[charlie93]

Not sure how to start here, so much history to go back on: My daughter was given a diagnos of Bipolar Schizophrenia aprox. 13 years ago. She will shut down and I have to take her to the Hospital, yes I have filled Heath warrents also. When she comes home all is ok except I here how this was not right for me to do this to her. She will not stay on any Meds and she dosnt except there is any problems. Oh yes when she shuts down there has either been a death in the family, birth, or even a day coming up that a family or friend has pasted away on. Not sure if I am supose to share this part? She split with a boyfriend (they lived with me) and she was the one that told him to leave. Ok this part is hard- she came after me and it was not good, I could see that she was going to hurt me and she did. Family said do somthing "WHAT" docters dont help.

My question that I cant get a answer from the docters . How long should it take for someone in this state of mind to realize they need the meds and there is a problem. Is there things I should talk about or not talk about, iam lost.

[spiritual_emergency]

Hello charlie93,
There's a lot of information that could be pertinent. I'll try to answer some of the questions you've raised but it would probably be helpful if you can also provide some more information.

First of all, it sounds like you've been dealing with this for a very long time. I wasn't clear on the diagnosis because schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are two distinct illnesses but they share a lot of common ground. Maybe you could identify the experiences your daughter has had. That might help guide others in offering suggestions. Has she experienced: depression; hypomania; mania; psychosis; suicide attempts.

... when she shuts down there has either been a death in the family, birth, or even a day coming up that a family or friend has pasted away on. Not sure if I am supose to share this part?

Stressful events are known to play a role in triggering a first or subsequent episode. It's been my experience that once an individual has been given a diagnostic label the focus then falls on that label and the initial triggering events are set aside. It may be helpful for her to address those initial events.

She will not stay on any Meds and she dosnt except there is any problems.

There's two issues going on there -- the first is related to pharmaceutical treatment and the second to acceptance.

- Acceptance: It's been my experience that people may be reluctant to accept a formal diagnostic label however they're often quite aware that something has happened or is happening for them -- they merely use different labels. Sometimes it can be helpful to find an alternate label you can both be comfortable using. For example, my preferred term for psychosis has become "ego collapse" or "a fragmentation crisis".

- Pharmaceutical Interventions: Medication can be a very complicated issue. Most people are under the impression that it will be helpful and quite often it is, but for some people it's wholly unhelpful as well. Can you identify periods when your daughter was on medication and it seemed to be helping? If so, do you know what medications she was taking? Can you identify why she stopped taking the medication and what she has to say about her decision to stop taking medications? For example, was she experiencing side-effects that had become dangerous or intolerable or did she determine she simply didn't need them any longer?

Now that she's not taking any medication, what is her function like? Is she able to work, volunteer or go to school? Can she maintain a range of reasonably healthy relationships with friends, partners and family members? Was she able to do the same when she was taking medications?

Meantime, a few questions for you:

- What would you say is the biggest problem right now?

- What would she say is the biggest problem right now?

- What forms of emotional support do you have in place? Do you have friends or peers you can go to for support?

- What forms of emotional support does your daughter have in place? Does she have friends and peers she can go to for support?

- What forms of professional support does your daughter have: nurse, family doctor, therapist, psychiatrist?

Hopefully, the above might help in guiding you towards the answers you're needing.

~ Namaste