That 'hold' of 24-72 is utter :cow: :****: Rapid stabilization....well there's MANY situations that rapid doesn't exists, that the person needs ongoing help not a brief observation, the patient and family members get upset and often do NOT seek further treatment because they feel like they were failed. That there's no hope, no help out there. I'll give an example....
Imagine having to call the police to have your father committed because of a psychotic break. Police arrive, your father says he isn't going to harm himself, nor anyone. So police say there's nothing they can do. HOWEVER if the right questions are asked, you get the answers. Police then ask about my Mom...Dad says she's possessed and the only way to help her is to kill her and get rid of the demons. THAT is enough to finally get transport to the psychiatry hospital. At this point, he can hold a conversation, can avoid mentioning Mom, the demons, etc.
Two days later, there's no improvement. Mom can't even visit because the sight of her brings out the psychosis. YET, the hospital and doctors decide he has to be discharged. He says he's been up all night riding the bicycle with another patient. *It was an exercise bike, stationary.* Tells me of all the places he rode to. Shows me his moles and freckles on his chest, and swears he is infested with fleas and ticks... yet is being discharged. Follow up with a psychiatrist as needed...
Less than 4 hrs later, he's home. Threatening the same things as before. Luckily THIS time he has an order for Haldol. I gave him a dose, told him we were going on a trip to get away and put him in my car, and head to another hospital 2 hrs away! Mom is frantic because she's afraid he's going to turn on me during that ride. She cannot ride with us. She follows us in her car keeping a distance so Dad doesn't see. TWO HOURS of this. Get to the hospital, they put us in a lockdown room. Again, Mom not allowed to go near that door with a window or Dad gets worse. I'm literally locked in the room with him. He swears the toilet is possessed because it auto flushes. He tries using a credit card to get out, because he saw workers swipe their employee badges to come in the room and leave. This hospital does admit him... they load him with heavy sedatives. He calls Mom after 3 days, crying and not knowing where is he, scared and wanting to come home. Mom married to him about 40yrs at this time, home alone herself, decides to make the 2 hr trip alone and didn't tell any of us siblings. She finds him heavily sedated, and per her "a shell of the man I love", she says he wants to come home and she can't leave him like that... hospital discharges him!!!
Two days later, he's refusing meds and we're back at square one...only this time, Mom doesn't want police called because 'they didn't help' doesn't want him admitted because 'they didn't help', Dad doesn't want meds because Mom is trying poison. He does NOT remember the police, or either hospitalization. I make the decision he has to go back, Mom crying. Get to the first hospital started explaining all we've been through, hospital says he was only released due to insurance and the hold time but informs me that I could have brought him right back from the parking lot that same day and it would have started the admission and stay all over! DO WHAT???
This time there is NO VISITATION allowed for several days. He is kept a week. Finally was stable enough to come home. Every single doctor that saw him couldn't or wouldn't give us a diagnosis of what the heck happened. He'd never had a psychos
is episode before.
(Just trying to lighten the mood, but also tossing out the little trick that finally helped me remember it correctly).
