Help with Medication

[Worried777]

Hi.
I have a family member who has a mental illness due to drug use. He was admitted to hospital early last year & put on medication. He was great when he came out and back to his normal self for 6 months but he's now decided he doesn't want to take the medication anymore as he says he's fine now & doesn't need it anymore even though the doctor said he needs to be on it for life. He is living with me and I have noticed signs of his illness again (anger, aggression, talking to himself & general odd behaviour). I have tried suggesting that he takes his medication again but he just gets angry. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this issue and if anyone has found a way to successfully convince someone to take their medication. I feel like I'm approaching it wrong as he just gets angry when I mention it. Hoping someone can help me out as I don't want him getting worse and ending up back in hospital again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[marchhare]

Hi Worried777, welcome to the SANE forums. I can understand your worry about your family member lapsing by not continuing the medication. It is hard dealing with this especially if they get angry when you make suggestions. I am sure you will get some good advice and support from forum members

[Former-Member]

Hi @Worried777

Medication compliance can be a problem, you might find that there is more to it than just 'feeling better'. Lack of insight, perceived inefficacy, stigma or unacceptable side effects are some of the reasons meds are discontinued.

Side effects of psych meds are quite awful and some quite personal. The treating team may be able to offer an alternate medication if this is the real underlying issue.

The LEAP method was developed to help encourage patients to remain in treatment. This is a carer program that was put out in Qld - it gives a simple explanation of this method.

http://mhr4c.com.au/coping-strategies/the-leap-approach/

Darcy

[Worried777]

Thank you marchhare. Yes it is difficult and sad when someone doesn't want to help themselves. I'm looking forward to hearing others experiences and advice in hopes that I can apply it to my situation. 🙂

[Worried777]

Hi Darcy.
Thank u for taking the time to reply and sending me that link about the LEAP program. I was reading it last night & it has some good ideas that I need to apply. My friend was initially on the injections but complained they made him too tired & he couldn't concentrate properly at work. The doctor said (which I don't agree with) that he shouldn't be working and should just stay home & relax. It's better for his self esteem and mind to be working. He thankfully wanted to keep working so they put him on the tablets instead which made him less tired. After 6 months of treatment he was told he doesn't need to see the doctors anymore & will be fine if he keeps taking the tablets but unfortunately not long after that he decided to stop taking them and has gone downhill again. Such a shame as he was doing so well. I just don't know what to do to help him as I can't discuss it with him as he just gets angry and says he's fine but if I organised some help behind his back then he'd be angry about that too & I'm concerned as I live with him so I'm worried about what he may do if he's angry while not on his medication and not thinking straight. Such a worry.

[Former-Member]

@Worried777

Are you listed as the primary carer (ie has he given permission for you to be involved in his mental health care). Even if you are not, perhaps getting in touch with his case worker to let them know what has happened. Sadly they can often not do too much unless the patient is willing.

Having work is good for anyone's self esteem, MI or not, understanding the reason behind this comment may be helpful, the pdoc could only give you this info with your loved ones permission, then there is the question of Centrelink or how your relative would manage financially if unable to manage work. It was necessary for me to do the work to get my husband on the DSP, but he clearly was not able to return to employment for dome time.

Will tag you in a talk that explains loss of insight.

Darcy