Very worried about my brother - *updated 30th May...*

moggitymog

if your brother is on an acute psychiatric ward it will take a good 72hrs for assessment, please bear in mind that mental health nurses do a good job which is very stressful and situations on those wards can change rapidly

skintstudentnurse

tori.k wrote: »

welcome to the nightmare which is the mental health system...
They work on a drug them up shift em out to the CPN policy,..there isnt enough bed's space so if someone isnt lucid enough to want to help themselves, they will be "too crazy for the nut house" (as my friend stated the first time she was sectioned and sent home) get on to your MP as soon as possible if you are not happy with the care he is getting,
the system is failing its all about policy not people...but so many people like to brush it under the carpet when it comes to metal health issues..im counting the days to my friends inquest when the hospital has to answer...as it would never of happened if she recived the care she should have been getting

I do agree with some of your points regarding the bed situation on acute wards, but I think it is unfair to assume patients are always discharged into the CPNs care before they are well. There are other community based teams (as well as the CMHT) that can support people such as the crisis resolution team which enable people to live in the community while still receiving treatment. Obviously there is an issue where there are not enough beds but do we go back to the days of the old asylums where people were locked up for 30 years?


I am so sorry to hear about your friend. I appreciate I am not in your situation and I don't know what kind of care they received. I believe that if someone is intent on ending their life it would not matter if they were under 24 hour watch or at home, they would find a way. When people are in the depths of depression they may feel suicidal but not have the energy to plan what they are going to do, it is as they start to feel better and have some insight into their illness that their attempts at suicide are realised.

UKTigerlily

skintstudentnurse wrote: »

I do agree with some of your points regarding the bed situation on acute wards, but I think it is unfair to assume patients are always discharged into the CPNs care before they are well. There are other community based teams (as well as the CMHT) that can support people such as the crisis resolution team which enable people to live in the community while still receiving treatment. Obviously there is an issue where there are not enough beds but do we go back to the days of the old asylums where people were locked up for 30 years?


I am so sorry to hear about your friend. I appreciate I am not in your situation and I don't know what kind of care they received. I believe that if someone is intent on ending their life it would not matter if they were under 24 hour watch or at home, they would find a way. When people are in the depths of depression they may feel suicidal but not have the energy to plan what they are going to do, it is as they start to feel better and have some insight into their illness that their attempts at suicide are realised.

Totally agree (As a mental health service user) everything above i'm 100% in agreement with. It can take years for a diagnosis but right now he's in the best place. Please call him if you can, I know sometimes people with these health problems can say hurtful things & blame everyone (I do it!) but we do need the support & to know someone cares. I'd love to have a close family & the care you & your Sister show to your Brother & I hope you all get the help & support needed

freakyogre

Just a little update.

My sister and I went to visit him last night and he seems ok. He was a bit quiet but seemed pleased to see us when we arrived and gave him a big hug! Big relief as at least we know he doesn't hate us.

We talked for about an hour about bits and bobs and he said that he'd spent a lot of time sleeping (probably needed it) and that he was on medication. He said that he didn't think it was doing much, but didn't seem to object to taking it, which is good. He was a bit confused about meal times and couldn't remember eating lunch, but that could be down to all the sleeping or the medication?

We took him some clothes and toiletries which he seemed pleased with as didn't have any of his things on him. The ward he's on seems really relaxed, he has his own room and he can watch TV and has been outside. I keep thinking that if he must want to be there in some way as he could walk out if he wanted (possibly not, but it seemed that way!)

We nipped out to get him some snacks and some magazines as he didn't have anything to read and when we got back he had some of the new clothes on and looked happier

We had a game of pool which was funny as we're all very bad at it and then left at 9pm.

His 72 hours would have been 'up' last night, but they haven't told him or us what happens now so we will wait. My sister is going to call them tomorrow to see if they have any news. All we've asked is that they call one of us before letting him go.

Thank you again for all your replies.

RAS

Hi

If he is on medication, it might well take a few days to take effect. It was weird beign around DM when she was first on anti-psychotics. Se would start her normal tirade and then lose it after a few sentences, as if all the certainties about the conspiracies had evaporated.

She truned from a screaming harridan to a sweet old lady!

ailuro2

I'm so glad to hear that he's not on a locked ward or unable to mix with the rest of the group, or whatever he might have thought would happen to him if he sought help.

The medication will take a while to kick in, so if they offer to keep him, then suggest he stays as the food is free, he can recuperate, catch up on some books in peace (get down the charity shop or ask the rest of the family for books that might interest him and keep him occupied)

thanks for stopping by to update us - I know I'm genuinely happy for you that some progress is being made, and I bet you're feeling a lot more settled now he's got some help.

rosered1963

Hi gabyjane and freaky ogre - just read through your thread - so sorry to hear about your brother and the worry you have had - just wanted to say how lucky your brother is to have you two fighting his corner. Hope you two sisters stick together and support each other as well as supporting and watching out for your brother. Your brother sounds really sweet and I hope he is diagnosed and properly treated and that he recovers x

tori.k

Its great that he seems to be settled,you need to speak with his doctor, your brother can request that you see him during ward rounds, its easier to do it that way then risk your brother getting stressed trying to remember, as it sound that they have given him amitriptyline or something to keep him chilled,
look after yourselves as well as your brother, best of luck its a bas*ard ride to be on, but its so great that your brother has you both for support,
please keep this thread going with up-dates as it also may help someone else sadly there is still so much "brushing under the carpet" with mental health issue's

freakyogre

Another small update (sorry to keep posting, it's actually quite useful to have a 'diary' on all this!)

My sister and I went over on Saturday and took him out for lunch. He was ok, again, quite quiet though.

He mentioned the police who went to him that night (still not sure he knows we were involved) and said that one of them suggested him going into the army, which i'm not sure he was keen on or not! I asked him what he'd really like to do as could work towards it, but he had the same attitude that he wasn't going to put himself into debt for anything.

Afterwards we dropped him back at the hospital and as my sister pulled up he said that he thought his stuff (rest of his clothes etc.) had been taken from the woods where he'd left it. The way he was talking, we thought he meant the police, but then he said that he meant those people =/ He didn't give us much of a chance to question him so we left it at that and I walked him back to the ward.

I felt really uneasy for the rest of the day, but wasn't sure why so text him (hospital have let him charge his phone up and he seems to be allowed to use it in there) just to let him know it was nice to see him and if he needed anything to let us know.
He replied later that evening saying thank you and he loves us all more than we know (we're not a particularly close family, so we don't often say things like this!)

My sister phoned them again yesterday and told them what he'd said about his stuff in the woods and they said they were still keeping him in.

I text him last night to see if he wanted any books (good suggestion ailuro2) but didn't get a reply so tried to phone his direct number when I finished work but there was no answer.

When I got home my dad phoned and said the hospital had phoned to let him know that a psychiatrist is going to see my brother on Friday and they will go from there. My dad has forwarded them a text my brother sent him a few weeks ago (basically saying that he loved us all and that he may not be around much longer =/ This was before all this happened though) as I doubt my brother has mentioned this to the hospital.
They also said they would need to look into housing for him as he can't really return to the woods.

My sister then phoned me to let me know she'd spoken to them too . Same stuff really, but they mentioned to her that my brother wasn't keen on the idea of going back to the woods anyway, so hopefully that's a good start. We're not convinced at the moment though as think that even if he was given a house fully paid for, he wouldn't want to stay there!
The lady she spoke to said that they knew something is 'wrong' so won't be letting him out yet.

He's text me since saying he'll update me in a couple of days as doesn't know how long he's in there for now and was in the gym! I told him to build his muscles up (:p) and if I couldn't get over during the week, we'd arrange to see him at the weekend.

We'll have to wait and see what happens after Friday, but at least we seem to be moving in the right direction

RAS

Actually looks promising. Any chance you could get to the woods and retrieve any stuff that might have sentimental value?