If you or anyone you know is schizoprenic..

Question

This is a new diagnosis for my husband, he's coming home this weekend after being in the hospital for over a month, I'm excited but scared at the same time. He says he has been convinced that he needs to take his meds now, I'm scared that he has coned us all. He has stated that the last thing he wants is to end up in the hospital again. What if any are the odds of him not doing what he needs to do? This hospital is a good ways from where we live, they have set him up with an outpatient program who will pay for his meds, they are even sending him home with a few weeks supply. I am excited about bringing him home, I just don't know if my expectations are too high. I am hoping that he will be the way he used to be when we married 10 years ago. I am fine that he can't work (he's having a hard time with that) What can I expect from him? You can read my past questions to find out about meds. thanks for letting me vent. I strive for perfection and want everything to be ok for him.

Answer 1

You might check out these websites:



http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publicati...

http://www.nami.org

http://www.schizophrenia.ca/files/Rays_o...

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/schizop...



They have a lot of very good information on schizophrenia.  The first three websites have booklets in pdf format that you can download and save for future reference.



There is also an excellent book, "Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Patients, and Providers" by E. Fuller Torrey, Fifth Edition.  I know Barnes & Noble has it.  Amazon.com only has the 4th edition.  That is very good reading and tells a lot about schizophrenia.



Best of Luck to you :-)

Paul.

Answer 2

My sister was diagnosed with a form of schizophrenia a few years ago. She went through a year long program out of state that taught her to learn to control herself & take her meds correctly & on a schedule. She was doing perfectly fine until she came home. The change of environment made her not want to keep with her schedule & she didnt want to take her medication anymore. She stopped taking it & became really angry all the time & wouldnt follow any of the rules in our home. After about 2 months of trying to deal with it, we had to place her back in the program because she had become violent & was a danger to herself & our younger brother.

This doesnt happen with everyone though, just some people. If your husband has enough willpower & self control then he will do just fine. Just try to support him the best you can & help him to keep on track.

Good luck with everything :)

Answer 3

Schizophrenia can be cured, just the same as most of the so-called "incurable" medical conditions.

http://www.4optimallife.com/Alternative-...

peacefromken.

Answer 4

Intuitively I believe your husband knows that medicines are not the entire solution and that something is missing from only a strict medical treament of his condition.  I suggest that you not blind yourself to only one point of view on schizophrenia.  The medical profession still doesn't reveal what schizophrenia is or what causes it and they don't know anymore than Joe Blow about the nature of this condition.  If they do they keep it a secret.  However there are alternative points of view even coming from those who are within the medical profession.  Your husband intuitively knows that what he has is a spiritual condition.  To look at it from only a medical model is to only have one piece of a larger puzzle.  So to answer your question of will your husband comply with drug therapy, the answer is no because he will constantly be seeking the entire answer to his problem, and unless you are willing to help him to do so this may be a source of contention between you and him for a long time.  No one should be in a hospital for 30 days with schizophrenia.  That is simply abusive.  He is responding to being punished by having to involuntarily endure the system, but mark my words, you just made an enemy of the system to him.  Your goal shoudl not be that he take the quick fix.  Your goal should be that he learn to cope with having schizophrenia and live as normal a life as possible.  this may mean that he doesn't take medicine some day, but that he has make the adjustments that he needs to cope in life through maturity, experience and knowledge.

Answer 5

I know several people with this disease,  and they are all men,  which makes me wonder if it's more prevalent with the male gender.

Anyway, it's hard sometimes to keep them on a routine of taking their meds; a lot of times, they will feel like they are better and no longer need to take them.

It's been my experience that they need a structured environment due to the fact that it's hard for them to make decisions sometimes.  As long as they take the meds, they can live a wonderful and productive life.

I wish you and your husband the best life