View Full Version : What support have you received in hospital?
As some of you may know my b/f is currently in hospital due to being a risk to himself.
He started anti depressants (cit) 1 week ago and is extremely anxious, very very scared of everything, feeling spaced out, strange, and he also mentioned that he feels vunerable. He also feels like he is losing it, I am reassuring him this is all anxiety.
He is not getting any therapy in hospital, all he was asked to do was fill a mood diary in, but no-one has asked to see it (he has had it a week)
He was switched from Diazepam to something called Clorazepam, not that this is helping.
He is due for his medical review tomorrow but I am concerned because I think he is going to be asked to be discharged because he social anxiety has gone through the roof :( I am not sure he is ready (he has been in there just over 2 weeks)
I have contacted a few private therapists for some CBT, is this the right thing to do? :unsure:
xx
PLEASE ANYONE OUT THERE GOING THROUGH THIS PLEASE HELP. I think your b/f is getting short changed loops.
Dx
This has made me really angry Loops (makes me think of personal experience a long time ago) and I'm so sorry your boyfriend isn't getting better help. I can't believe he isn't receiving any psychiatric or psychological intervention. Please could you ask them why. TBH if I you were you - or his family - I'd DEMAND that he get some.
I'm really not sure CBT is going to be much help at the moment, he could be too ill at the moment. Please see what you can get the hospital to do first. Thinking of you :hugs:
I feel for you loops. My mum's been hospitalised with bipolar, and it's very difficult to get used the way they do things and deal with emotionally. Mental health does seem to get a second class NHS.
I found my antidepressants made me much worse in the first few weeks. In the long run they have been great, but the first bit was difficult. The anxiety will calm down. Therapy is a long term process and there is often a waiting list, so that's not going to be a quick fix. Anxious people will worry about their drugs. I have asked my husband how I'm doing on mine, he's more objective about it.
People in hospital ask to be discharged. They're not nice places to be : (
The doctors will make a decision based on his needs.
CBT has been good for me, and if you can afford to go private then I think it's a good idea to try it.
It will take time for him to heal, but I hope the crises bit will be over soon.
The hospital are just waiting for your boyfriend to stabilise on his medication Loops .His feelings of thinking he is losing it and social anxiety is pretty common when you start on Cit .I felt like it myself .It was horrendous .Once hes stable and on his theraputic dose he should be rea-sessd and they should then decide whether he needs any other form of help .ITS TOO EARLY for CBT at the moment . But would be advisable later .See what the Psychiatrist says on Monday and ask plenty of questions .They arent very forthcoming unless you ask .They are monitoring him and thas all they can really do at the moment .Mental health care isnt always as good as we would like sadly . T/c OF YOU as well .You are important as well .Hope things improve soon for you both .Luv Sue xx:hugs:
Guys this is brilliant, can we help loops in what questions to ask tomorrow?
I am amazed that there is no counselling going on now i have tbh, everyone needs support when you start the meds.
Loops what do you want in all this ? when it happend to us we got no support even our GP basically told us to be grateful we werent the ones in the hospital? That was 30 years ago though and I hope things have changed but I know for many mental health is second class.
We will get you through thisx
deepreason
17-04-11, 14:55
When I first became ill I was still on my wife's private health insurance, hence my hospital stay was in The Priory (private hospital). To give you a comparison of how things can be and how badly the NHS lets it's patients down at times, albeit due to budgetary constraints:
I had my own allocated psychiatric nurse who would come and sit in my room and talk through how I was doing and any concrns I had for about 30-60 mins everyday.
I saw my consultant psychiatrist for 15-30 mins every weekday morning in his office so he could discuss my progress, go through my charts, adjust my medications etc.
Monday to Friday we had a timetable of sessions to attend. This would be for example: Monday 10:00 - 12:00 group therapy (6 or so in a group and 2 x counsellors), 13:00 - 14:30 CBT for anxiety, 16:00 - 17:30 yoga. The sessions were different each day and covered things such as: assertiveness training, art therapy, group therapy, CBT for anxiety, CBT for depression, Tai - Chi, relaxation, mindfullness etc.
Just being left to sit in his room is the worst thing they can do for your BF, of course his anxiety is going up he's got nothing else to brood on. All I can suggest really is to be there with him at his review, act as his advocate and request that he be given activities to get involved with. That the hospital start taking a proactive approach to getting him well so he can be discharged. After all it's in their interests financially to get him well and get him home as soon as possible.
Best of luck.
Thank you deep reaso, what an interesting post. Thank u for sharing and i hope you are well.
Time to harrass the men at the top me finks!!!!!
Dx
Hi Loops,
I'm saddened to say that whilst an in patient in a psych ward you will receive no counseling, therapy or anything else. I was a patient for 6 weeks in August last year and the only thing i got was relaxation sessions and lifeskills, which consisted of gardening,baking etc. CBT was part of my treatment but i am still on the NHS waiting list for this, fortunately i was in a position to go private. Sadly i think care in the ward is seriously lacking.
When I first became ill I was still on my wife's private health insurance, hence my hospital stay was in The Priory (private hospital). To give you a comparison of how things can be and how badly the NHS lets it's patients down at times, albeit due to budgetary constraints:
I had my own allocated psychiatric nurse who would come and sit in my room and talk through how I was doing and any concrns I had for about 30-60 mins everyday.
I saw my consultant psychiatrist for 15-30 mins every weekday morning in his office so he could discuss my progress, go through my charts, adjust my medications etc.
Monday to Friday we had a timetable of sessions to attend. This would be for example: Monday 10:00 - 12:00 group therapy (6 or so in a group and 2 x counsellors), 13:00 - 14:30 CBT for anxiety, 16:00 - 17:30 yoga. The sessions were different each day and covered things such as: assertiveness training, art therapy, group therapy, CBT for anxiety, CBT for depression, Tai - Chi, relaxation, mindfullness etc.
Just being left to sit in his room is the worst thing they can do for your BF, of course his anxiety is going up he's got nothing else to brood on. All I can suggest really is to be there with him at his review, act as his advocate and request that he be given activities to get involved with. That the hospital start taking a proactive approach to getting him well so he can be discharged. After all it's in their interests financially to get him well and get him home as soon as possible.
Best of luck.
Wow that is soo much better than he is getting! Wonder if i should get some private health insurance for my b/f!
Hi Loops,
I'm saddened to say that whilst an in patient in a psych ward you will receive no counseling, therapy or anything else. I was a patient for 6 weeks in August last year and the only thing i got was relaxation sessions and lifeskills, which consisted of gardening,baking etc. CBT was part of my treatment but i am still on the NHS waiting list for this, fortunately i was in a position to go private. Sadly i think care in the ward is seriously lacking.
Hi Elainey
That's the same as what he is getting, he has done some gardening, art therapy but having social anxiety it is crippling for him :weep:
iamspartacus
17-04-11, 21:07
Im not surprised hes anxious being switched from diazepam to clonazepam as it has a shorter half-life and can cause anxiety. also starting cit at the same time is bound to make his anx go throught the roof.
So is it ok to switch like that from Diazepam. He was on Diazepam for over 4 weeks.
Hi Loops,
I'm saddened to say that whilst an in patient in a psych ward you will receive no counseling, therapy or anything else. I was a patient for 6 weeks in August last year and the only thing i got was relaxation sessions and lifeskills, which consisted of gardening,baking etc. CBT was part of my treatment but i am still on the NHS waiting list for this, fortunately i was in a position to go private. Sadly i think care in the ward is seriously lacking.
I think you may have been in the same ward as me Elainey!
Feel free to PM me on that if you like.:winks:
Loops, like all other NHS departments, psychiatric wards are underfunded, understaffed and there isn't enough of them. Care in the community is great in theory but unfortunately some patients need hospital care in a crisis.
My psychiatrist told me that all the help I needed, CBT etc., help with my agraphobia was only available in the community and that all the ward could do was keep me safe until I was well enough to leave.
The psychologist at this hospital WILL not see patients who are not stabilised on meds. It's taken from May 2010 but I'm now considered "stabilised" on meds and have only just been put on waiting list for CBT so who knows how long I'll have to wait for an appointment,
Going private isn't an option for me financially.
Are you going into the doc's with him? Write down everything you want to ask?
Good Luck. x
When I first became ill I was still on my wife's private health insurance, hence my hospital stay was in The Priory (private hospital). To give you a comparison of how things can be and how badly the NHS lets it's patients down at times, albeit due to budgetary constraints:
I had my own allocated psychiatric nurse who would come and sit in my room and talk through how I was doing and any concrns I had for about 30-60 mins everyday.
I saw my consultant psychiatrist for 15-30 mins every weekday morning in his office so he could discuss my progress, go through my charts, adjust my medications etc.
Monday to Friday we had a timetable of sessions to attend. This would be for example: Monday 10:00 - 12:00 group therapy (6 or so in a group and 2 x counsellors), 13:00 - 14:30 CBT for anxiety, 16:00 - 17:30 yoga. The sessions were different each day and covered things such as: assertiveness training, art therapy, group therapy, CBT for anxiety, CBT for depression, Tai - Chi, relaxation, mindfullness etc.
Just being left to sit in his room is the worst thing they can do for your BF, of course his anxiety is going up he's got nothing else to brood on. All I can suggest really is to be there with him at his review, act as his advocate and request that he be given activities to get involved with. That the hospital start taking a proactive approach to getting him well so he can be discharged. After all it's in their interests financially to get him well and get him home as soon as possible.
Best of luck.
Wow! NHS care is NOTHING like that but it SHOULD be!
You see your consultant (if you're lucky!) sometimes their Junior Doctor ONCE a week. The nurses never ask how you are feeling and are always to busy (or lazy! in my case) to sit down and speak to you. I've recently spent 11 weeks in an NHS psych ward, and I just had to take my meds, tough it out and wait until they kicked in so I could get discharged.
But to be honest, the doctors tend to work for both the NHS and privately and the drugs are the same - so the end result should be the same too. Just longer and more unpleasant!
I needed to be there and there wasn't a lot I could do about it. At least I'm still here to tell the tale, which may not have been the case if I hadn't spent the time I needed in hospital.
I'd go back in if I had to but I certainly hope that's not the case anytime soon!
Regards.
One of the things that helped my mum the most while she was in hospital was family going to visit her. On her ward there was no access outside and she was really missing it as she's in the garden everyday. So visits gave her something to do.
The staff seemed friendlier to patients who had family around. The staff know the patients have a better chance if they are returning to a normal life when they leave hospital. Unfortunately one of the people on her ward was homeless and returned to the ward quite often, the staff had lost hope for him and it showed.
Visit when you can and let all his family and friends know they can visit and what to expect.
Hi guys, Just spoke to him, not even seeing the doctor today!! They said they must have forgot you! unbelievable! They have gone now so can't even do anything :weep:
it's time to go to your local government councillors. they can't jsut abandon your bfx I'll hlep you if I can x
Well I am going to have a moan tonight, I was going to phone but he wont let me x
I just phoned them , I had to, I said he is being treated unfairly, they are seeing him Thursday now! He is so angry :lac:
Doctor must be coming back, seeing him today now :) x and something about a CPN going to see him tomorrow?
One of the things that helped my mum the most while she was in hospital was family going to visit her. On her ward there was no access outside and she was really missing it as she's in the garden everyday. So visits gave her something to do.
The staff seemed friendlier to patients who had family around. The staff know the patients have a better chance if they are returning to a normal life when they leave hospital. Unfortunately one of the people on her ward was homeless and returned to the ward quite often, the staff had lost hope for him and it showed.
Visit when you can and let all his family and friends know they can visit and what to expect.
I agree completely. This is sad but true. Patients with family members who kick the staff's a**e once in a while gets things done! Obviously, you shouldn't have to do this, but unfortunately in many cases you do!
Loops, A CPN is a Community Psychiatric Nurse who will be assigned to him when he is discharged from hospital. They usually visit you at home to assess your illness and (should!) keep his psychiatrist informed of his mental state. That's good he's getting one.
Chin Up! (As my psychiatrist says to me :shrug:)
Haz.
Excellent News. It is a sign of the times that you have to fight for the right help now, I won't bore you with my experiences over the last 2 years but I go there in the end. There are ways and means of standing your ground, you don't have to be rude.
A CPN is a huge positive step forward I think this will make all the difference.
Keep being positive and reassure your b/f that things WILL get better.
Please let us know how you are BOTH doingx
Well the doctor who saw him was not his usual one, he actually made him feel really crap!
He said to him that the a/d are not making his anxiety worse he is! and the pacing his does constantly only he can stop. Since he has started the a/d his anxiety has definately got worse. He feels like it's all up to him now. The doctor was only with him 5 mins and look what he done!
I kept saying to my b/f, well if that's the case why have they prescribed you a/d, obviously they are going to help you. Also you should listen to the people who have tried and tested them to know they make things worse before you get better! (meaning the peeps on here) but as he is ill at the moment he is hanging onto negative comments. His nurse said that the doctor should have never made him feel worse and he could put a complaint in.
:mad:
The nurse is right, Doctor;s can be totally out of order, you can make a complaint and are perfectly within your rights to do so.
Anti depressants CAN make you feel worse, that is perfectly normal honest!!!!!
I think things will be different when you get your CPN, in my experience they are a god send.
Stay positive hun you can get through thisxx
iamspartacus
18-04-11, 21:48
do what you can for him Loops. Kick some but on that ward...he deserves better treatment than this. You say he was only on diazepam for 4 weeks? these drugs only mask anxiety at best and taken over the long term can make it much much worse. they should be gradually stopped if poss. usually if someone is on clonazepam, they can be switched over to diazepam in order to reduce. i am not sure why they would switch the other way round though. any sudden drop in benzodiazepine medication can make anxiety worse as its a classic withdrawal reaction. i was on these meds constantly for 5 years and it was so hard to come off them. adding a stimulant a/d at the same time as any change in tranquillising medication can double the anxiety effect...the doctors should know this. like i said, he deserves a better standard of care imo. best wishes to you both...i hope this is quickly resolved.
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