Depression Questions

[AChiOAlumna]

Originally posted by winneythepooh7
Hi. I also wanted to encourage you as much as you can to try to take her to the hospital yourself. Yesterday I had to have a severely depressed client of mine hospitalized against her will. It was a big scene to say the least. She didn't want to go with me voluntarily so I had to call 911. 10 police officers showed up, along with 3 other EMT's..... and they were these big huge guys (she's like 5'1). She became extremely irate when this happened and they had to cuff her and drag her out of her apartment kicking and screaming, literally. All the neighbors were gathered around watching the whole ordeal. I know she was embarrassed, as was I. These are situations we hope to avoid but when someone is threatening to kill themselves, we need to take them seriously.

I used to be a part of these teams that evaluate and arrange the client to be taken to the hospital. It is hard, but sometimes it needs to be done. If your sister is refusing to go to a hospital and you cannot get her to the hospital, then you may have to call in a Psychiatric Evaluation Team (aka PET team) to have them evaluate her and (if needed) admit her to the hospital. Will she be angry with you? Probably, but at least you know that she's alive and getting treatment. Once she tackles the illness, then she'll realize that this was in her best interest.

Good luck to you!

[AKA_Monet]

UlChiOCutie26--

Your sister needs hospitalization to be stabilized on the best meds and it generally takes roughly a week for stabilization at the "ground floor".

However, she probably needs to be tested to see if other psychoses are going on with the new DSMR protocols. The DSM is a book that psychiatric caregivers use to diagnose exactly what the psychosis that might be occuring through discussion, comments, medical evaluation--i.e. responsiveness to stimulations such as light and sound and blood work--generally the changes in thyroid hormones and other measures. Based on that, the psychiatric healthcare workers might be able to design the best diagnosis of exactly what your sister's mental illness is...

Based on your description, the level of hopelessness and sadness your sister feels is not new occurrence. It has occured several times before. Has she EVER been up and happy--not way up and psychotic with grand delusions, but acting "normally" without things being hidden?

It seems that major clinical depression is more correlated with environmental life events--i.e. death of a loved one, grief, etc.

But when folks are repeatedly depressed, it seems from a molecular neurological standpoint, the depression is often associated with a biphasic bipolar disorder with varying degrees and that is based on family history, inheritance and genetics...

If she has had the DMSR testing, then the providers should give some insight. But with the way things are, they are not going to explain much unless she signs herself in to the hospital or you get a court order and the providers share EXACTLY what they think the diagnosis is...

Moreover, some deep depression is manifested by other mental disorders such as schizophrenia and psychotic episodes... And there are other chronic diseases that manifest deep depression moods, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, PMS, cancer, type 2 diabetes, thyroid hormone problems, infection like Epstein Barr Virus, etc...

Based on what you stated that she's been on a "range" of meds, if you wanted to, you could find out what kinds--most likely they are the Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's) and if those did not work, then they stuck her on the older anti-depressants or anti-anxiety drugs. If none of those are working based on what you and your family observes, then that is why I am only suggesting that her problem may not be completely mental, but an actual medical problem--i.e. she may be coming down with a chronic illness that has been improperly diagnosed--that's why blood work is EXTREMELY critical at this point--preferably with an endocrinologist or a physician trained in nutrition, psychiatric disorders, and gynecology...

There is a doctor is Dallas, Texas that can peg down your sister's problem if it hormonal. It cost ~$3000-$5000 to get the diagnosis, but it is well worth it and she does it completely with homeopathic meds...

There are several endocrinologists that may specialize in psychiatric disorders that may take a "google search" to get one.

Once the medical work is done and your sister gets stabilized, then you bring in the the brigade of social workers to get "cognitive therapy" she needs to function to survive.

I also suggest you read "Feeling Good" by Dr. David Burns. He describes his research on depression. He has suggested that most folks who display major depression symptoms do not need meds. There are some disagreements with that...

But I really think after 31 years and every med tested as you stated, and she is non-compliant with her course of treatment, then she has another major medical problem that may be overshadowed...