Hi all. I was discharged from IP today. I went to the psych ER at 7:30 last Monday AM, got to the hospital by 3:30pm, unheard of. I was expecting to be there well into the evening. Good for me. They sent me to the same facility I was in back in may/June and I was very unhappy because I didn’t want to deal with that dr again.

However, they put me on a different wing and it was as good as it gets. There were only 8 of us (very small wing, used to be dual dx that they use for psych now) and it was the same eight of us from Wednesday on. When I finally came out of my room on Thursday evening we all got to know each other very well. It was nice and quiet. Boring as always, but I ended up going to some groups in the end.

Best part was it was a different doctor and she was so nice and compassionate. She convinced me to go back on vraylar, saying it was basically made for people like me, and since I have a GI appt next week anyway I can try it and if the abdominal pain comes back I can work on that with the GI dr. So I’m now on 4.5mg vraylar and only 100-150mg regular seroquel for sleep which I hope to reduce as time goes on.

I was so extremely lucky with this experience, and especially because I went in of my own volition, if it had been terrible I would be discouraged from ever returning should I need it.

I really feel 100% better, and this is the first time I actually feel truly confident. I know now that it is not a disaster or a failing of any kind should I have to go again for whatever reason. Sometimes it’s just necessary. Since I went and got everything straightened out quickly, I can return to work in a couple of weeks instead of May or even being gone for the rest of the year.

Yes, I am returning to work in a couple of weeks, giving myself a much needed break and time to make sure the meds continue to work here at home. I have to get my sleep straightened out, I’ve been waking up at 2-3 AM and staying awake. It was awful IP because I really couldn’t do anything except lay there and wait for sunrise. At least if it happens here I can get up and watch TV or something. But I think it will stop as I adjust back home.

Thanks to everyone here for supporting me and helping me make the appropriate decision. Obviously I can’t catch up with a week’s worth of posts but I do hope everyone is doing as well as can be for yourself. I look forward to jumping back in and being able to offer my support!