[wheeler]

My meds have not been working and I'm having some pretty intrusive thoughts so my T has suggested IP. It's not something I really want to do. Can anyone share there experience?

Much depends on the quality of the hospital. I was fortunate enough to be able to go inpatient in a hospital where my pdoc was on staff (the director actually), and he was my pdoc inpatient also which made for good continuity of care.

The unit I used was a locked unit which sounds awful, but it really wasn't. It was locked so that patients who were dealing with chemical dependency/withdrawal and who were seriously in crisis could not leave and do harm to themselves or bring in items that could create problems. Personally, I am glad it was designed that way; I needed the safety factor. Not all mental health units are locked units. Some have several different levels of security depending on the needs of the patients (mine was a fairly small unit).

Rooms were shared. Doors stayed open, again for safety (nurses and techs did safety checks every 10 minutes around the clock). It took some getting used to, but you get used to it and hardly notice them after a while.

Check to find out what you are allowed to bring in with you. Usually there is a list of items that are not allowed, again for safety reasons (belts, drawstrings on clothing, glass containers, alcohol-based products, etc.)

My hospital had classes and groups each hour throughout the day led by therapists and social workers. They varied in content and quality. I wasn't required to attend, but they do like to see that you get out of your room, eat, tend to your self-care, interact with others appropriately, etc. (Those are some of the markers they are looking for in determining your ability to be discharged.) Meals were in a common eating area (and food was actually not half bad for hospital fare.) My unit did not offer individual therapy. It was considered a crisis stabilization unit, so most patients are on average 3-5 days; my stays averaged 8-10 days with 3 weeks being my longest stay.

Despite the activities, it can be boring. Take books if you think you can read. I prefered word puzzles. Some people color or journal or do puzzles.

Other patients were just like me; people not doing well and needing help. Only on rare occasions was there a patient that really was out of control. There was no isolation of patients or restraints except in the most severe circumstances.

I was inpatient for my personal safety. It was a place where, strangely enough, I could rest since all responsibility for my outside life was gone for my stay. It gave my pdoc the ability to make quicker med changes since I could be monitored for reactions to meds 24/7 (the same med changes might take a month or so outpatient and I needed faster changes when I was in crisis).

Staff was stable and attentive in my hospital. Many of them had worked there for several years. I always left in much better shape than when I was admitted.

[Phoenix Noire]

I has hospitalized for 2 months and it was one of the best decisions I made. It helped mostly because I was protected from the stressful triggers of the outside world. I was very well treated. However, I do suspect that I was treated better than most because they knew I was a nurse, so in a way "one of them". It also varies a lot with each hospital. There are some I'll never step a foot into.

Originally Posted by Phoenix Noire

It also varies a lot with each hospital. There are some I'll never step a foot into.

Absolutely agree with this.

[kecanoe]

Well, I just started another thread about IP for kids, but overall my IP was ok.

Like Lolagrace said, for me it was a huge thing to not have to work hard to stay safe. It was a locked ward (but everyone there was there voluntarily, and we could check ourselves out). It was locked to keep people who were in the midst of a meltdown (trauma unit) safe and in place and to keep sharp objects and the like out.

For me, the groups were very helpful. I did psych testing and got a diagnosis that seems to be the correct one. We saw the pdoc daily and had individual therapy 3x per week. My therapy was EMDR.

It was helpful for me to be able to devote mental energy to something other than safety. It was helpful for me to be around other people who had survived trauma (I live in a rural area so there are no groups or anything that I can attend locally to meet others). The staff were generally nice. There was one time when a patient was threatening to hurt herself and acting like she might and the staff "held" her. That was very upsetting to my little alters, but if you don't have alters, that probably won't be an issue for you.

Overall-if I was in crisis, I would go back. If not in crisis, I'd stay home. I think going in voluntarily is a good plan-that way if you don't like it you can sign yourself out.

Those intrusive thoughts can be awful. I hope you find some relief.

[passionfruit3]

I hated all the psych hospitals a good experience only if your cooperative and put on one of the better units.which I never was.so people were constantly being medicated by force cause there's something called a Reece if you don't take meds by mouth they'll inject them. A lot of yelling disturbed patients.the best unit you could end up on is one with drug issues there generally just waiting to be transferred to rehab there not bad.i know this cause my best friend was on a good unit.but if you need to go go.just cooperate and sleep with one eye open there are videos of schizophrenics straggling there roomate while they sleep.i was Scared when I got some girl who talked to herself as a roomate.she was bigger than me and when I said his gave me an evil look at night she awoke in her sleep and started screaming.i feel sorry for her now but at the time it scared me and I was glad to leave the next day.
What's really made me not want to go back.is last time I went I got slapped in the face.so I urge you go but use caution.

[Astridetal]

Well, my experience is quite different and mostly negatively different from those of others. Then again, I'm in the Netherlands, where things like special observation or even routine safety checks are unheard of. The first acute unit I went to was okay in this department, as nurses did actually watch us. The second one I went to (after spending only a week-end on the first, because it was out of my area) was not as good. There were activity groups only in the morning and that was just busywork. Ny therapy unless you were referred to it. This unit was locked too and there were many psychotic people on there, which was scary for me. The positive thing was more the patient interaction (which was discouraged on the first unit) than the staff interaction, as staff spent lots of time in the nurses' station. I have not spent time on a low-care acute unit (like where patients are not psychotic) or on any specific treatment unit.

[shadowgirl1993]

Originally Posted by wheeler

My meds have not been working and I'm having some pretty intrusive thoughts so my T has suggested IP. It's not something I really want to do. Can anyone share there experience?

When I was 17 I wanted to kill myself, I admitted myself to the nearest mental hospital for youth and adults.

I stayed there for 8 days maximum. We were not allowed outside besides walking from the lunch room to the activity room and back to the main housing. There were two patients per bedroom. Females and males were separated. Every 15 minutes during the night until morning, a guard would come and flash lights in the room to make sure the patients didn't harm themselves, others, and in general weren't causing commotion.

I roomed with a girl who had been there 12 times before for self harm and lack of remorse. She actually liked me. But she was taken away to a different housing when she attacked a new patient who had gotten on her nerves.

I was friends with this kid who was schizophrenic. He would have episodes of hallucinations and delirium. He would scream at the wall, claiming his girlfriend was telling him to kill their baby (his girl had an abortion about a year ago). He had to be tied down multiple times.

It was a strange experience but it was also an eye opening one.

[anais_anais]

Mine was profoundly negative and traumatizing, and after two weeks I left worse than I went in. I'll leave it at that, there are details on kecanoe's kid psych thread. I'd never, ever go back, at least not voluntarily. In fact, last year when I was feeling self destructive my T was like "remember IP? You don't want to get to the point where you go down that path again, right?" and it was definitely enough to change my thought pattern.

Later I found out the hospital I was at is infamously bad. So bad that it got kicked off the region's most major insurance network. Do your research if you have the luxury of time. My "mistake" was heading to the closest ER.

[MBM17]

There are a lot of threads from the past about this same subject. That'll give you even more stories of what it's like.

[MBM17]

You may want to spell it this way during your search:
hospitalization

[wheeler]

Thanks fo all your feedback. I did end up going and staying 4 days. It definitely was t as bad as I feared. Probably could have stayed a couple of more days but didn't want to
Stay over the weekend. It helped while I was in there and I think I feel a little better although very worried about a relapse, and feeling a bit fragile.

[kecanoe]

Originally Posted by wheeler

Thanks fo all your feedback. I did end up going and staying 4 days. It definitely was t as bad as I feared. Probably could have stayed a couple of more days but didn't want to
Stay over the weekend. It helped while I was in there and I think I feel a little better although very worried about a relapse, and feeling a bit fragile.

I would suggest doing something nice for yourself. Coming home from hosp felt a little weird for me. Part of me wanted to be there (safe, no responsibilities), part of me wanted to be home. One thing I kept telling myself is that now at least I know what to expect if things get bad again; I can go back and it won't be horrible. 6 years later, I can still tell myself that and it somehow helps with "those" thoughts.