What to expect re: inpatient treatment

Hello,

My psychiatrist wants me to go into an inpatient treatment facility so that we can rid my body of current meds (they can have some really nasty withdrawl effects!!!) and then start me on something which should work much better (fingers crossed). I've had so many problems with meds. They work and then STOP.

He said I should expect to be in for a total of five days. This scares the bee-jeebers out of me. Can someone tell me what I should expect? The handout I received from the facility, well frankly - it made me feel like a common criminal. I'm okay with the no television in your room, no smoking (I don't anyway) and that the floors for the facility are locked (but you are not locked in your room). I have questions on if I'm sharing a room with someone (I snore - so this embarasses me), if I can bring my mp3 player - cause I can't imagine not having music for five days.....and then...I read about you all talking about attending "group" therapy. Which I don't see anything specific to that on my papers (but who knows).

I'm not suicidal - the psychiatrist and his staff tell me that when they do major med switches, they always hospitalize folks. This is ALL so new to me so I just want to know if this sounds normal to others???

SO - any thoughts? comments?

Group Therapy is a standard thing. I was in the hospital last year for about a month and we had 4 groups during the day. If you don't feel like talking in the groups you don't have to they don't force you to talk.

As for the MP3 player that's different with each hospital I've been in several and each is different on their rules. The one I will have to go to if my pdoc wants to hospitalize me for the same reason as you says you can have one but only listen to it if staff can see you. The same goes for room mates. Most of the hospitals I've been in I have a room mate.

Jbug

Re: group therapy. Who knows. It might help! And as jbug points out, they're not going to force you to share, if they do offer it. I mean, the only punishment they have is taking away your MP3 player.

I'm a little worried about the idea of going to the hospital for five days because your current meds *can* have some nasty withdrawal effects; that's likely just my general suspicious nature piping in. My suggestion on the snoring is to mention it (if you do end up going) to someone who might be able to put you in with another snorer. It might not be the best night's sleep for either of you, but you certainly won't feel embarrassed.

What sort of withdrawal effects are common, if I can ask?

Try asking over in the meds forum what people's experiences with your particular stuff is/are, or even asking this question again. It's not that we won't write, of course, just that I'm about 1/100 as knowledgeable on the subject as I'd have to be, I think, to do you any favors.

Good luck! Keep us posted if you can. Additional info helps forum readers from the future!

I agree with jbug and pseudo that you will have a roomate. I snore also and I always told my room mates that. My hosp would not let us have anything and we were behind locked doors on the unit. The best thing to do is just be as relaxed as you can I admired your docs for changing your meds in a hosp. I am changing over and doing it at home. then I don't see my psychdoc for 6 weeks. Go figure. Anyway good luck and you will be fine and taken care of by the staff. Let them know any concerns you might have, They are there to serve you. ok? ooxx pj56

I was IP for 7 weeks last summer and it was a really good experience. But I was also on a specialized unit within a major psych hospital, so that obviously affected the level of care.

We had group therapy about 4 times a day, but it was optional - the only requirement was you had to go to one group a day. We also got to go out to go to a gym and work out 3 times a day. I saw my pdoc about every other day. I was assigned a primary care nurse who did my meds and I could talk to her about anything at almost any time. She also found and gave me "homework" to do when I wasn't in group.

I was on a locked floor, but because I was a voluntary patient, I could sign myself in and out pretty much as I wanted so I could go for a walk, for coffee, or to attend AA meetings.

They don't let you have any sharps on you or in your room. But they did let me sign out a razor that I had brought so that I could shave my legs.

Generally my only complaint was that it was kind of boring. Aside from group therapy there's not much to do. At first this didn't bother me because I was too depressed to care, but as I started getting better, I really had to find activities to keep myslef occupied.

Good luck if you decide to go.

--spltimage

Its not so bad if you can get beyond the locked doors. I had a roommate once and didnt the other time. The time i did was fine. I had group therapy and once again i went one time and didnt the other. The hospital i was at really pushed to attend but no rules on having to talk. I dont think they allowed mp3 players where i was but there was a tv in the general room. What i recommend is bringing a book as it gets boring.

I was in for 6 weeks recently over Christmas and New Years. It was really good for me. The staff was really supportive and helpful. There was a real supportive community among the patients as well. We all had so much in common...go figure. It was scary to go to group the first couple times but then i started looking forward to going because it was so helpful. You could participate as much or as little as you felt comfortable. The one-to-one therapy sessions were good too because we didn't have to watch the clock.

We couldn't leave the unit with out a pass which was issued by the psychiatrist. These were extremely rare. MP3 players were banded because it's a form of isolation. I had a hard time with this and tried EVERYTHING I could think of to convince the staff that it was okay to have some form of personal music. I wasn't successful, but WOW did the music sound wonderful when I was finally discharged. Some of the rules got frustrating, but the quality of care made up for it. It was comforting to be in a locked facility while I was in that state of mind.

Roommates...some are great...some are interesting. I didn't mind them for the most part...even if they snored. I take sleep meds anyway.

There's a lot of great info here about psychiatric inpatient treatment. However, since you're going for, basically, detox, I wonder if a regular straight-up hospital wouldn't be better, and a bit more liberal in allowing you niceties. Or a specific detox clinic.

I honestly have no idea whatsoever if that's feasible, or even appropriate, but the other thing is, you know, maybe the psych place'll be good for you. Slip sounds like (s)he had excellent results with group, despite some reservations at first, but 6 weeks is a lot different from 5 days. Ironically, I'd go nuts after 5 days with no music :P I wonder if they'd let you bring a gameboy or a boombox.

Keep us posted on your decision, ok?

Hey. I have been inpatient several times, the longest was 4 weeks. Mostly it is like being in the hospital, except there are no sharp things around, the doors are locked, you have group therapy, you have craft sessions, you watch movies, and you eat alot. (I always gain weight LOL)

I actually have never had a problem. if you are on suicide watch, they check your room every 5-10 minutes, otherwise it is usually like 30 minutes. And that takes awhile to get used to.

Some people bring their own pillow, I never did because I was never in the mood to plan really.

The people are relatively nice. There are different wards usually, so the "psychotic/dangerous" people will be somewhere else then the depressed/withdrawl people.

You can have visitors and phone all the time that group is not happening.
I saw some good movies at night. Play alot of cards.

It always helped me.....

And yes, they can make major med changes in short time periods, because they are monitoring you like crazy. BP, labs, etc.

It'll be ok.....