paranoid dude.  Until friends and family all starting getting calls from his girlfriend, about him disappearing.  He popped up in Atlanta, sold his car and belongings, starting living on the street.  Pretty much been traveling around the country doing odd jobs since then.  Sometimes he's homeless, sometimes he isn't.  He maintains a social media presence where he makes post after post about secret societies, aliens, new world order, fema camps, etc.  He's had some run ins with law, done a few stints in mental institutions, diagnosed as a Schizo. 

Sounds familiar lol

[HighPitch]

Yea hes been living in this motel 6 now for 3 years. He gets $425 ssi plus he panhandles. He gets a few bucks here and there sweeping the parking lot or whatnot as well. 

I went into his shower. Its missing 10 tiles. He explained that he removed them to clean out the filth behind walls and check for govt planted bugs. Good grief... 

Not to get political but these people should not have rights. They should be forced into institutions for life imo, but that cost money. 

Do you think homeless people are homeless because they are down on their luck? 80 percent ha e serious mental illness

[HighPitch]

My mom and i gave him a debit card now so he can draw  300 bucks every 20th. We went to the store. He saw 100 dollar new balance sneakers and bought them and threw the 20 dollar ross specials he got 20 hours earlier in the garbage. Then in a camping store he spent 50 on a nice stainless coffee perculator. Then he saw a nice backpack he bought half price for 45. He explained he can store his new sneakers and perculator in this bag. I bought him a loaf of bread the day before and the next morning hes feeding the whole thing to birds because it was cheap bread. He used the new 12 pack of socks to wash the motel room floor and chucked them. 

We asked past doctors to agree to sign paperwork so that i could be his legal guardian to fight for benefits. They both rejected it saying hes capable of living independently when medicated. You just cant beat the system

[Kleckineau]

I feel for you and your mom. It has to be so painful. Mental health laws may seem a bit loose when you consider how your brother is free to roam untreated the way he does but they are like that to prevent human rights abuses ie holding people against their will for improper reasons.

If he is hospitalized in the future and you can participate in his treatment if I were you I would ask about / suggest long acting slow release injectable antipsychotic medicines which require one injection per month. It may very well be helpful for him and will take away the need for daily meds which you say he stops taking. Also I dont know what state he lives in but some states having a case manager / social worker is a possibilty. A S.W.  can meet with him weekly and also prod him to go or drive him to a MH clinic  for Dr appointments and injectable (if prescribed) medicine.

[ZachEY]

12 hours ago, HighPitch said:

Oh no man this has been going on for 35 years. Hes been diagnosed with a slew of stuff, primarily PS, and hes been in and out of mental places mainly because he thinks hes fine but everyone else is nuts. He hits the road, hitchhikes, walks and eventually gets confronted by police where he gets aggressive and punches cops. That has happened several times in several states. Hes been tazed a few times. Then, he gets i to the psych ward, stabilized with meds, feels better, released and the cycle continues

For what it's worth, Wyoming does have mandatory outpatient treatment laws.  Might be worth finding out what the criterion for those are.  If your brother is fighting w/ cops unmedicated, it's very likely he'll meet criterion.

[jetstream23]

RIP Kate Spade.

[HighPitch]

On 6/6/2018 at 3:37 PM, TeddEY said:

For what it's worth, Wyoming does have mandatory outpatient treatment laws.  Might be worth finding out what the criterion for those are.  If your brother is fighting w/ cops unmedicated, it's very likely he'll meet criterion.

Yes wyoming is very good with that. He did a few years in the state hospital and then he was provided a 1 bedroom apt where he only paid like 250 a month with electric included. It was on older converted strip motel thingy. It was nice and we had a few years of peace then. Thing is,  the rest of the rooms were occupied by outpatients and not all were civil. So, eventually bob or tom got on his nerves..... The pills go into the toilet.... And thats that bye bye until he gets arrested in another state. 

I do have an appreciation for the folks in wyoming though.... Very kind and caring

[HighPitch]

On 6/6/2018 at 6:21 AM, Kleckineau said:

I feel for you and your mom. It has to be so painful. Mental health laws may seem a bit loose when you consider how your brother is free to roam untreated the way he does but they are like that to prevent human rights abuses ie holding people against their will for improper reasons.

If he is hospitalized in the future and you can participate in his treatment if I were you I would ask about / suggest long acting slow release injectable antipsychotic medicines which require one injection per month. It may very well be helpful for him and will take away the need for daily meds which you say he stops taking. Also I dont know what state he lives in but some states having a case manager / social worker is a possibilty. A S.W.  can meet with him weekly and also prod him to go or drive him to a MH clinic  for Dr appointments and injectable (if prescribed) medicine.

Things went down the crapper when  they switched him from pills to the shot. 

There was a difference that was noticeable. I googled  it and lots of complaints. Either way, he wont take pills or a shot voluntarily. Id like to stick 2 needles in his ass while hes asleep if i could. 

Thanks for the kind words fellas. Theres really no solution to this

[Kleckineau]

31 minutes ago, HighPitch said:

Things went down the crapper when  they switched him from pills to the shot. 

There was a difference that was noticeable. I googled  it and lots of complaints. Either way, he wont take pills or a shot voluntarily. Id like to stick 2 needles in his ass while hes asleep if i could. 

Thanks for the kind words fellas. Theres really no solution to this

I hear ya. I have seen the injections work wonders for some patients and do nothing for others.

A Social Worker or Nurse case manager could be a huge help.

God bless ya for not forgetting him as is so often the case.

[BigO]

This is why they have meds. He’s seriously mentally ill from your description. Not much you can do but encourage him to seek help and take his meds on a regular basis, if he doesn’t then keep your distance. It’s a tough love approach  but you must be careful. Unfortunately, people who have mental illness are the last to understand it and deal with it accordingly. Protect yourself when you’re around him. I understand he’s your brother but being around someone who’s not in their right mind can be hazardous. 

[HighPitch]

Yes hes way far in wyoming. Hes a very gentle soul. I only see him every few years when hes off meds. When he was on id go every year for a camping trip and such. 

I do agree that IF he was nearby, the best approach is the toughlove hands off deal. Othwise, you will be sucked in and lose your own quality of life. 

I know a chick whos 22 year old son is going through this. She asked me for advice. I told her i had none even though what i wanted to say was to just let him go. Instead she is dealing with him daily.... Cooking, pleading, etc. He comes by her house uninvited and gets loud and all that crap. Her husband, not the father, a good dude is tired of it. The result will be a divorce me thinks and then she will be single and doing the same thing. 

[batman10023]

On 6/8/2018 at 9:12 PM, HighPitch said:

Yes hes way far in wyoming. Hes a very gentle soul. I only see him every few years when hes off meds. When he was on id go every year for a camping trip and such. 

I do agree that IF he was nearby, the best approach is the toughlove hands off deal. Othwise, you will be sucked in and lose your own quality of life. 

I know a chick whos 22 year old son is going through this. She asked me for advice. I told her i had none even though what i wanted to say was to just let him go. Instead she is dealing with him daily.... Cooking, pleading, etc. He comes by her house uninvited and gets loud and all that crap. Her husband, not the father, a good dude is tired of it. The result will be a divorce me thinks and then she will be single and doing the same thing. 

Just want to say good luck to you. And all others dealing with this issue. 

The mental health treatment in this country is bad.  My son has some social anxiety and we have good insurance.  Still nothing in network that works.  So we are starting out of network this week. Like 300 a session.  What happens to the vast majority of people who can’t affors this?  No good outcome.