[giri_piri]

My sister has just been released from hospital (second admission) She's been in for 4 months and is really in a bad way. Although she has been in hospital, she has not improved, the doctors have released her because she is not taking resposibility and not commiting to trying to resolve her problems or talk about them. They sectioned her but have lifted it because it is not working...

I have attended weekly meetings with her doc and her to try and make sence of her problems, we are a really close bro and sis. She is so confussed and it is really difficult to make sence of what she says. She has Bipolar, not sure which type. Unfortunatley I don't understand Bipolar but do understand her, and I sort of understand what she says (Having spoken the language of Phychosis myself) She has some really deep issues and don't know how to help:

She is twisted on having a baby and sometimes thinks she has one, or thinks she is pregnant. I don't understand...

I feel so sorry for her it's untrue... How can I help someone who is so far gone? Sometimes she is so nasty to me I don't know what to say, I only try my best to help...

I just want her back, I miss her!
Thanx
Gary

[darkeyes]

I am so sorry to hear this, I wish there was something I can say or share with you, but sadly I do not know.
Has any of her docs try antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers?
Sounds like she is in more of a psychotic state at this time, bipolar is not a "one size fits all" sort of thing, for example my oldest and closest brother was DXed back in the 60's as schizophrenic, the US back then used that disorder as a "catch all", after treatment for that disorder wasn't the route to go, another pdoc (bless this man) who had studied Psychiatry, and was also a professor at his university in Italy, had recently been in the US, and started his practice here, helped my brother, properly DXing him, as bipolar-I, back then called manic depression,
well to make the long story short (hard to do) lithium was the only med that helped him, and it had been back then newly released in the US, even though other countries had been using it for years previous. Before that, many meds were tried and failed, (and there were less kinds too)today fortunately there are more and newer meds. perhaps your sister was misdiagnosed or needs a change in meds. the hard thing is to convince her to be compliant, that is frustrating.
When and if that hurdle is accomplished the rest may go easier, till then I wish you lots of luck and love with this rough time in your life as well as hers.
Please take care,

DE

BTW
I was DXed as bipolar-II (mild) II's have more serious depressive episodes than I's but much milder manic or hypo manic episodes. There are so many variations and combinations of this disorder, one can be bipolar and also have other disorders too, I was also DXed in addition to bipolar, ADD (mild), hell, I seriously feel the ADD is more of my problem, but my pdoc won't treat me for it, he thinks it isn't as serious as others having that, I told him, "oh yeah?" "come and spend a day with me, you'll see", ha!ha!
But I am seriously going to work on him to at least give treatment a try, if not there are many other pdocs out there. Keep that in mind too, sometimes we need several pdocs opinions, when nothing seems to be working.
Just my 2 cents on that.

[sqrlb8]

Wow. That's a real heart breaker Gary. It's obvious you love your sister very much and she is lucky to have that in her life.

Does she have lucid times, times when you can talk frankly about the baby idea for instance, when she can acknowledge that it isn't so? I guess I'm thinking that you really want to watch for any surfacing of her real self, as it were, and reach out most at those times. Unless and until she can connect with an idea of herself helping herself, you are likely not to see much change.

You mentioned some bilingual ability of your own as to the language of psychosis. Not meaning to pry or anything, but am I right in thinking your sister is not the only person in your family with a mi? My grandmother, mother, brother and sister all have either bipolar, chronic depression, borderline personality and psychotic features. Some of the most effective meds for the worst states ended up being the same for all of us. So, if you have some med experience, it could be informative to her doc to know about it. Your parents? Either of them suffer from mi? Any meds? In my experience and my siblings' and my mother's no doctor ever inquired about any other family member's meds.

I wish I could come up with something useful for you, even a jumping off place would be good, huh? You love your sister, and tuning into that is probably your best course. Try to be alert in new ways. I get the feeling it will "turn" to whatever degree it might because of "contact" from you.

Despite her confusion, will she "engage" about anything at all? Will she answer questions and converse about this baby/pregnancy idea? Is there something like that you can gain trust with?

I don't suppose brainstorming out loud here is really helping you, but its a gut wrenching story you've shared. I'm always around if you want to keep talking about it. Probably a good idea.

You're a good person Gary, with a good heart. Take care of yourself too, K?

[giri_piri]

Hi Sqrl,

She does have lucid times but I fear talking about the baby issue will only create a swing for the worse. You see she has had 2 abortions, one of them not by choice (because of racist beleifs in my family and Zimbabwean society as a whole). Maybe because of this she feels like she needs to make it up to herself...???

When I say the "language of Phychosis", I basically mean dissarrayed sentences where what is said doesn't make logical sence, it is like 2 sentences mixed into one, one being the topic you are talking about and the other being something not relevant. Almost like she has 2 lines of thought going on at once and the words are comming out at the same time. I've been like that and can somehow, pull bits of information about her problems from this other line of thought that is comming out. This is risky though sometimes, because I could get the wrong idea.

Yes, you're right, my family has a lot of MI in it, me, my sister, my aunt and I beleive for generations gone by. She takes antipsychotics and Lithium (when she wants to) She's not very compliant. I used to be on the same antipsychotics as she is on, Olanzipine.

She will not engage in anything emotional, this sends her into termoil for hours.

I think it's going to be a long slog, but one small step at a time we can get there, too much at once sends away to a far away place.

Cheers

G

[sqrlb8]

Olanzapine is my favorite psychosis interrupter. I find that it works immediately instead of requiring time to adjust. I've done lithium too, and find myslelf utterly sympathetic with anyone who has trouble staying with that one. It can be fairly brutal in its over reaching effect.

You hit on an idea I think is good. When you observe that things like the baby idea escalate a negative state, It makes me think that making her comfortabe and un challenged may be what is needed now.

Its a miracle that you were able to spot the dual thread in her conversation. Even if you do get some of it wrong, you've got an insight there.

Zimbabwe huh? That's not somewhere between London and Yorkshire is it? LOL Are you still there, or in UK? The pictures you posted are gorgeous. What took you so far from home? The faces in the pics look happy, it must have been a good time.

[giri_piri]

Yep, Ol-pine did a good job of breaking up my psychosis, Gave me a chance to almost step away from the things that were consuming my mind. I stopped taking it though, because the nature of my work demands a sharp mind, and Ol-pine made me really drowsey, I can't swallow tablets too well, they get stuck in my throat, and on a couple of accasions it only went down to my gut the next day, and of course I was falling asleep on the job. But my sister Jen, still takes it (as I said, when she wants to) It does calm her down a lot and helps her sleep well. But I think she fears weight gain....

I'll keep you guys posted on her progress...

Yep, Zimbabwe, a white-boy from Africa! Without getting too political on the scene. I left 5 years ago, as there was a mass exodus of the white population, murders, beatings and torture. My entire family have up-rooted and come to the UK. It's quite tough not having a place to call home. I don't blame the black population of Zimbabwe, I would prefer to point a finger at the colonial British who oppressed the Africans in the years before my time and took their away land. However the story has now changed and the country has been raped by the greedy dictatorship that now exists there. I went back last year to get married, it broke my heart to see my homeland in ruins, but it was good to smell the air, feel the sun, touch the soil, see the wild animals and experience nature once again. It was an enlightening experience and as I battle daily with having to adjust to such a different culture, I will live knowing that there truly is "no place like home"... So I guess I'm a nomad who seeks a simple life...

Thanks Sqrl, since I joined the forum, you and others have helped me so much! I feel safer in the knowledge that there is a friendly, helping hand out there! I have spend a year and half alone and trapped with my thoughts, the importance of this forum is immeasurable...

[sqrlb8]

Couldn't agree more, the forums here have expanded my life in ways I dind't expect. Glad you arrived.

I grew up in Samoa and hawaii, and when I get near a tropical climate I get all nostalgic for it. Your descriptions of going back to Zimbabwe reminded me of that.

It sounds like you hold a very enlightened viewpoint for one disposessed of his homeland. I salute you. It takes a certain amount of conciousness to see a situation in multigenerational terms.

It used to never cross my mind that one day I would find it impossible to live in the US, but over recent years I've found myself often in serious contemplation of where to go if going should become neccessary.

anyway...

see ya.