Help after stepdad's psychotic episode

Hi @ajw22

Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing your story.

At this stage the hospital is the safest place for your step father until his mood and medications are stabilised and hopefully they provide him and your family the support services you require.

It is important that your mother is supported and local support groups may help here.

The following members have similar experiences and maybe able to shares their views - @@Mazarita @Eden1919 @Hubby21_Dad23 @greenpea

Take Care

SleepyPanda

Hi @ajw22

I can certainly empathise with you and your mum. Pre BPii diagnosis husband went walkabout on a few occasions ending up in hospital as an involuntary patient a couple of times. A very confusing and emotionally difficult time.

As for what will happen, there should have been a treatment plan set out in the mental health tribunal paperwork, but it is likely the goal of the treating team will be to stabilize sDad and get him on maintenance treatment. How they go about it varies from patient to patient.

Am I assuming rightly that your Mum is sDad's primary carer and that he has given permission for her to be informed? Does he usually involve her in his treatment? As his 'responsible person' the treating team have obligations under the mental health charter to provide her with information about his ongoing care and treatment. If ECT is considered they will have to apply to the mental health tribunal for this. As an involuntary patient free legal representation is available and I urge you to avail yourself of this. The mental health act for your state or territory is readily available on line and it pays to familiarize yourself with this.

When your mum sees the pdoc it is important that she asks about the treatment being given, the risk vs benefit and what "red flags" to watch for. There are a number of mood stabilisers available, all with varying degrees of efficacy, it can be trial and error. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask questions. There is a feeling of powerlessness when a treatment order is in place, this does not exempt the treating team from communicating adequately with you, it is well documented though, that if a carer is properly informed and included that the outcome for the patient is better. Understanding why a drug is needed helps with compliance and it may be that your mum might be asked to dispense sDad's meds. Mum might be the one that needs to speak up about side effects too, my Mr D had sexual dysfunction with one drug but was too embarrassed to say anything even though he was terribly upset about it so I had to speak up.

Dealing with this on ones own is difficult and thankfully there are mental health support services for carers that are available . Carers Australia and Wellways are two groups that offer carer support and psych education. The Qld govt website http://mhr4c.com.au is also helpful even if you are not in Qld.

Please feel free to ask any questions you would like to.

Darcy

Hey @ajw22
How are things going?

Thanks for checking in Darcy! He is still scheduled in hospital and having ECT. He has improved but still seems to have a long road ahead of him. I guess what worries my family and I is what happens after he is released from hospital? I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. He’s safe now, and Mum is getting a break which she really needs.

Whilst a hospital visit gives a bit of respite, as you are aware, there are ongoing concerns @ajw22 cannot stress enough how important communication is, esp in relation to meds, when reviews are to happen etc. Hope Mum can link in with carer support too, please encourage her to do do, makes a heap of difference.

Checking in to see how you are going @ajw22

Hi @Former-Member, thanks for checking in. He’s still in hospital and not doing as well as hoped. He’s had 7 or 8 ECT treatments and is much better than when he arrived in hospital but still delusional (tells Mum he thinks people are listening to their conversations, thinks the doctors are part of the gang coming to get him etc). I have passed on all of the resources you shared with Mum and have been encouraging her to be proactive but she’s worn down and scared and I feel like she’s just waiting for the doctors to tell her the next step. What I (and my siblings) are wondering is what happens if he comes home and is still paranoid / delusional? The MHT have scheduled him until 12 March but it seems that after that they are planing on releasing him. I guess they will have to assess the risk of him returning to the community closer to that date? I don’t believe it’s be safe for he or Mum for him to be at home right now. The doctors have indicated they that he’s not as good as they hoped he would be. As you said, the respite from hospital is great but that won’t last forever.