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Schizophrenic. Olimelt Administered Daily. Behaves Erratically When Medicine Is Skipped, Mutters And Speaks Loudly. Suggest The Cure?
Question: Hello Dr. U.Gauthamadas, my younger brother who is 38 years old is schizophrenic for the past 12 years or more. We got him admitted to a good mental hospital with great difficulty at CIP, Ranchi in Jharkhand, India in 2010 where he stayed for about a month and got better temporarily. He refuses to believe that he needs medical attention, neither does he take medicines or believes in it.
We have been giving him Olimelt 5- 10 mg daily hidden in is food or dissolved in tea etc. Sometimes when we are not able to do so for few days 3-4 days, his behavior changes.
1. He kind of sleeps for longer period or remains idle and sloth, withdrawn, lifeless for most of the time. Is it normal, is Olimelt a sedative? When he is better he talks lot of sense and wants to do something productive, be engaged.
2. Since he keeps odd hours in taking meals, we are sometimes never sure whether he took the medicines or gave the food with medicines to his dogs (he has two dogs as pets). It is then that the problem begins.
3. Does the efficacy of Olimelt get reduced if mixed with hot food/drink items?
4. We understand that there is no permanent cure for this disease, but at least even if the symptoms are controlled, we can think about something constructive for him. We are extremely worried about his present and future and the whole family is tired of the situation. My parents are also getting old and we brothers live away from home.
5. Is it advisable to get him married, will a companion/ companionship help in his psychosomatic health?
6. There are no good psychiatric help nearby and he cannot be taken to any good hospital without using force (arranging for 5-6 people) and taking him to a hospital by force also may have a serious negative impact on his mind mind which we do not want to do.
6. How do we convince him that he needs medical care and that he must take medicines regularly?
7. He was a very fine student in his school and always stood first in class. This condition of his is unbearable to see. In great distress we turn to you for some guidance and some practical steps. Please help.
Regards,
XXXX
We have been giving him Olimelt 5- 10 mg daily hidden in is food or dissolved in tea etc. Sometimes when we are not able to do so for few days 3-4 days, his behavior changes.
1. He kind of sleeps for longer period or remains idle and sloth, withdrawn, lifeless for most of the time. Is it normal, is Olimelt a sedative? When he is better he talks lot of sense and wants to do something productive, be engaged.
2. Since he keeps odd hours in taking meals, we are sometimes never sure whether he took the medicines or gave the food with medicines to his dogs (he has two dogs as pets). It is then that the problem begins.
3. Does the efficacy of Olimelt get reduced if mixed with hot food/drink items?
4. We understand that there is no permanent cure for this disease, but at least even if the symptoms are controlled, we can think about something constructive for him. We are extremely worried about his present and future and the whole family is tired of the situation. My parents are also getting old and we brothers live away from home.
5. Is it advisable to get him married, will a companion/ companionship help in his psychosomatic health?
6. There are no good psychiatric help nearby and he cannot be taken to any good hospital without using force (arranging for 5-6 people) and taking him to a hospital by force also may have a serious negative impact on his mind mind which we do not want to do.
6. How do we convince him that he needs medical care and that he must take medicines regularly?
7. He was a very fine student in his school and always stood first in class. This condition of his is unbearable to see. In great distress we turn to you for some guidance and some practical steps. Please help.
Regards,
XXXX
Brief Answer:
Forcible treatment may be required
Detailed Answer:
My apologies for the delayed response as I was traveling. Yours is a common dilemma faced by many caregivers of schizophrenics, esp. paranoid schizophrenics. First, I suggest that you read my web page WWW.WWWW.WW
Ideally you should try to get the patient on to oral or injectable medicines at the earliest as otherwise the problem of not knowing how much of the drug is being absorbed (due to partial intake or no intake of the food that the medicine is mixed with). The best way is to give the medicine in a very small quantity of food that you are sure that the patient will fully consume e.g. a small cup of drinking chocolate. But, this can only be a short term strategy and the long term goal should be to get the patient to take the medication himself. Force may be required in order to get the patient to go to a treatment facility, and you should not worry about upsetting he patient as you are doing it for the greater good of his long term benefit. But it is important that this is a complete treatment facility with admission combined with psychotherapy and rehabilitation to make the patient aware of the need for treatment and the benefits of treatment.
Marriage is DEFINITELY NOT ADVISABLE. Think of the disservice you will be doing to the spouse. If she is strong willed, it will certainly end in a divorce with all the additional problems.
The combination of appropriate medicines and psycho education is required to ensure that he becomes functional.
Forcible treatment may be required
Detailed Answer:
My apologies for the delayed response as I was traveling. Yours is a common dilemma faced by many caregivers of schizophrenics, esp. paranoid schizophrenics. First, I suggest that you read my web page WWW.WWWW.WW
Ideally you should try to get the patient on to oral or injectable medicines at the earliest as otherwise the problem of not knowing how much of the drug is being absorbed (due to partial intake or no intake of the food that the medicine is mixed with). The best way is to give the medicine in a very small quantity of food that you are sure that the patient will fully consume e.g. a small cup of drinking chocolate. But, this can only be a short term strategy and the long term goal should be to get the patient to take the medication himself. Force may be required in order to get the patient to go to a treatment facility, and you should not worry about upsetting he patient as you are doing it for the greater good of his long term benefit. But it is important that this is a complete treatment facility with admission combined with psychotherapy and rehabilitation to make the patient aware of the need for treatment and the benefits of treatment.
Marriage is DEFINITELY NOT ADVISABLE. Think of the disservice you will be doing to the spouse. If she is strong willed, it will certainly end in a divorce with all the additional problems.
The combination of appropriate medicines and psycho education is required to ensure that he becomes functional.
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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