I hope everyone had a good Easter weekend. Ours was pretty quiet as my son has been sick with what appears to be a stomach flu for the past couple of days. The good part of this is he hasn't been drinking ;) Friday night he asked me about Benadryl as he recalled getting it while inpatient September 2013 and that it helped him with sleep and I guess withdrawal. Saturday I remembered that I had some from when my hubby had an allergic reaction so he I gave him some. It seemed to help with his withdrawal/cravings for alcohol however it didn't help with the stomach flu that he was about to have symptoms of. Saturday and Sunday he had a low grade fever, nausea and diarrhea.
Several times he spoke about going to the hospital because he 'felt like he was dying'. Yes being sick can feel like that ;) We kept an eye on his temperature and I made him toast, tea... I don't know if I can explain what it feels like to be able to parent a 'normal' sickness. Easy. Comforting. No second guessing myself. As long as the Tylenol was keeping his fever down and it didn't go over 100. As long as he was hydrated. Pepto for the nausea and diarrhea. Got this! Easy...
He is much better today and no fever since Saturday night. He got some extra attention. I spent a little more time rubbing his back which he has been asking me to do lately, as well as scratching his head ;) Saturday night we watched TV with his head in my lap. I have been somewhat bemused at myself that my son being sick has felt... I don't know what word to use. Good? Normal?
Saturday hubby and my son got their hair cut. My son needed it and I had been bringing it up for a bit. He looks so much better. Next we need to tackle his beard. He wants a long beard. That's fine if one keeps them clean...
So, knock on wood, my son hasn't drank since Tuesday. He was on his way out to the liquor store Saturday when I told him that hubby and I were going shopping for things for the backyard and if he was drinking he couldn't come. His choice. He decided to come and that is when we thought we would try the Benadryl to help with withdrawal and cravings. He ended up having to come home after the haircut and he didn't go back out like I thought he was going to.
Hubby and I did get a barbecue and a patio set. That took two trips to Walmart and my goodness the line ups... Easter weekend. I was thinking about getting a fire pit but we can't as they aren't allowed where we live.
Talked to my daughter for a bit. Poor girl... Life just keeps throwing her curve balls. She is another story that I will probably delve into one day. 'A bag of worms' I'm not willing to open yet ;)
I think I have good news... I'm trying to stay hopeful and not let negative thinking that 'It sounds to good to be true' get in the way. I have a job... It's work from home and the pay is pretty good. I'm waiting on the employment contract to hopefully make some things a little more clearer as some things are not making sense to me. Granted I have not worked this type of job before so I have no idea what is considered normal or appropriate. Part of it is collecting payments from customers which is fine however it seems they want me personally to collect then remit to the company. I don't know...
I got the go ahead to take my son completely off his Celexa so he has been off it since Wednesday. Considering everything he is doing good.
Sadly I'm beginning to feel like I just may be getting my son's stomach flu.
Mom
BarbieBF
© BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey, 2014 - 2015. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Links to blog posts and/or pages as a whole (in there entirety) may be used provided that full and clear credit is given to BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Showing posts with label Celexa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celexa. Show all posts
Monday, April 6, 2015
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Define Odd
I have used the word odd a couple of times today and after the last time, I thought to myself: What does odd mean? Well... for me it means things that make you go hmm... I won't say things that aren't normal as our normal is odd ;) So things that stand out for me within our 'normal'.
At 9 AM this morning I was thinking about titling this blog post: Sadly I know where my child is... And it was standing outside the liquor store waiting for it to open since he got his disability money today. He returned stating that they didn't open until 10 AM so he got munchies instead. I did check the times online and they open at 10. Now it's 12 and he has not gone back out. Yes this is odd... or red flag material. He was awake 30 minutes ago. So what changed? He was awake this morning at 5:30 when I got up, most likely counting down the time to when he could get to the liquor store. He was at the liquor store for 9. Now it's 12...
Could he have gotten a hold of marijuana instead? A distinct possibility. He hasn't been down for a cigarette in a bit either. Awake, not smoking, just lying there... usually not good signs. He was playing one of his games this morning before he went out. Of course I could be over-thinking... I doubt it though.
I guess it was Friday that my son asked me for $3 to go to the store for candy. I was busy paying bills and not really thinking and gave him the $3. He left on his bike. He doesn't need his bike to go get candy since we have a corner store almost attached to the the town-home complex. Between that $3 and other change he had been collecting he went and got a mickey (small bottle) of vodka.
I can say that I was pissed. Of all the things that one can say or do that I will tolerate, lying is the one thing that will get me madder then anything else. I didn't say much just let him know that I was pissed off. He said that he deserved to get the alcohol. I deserve to not be lied to!
Hubby and I left to take Gucci to the vet. She got her booster and a clean bill of health. Her sneezing is fairly common and nothing to worry about unless it gets worse. It has been getting better as she settles in. Apparently stress can trigger it. Who knew? Got her a toothbrush and poultry flavored enzymatic toothpaste as she had some plaque on her back teeth. So ya I'm learning how to brush a cats teeth ;)
I don't know if it was Friday or Saturday night but my son decided he really wanted a PRN which means a benzo. It must have been Saturday as I think he was craving alcohol pretty bad. He asked me to take him to the hospital. I actually said no that I wasn't spending 6-12 hours in emergency because he was going through withdrawals and they won't give him a benzo anyways. They will most likely give him more Olanzapine and he is already taking the max dose of that. I know this may sound harsh however it's not the first time he has done this to get a benzo and it probably won't be the last. He started getting mad and told me I had no idea what he was going through... My cue to leave the room which I did. A little while later he comes downstairs and watches TV with us. Then really nicely asks me if I will go to the store and get him some NyQuil. *high five* for trying... I told him no that I know he only wants it for the alcohol content which effectively ended that conversation.
A little note: If you know someone recovering from or trying to get sober. Keep them away from cough syrups etc that contain alcohol. If you know someone recovering from or trying to get clean from drugs. Be careful of over the counter cold medications. As far as I know crystal meth/speed is made from the same active ingredient. These things can be an instant trigger for relapse without the person even being aware that they have put themselves in that situation.
I tried to get a little creative on Sunday. Decided to take some pictures so that I could make some picture posts for my Facebook page. A couple of hours later, looked at them on the computer... They were all date stamped with 2007/01/01. Hopefully I can crop that off of most of them.
Sunday night my son randomly asked me about tetanus shots. He said that his robot had injected him with one...
This caused me to start thinking about his Citalopram/Celexa as for some reason I thought his last bottle of vodka was on Tuesday instead of Friday so it shouldn't be still affecting his psychosis. He is downing these mickeys or 375 ml bottles of vodka or rum like Kool-Aid. Either way the antidepressant doesn't appear to be doing him any good and in fact may be hindering his recovery as it can do for some people diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. So as of yesterday I have cut his dose in half from 20 mg to 10 mg.
His nurse was here yesterday and I discussed this with her. She acknowledged that it was possible and said she would let his psychiatrist and team know that I was doing this. I would stop it completely however I don't want him experiencing withdrawal or negative side affects from coming off it cold turkey as can happen with these medications.
Yesterday afternoon my son tells me that he is: Seemingly having a really good day. I responded that that was good and I was happy for him. Shortly after I paused... How many times has he done this for me to find out that the reason he is having a 'good day' is because he has abused a medication or is using when I didn't know it. I counted my Venlafaxine. They are all there.
I'm still worried though. We have been very careful to not say Adderall in front of my son. My hubby is on this for his ADHD and if you recall it triggered my son's psychosis in July last year. We usually refer to it as my hubby's ADHD med... Well the other I let it slip and my son was in the car with us... Can I trust my son to not get into them? Unfortunately I can't. My hubby did have them stashed in the car just in case and I said he was overreacting... Maybe he's not. Just in case I should count them I guess.
My son has been having a lot of baths since he's been back home. I think part of this is for 'private time' as I have caught him several times now. Why am I catching him? Because he is not closing the bathroom door. Same with yesterday I went to go upstairs and he is in his room masturbating with the door open. Not the first time. I'm being cautioned to not go upstairs in my own home because he is masturbating! I have heard that tactile hallucinations can fuel this so I'm not sure if that is what this is or just my son being hormonal. Either is possible. Regardless it needs to be addressed somehow. He can masturbate all he wants but he really needs to learn consideration and how to do it privately. As well as follow up hygiene.
It's 2 PM now and he just left for the 'store'... *sigh*
Going to see what I can do with those pictures I took and try not to over-think what the next week is going to be like.
Mom
BarbieBF
© BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey, 2014 - 2015. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Links to blog posts and/or pages as a whole (in there entirety) may be used provided that full and clear credit is given to BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
At 9 AM this morning I was thinking about titling this blog post: Sadly I know where my child is... And it was standing outside the liquor store waiting for it to open since he got his disability money today. He returned stating that they didn't open until 10 AM so he got munchies instead. I did check the times online and they open at 10. Now it's 12 and he has not gone back out. Yes this is odd... or red flag material. He was awake 30 minutes ago. So what changed? He was awake this morning at 5:30 when I got up, most likely counting down the time to when he could get to the liquor store. He was at the liquor store for 9. Now it's 12...
Could he have gotten a hold of marijuana instead? A distinct possibility. He hasn't been down for a cigarette in a bit either. Awake, not smoking, just lying there... usually not good signs. He was playing one of his games this morning before he went out. Of course I could be over-thinking... I doubt it though.
I guess it was Friday that my son asked me for $3 to go to the store for candy. I was busy paying bills and not really thinking and gave him the $3. He left on his bike. He doesn't need his bike to go get candy since we have a corner store almost attached to the the town-home complex. Between that $3 and other change he had been collecting he went and got a mickey (small bottle) of vodka.
I can say that I was pissed. Of all the things that one can say or do that I will tolerate, lying is the one thing that will get me madder then anything else. I didn't say much just let him know that I was pissed off. He said that he deserved to get the alcohol. I deserve to not be lied to!
Hubby and I left to take Gucci to the vet. She got her booster and a clean bill of health. Her sneezing is fairly common and nothing to worry about unless it gets worse. It has been getting better as she settles in. Apparently stress can trigger it. Who knew? Got her a toothbrush and poultry flavored enzymatic toothpaste as she had some plaque on her back teeth. So ya I'm learning how to brush a cats teeth ;)
I don't know if it was Friday or Saturday night but my son decided he really wanted a PRN which means a benzo. It must have been Saturday as I think he was craving alcohol pretty bad. He asked me to take him to the hospital. I actually said no that I wasn't spending 6-12 hours in emergency because he was going through withdrawals and they won't give him a benzo anyways. They will most likely give him more Olanzapine and he is already taking the max dose of that. I know this may sound harsh however it's not the first time he has done this to get a benzo and it probably won't be the last. He started getting mad and told me I had no idea what he was going through... My cue to leave the room which I did. A little while later he comes downstairs and watches TV with us. Then really nicely asks me if I will go to the store and get him some NyQuil. *high five* for trying... I told him no that I know he only wants it for the alcohol content which effectively ended that conversation.
A little note: If you know someone recovering from or trying to get sober. Keep them away from cough syrups etc that contain alcohol. If you know someone recovering from or trying to get clean from drugs. Be careful of over the counter cold medications. As far as I know crystal meth/speed is made from the same active ingredient. These things can be an instant trigger for relapse without the person even being aware that they have put themselves in that situation.
I tried to get a little creative on Sunday. Decided to take some pictures so that I could make some picture posts for my Facebook page. A couple of hours later, looked at them on the computer... They were all date stamped with 2007/01/01. Hopefully I can crop that off of most of them.
Sunday night my son randomly asked me about tetanus shots. He said that his robot had injected him with one...
This caused me to start thinking about his Citalopram/Celexa as for some reason I thought his last bottle of vodka was on Tuesday instead of Friday so it shouldn't be still affecting his psychosis. He is downing these mickeys or 375 ml bottles of vodka or rum like Kool-Aid. Either way the antidepressant doesn't appear to be doing him any good and in fact may be hindering his recovery as it can do for some people diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. So as of yesterday I have cut his dose in half from 20 mg to 10 mg.
His nurse was here yesterday and I discussed this with her. She acknowledged that it was possible and said she would let his psychiatrist and team know that I was doing this. I would stop it completely however I don't want him experiencing withdrawal or negative side affects from coming off it cold turkey as can happen with these medications.
Yesterday afternoon my son tells me that he is: Seemingly having a really good day. I responded that that was good and I was happy for him. Shortly after I paused... How many times has he done this for me to find out that the reason he is having a 'good day' is because he has abused a medication or is using when I didn't know it. I counted my Venlafaxine. They are all there.
I'm still worried though. We have been very careful to not say Adderall in front of my son. My hubby is on this for his ADHD and if you recall it triggered my son's psychosis in July last year. We usually refer to it as my hubby's ADHD med... Well the other I let it slip and my son was in the car with us... Can I trust my son to not get into them? Unfortunately I can't. My hubby did have them stashed in the car just in case and I said he was overreacting... Maybe he's not. Just in case I should count them I guess.
My son has been having a lot of baths since he's been back home. I think part of this is for 'private time' as I have caught him several times now. Why am I catching him? Because he is not closing the bathroom door. Same with yesterday I went to go upstairs and he is in his room masturbating with the door open. Not the first time. I'm being cautioned to not go upstairs in my own home because he is masturbating! I have heard that tactile hallucinations can fuel this so I'm not sure if that is what this is or just my son being hormonal. Either is possible. Regardless it needs to be addressed somehow. He can masturbate all he wants but he really needs to learn consideration and how to do it privately. As well as follow up hygiene.
It's 2 PM now and he just left for the 'store'... *sigh*
Going to see what I can do with those pictures I took and try not to over-think what the next week is going to be like.
Mom
BarbieBF
© BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey, 2014 - 2015. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Links to blog posts and/or pages as a whole (in there entirety) may be used provided that full and clear credit is given to BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Home again, home again, jiggety jig.
Yes my boy is home again...
Last night he called asking to come home. Earlier in the day I had spoken to his case worker from PACT about bringing him home so when he called I went with it. I agreed under the conditions that he participate with ADAPT for drug treatment and that we have to get the money thing straightened out with disability. Shortly after the shelter called to confirm what my son was saying about me picking him up. It turns out the lady at the shelter had given him a 'talking to' about what he was doing and how living with mom seemed like the best option for him.
When we picked him up and got into the car my son commented that one good thing came from him being at the shelter and that was realizing that living with me was the best place for him. Hubby and I just replied that we were glad something good came out of it. I'm thinking this was a reflection of what the shelter lady had said to him...
He did receive a payment from disability on Friday. This was concerning a lot of us as my son doesn't understand that people can take advantage of him for his money and if left for too long he could get himself into some serious trouble. He did buy an iPod yesterday and today hubby and I took him for cigarettes and to buy some stuff for his room. He paid for a TV and part of a futon while I paid for a computer chair in exchange for his tablet. Hopefully this will help cure him of sleeping on the sofa since he now has one in his room.
The first thing I had him do last night was have a shower. Today he put the corduroys back on and I told him to change ;) Last night he feel asleep on the sofa... I woke him up at 1 to go to bed and he ended up being awake all night. Hopefully he will sleep good tonight. I told him last night that he is not on enough antipsychotics and that I can see the psychosis on his face. He seems to have a lot of voices so I will see about making the Olanzapine a nightly medication. The Invega is good for other things but doesn't seem to touch the voices. He is now on an antidepressant, Citalopram/Celexa which he says helps him.
He seems happy to be home. He likes the new place. I'm happy he is home. I didn't realize how much I missed hearing: Mom... He also bought a new computer game today that I can hear him playing.
Me, I'm feeling somewhat dragged out. I think it's the Venlafaxine. I noticed today when we were out driving I was able to NOT comment on my hubby's minor 'road rage' which I usually can't resist doing so I'm guessing that's the Venlafaxine working. Hubby has been great today about driving my son around and helping to set it up stuff. Let me just say that futons are a biatch to set up!
Hubby had to go move some snow so I think I'm going to figure out the tablet and doing some reading on the Kindle app.
Mom
BarbieBF
© BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey, 2014 - 2015. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Links to blog posts and/or pages as a whole (in there entirety) may be used provided that full and clear credit is given to BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Last night he called asking to come home. Earlier in the day I had spoken to his case worker from PACT about bringing him home so when he called I went with it. I agreed under the conditions that he participate with ADAPT for drug treatment and that we have to get the money thing straightened out with disability. Shortly after the shelter called to confirm what my son was saying about me picking him up. It turns out the lady at the shelter had given him a 'talking to' about what he was doing and how living with mom seemed like the best option for him.
When we picked him up and got into the car my son commented that one good thing came from him being at the shelter and that was realizing that living with me was the best place for him. Hubby and I just replied that we were glad something good came out of it. I'm thinking this was a reflection of what the shelter lady had said to him...
He did receive a payment from disability on Friday. This was concerning a lot of us as my son doesn't understand that people can take advantage of him for his money and if left for too long he could get himself into some serious trouble. He did buy an iPod yesterday and today hubby and I took him for cigarettes and to buy some stuff for his room. He paid for a TV and part of a futon while I paid for a computer chair in exchange for his tablet. Hopefully this will help cure him of sleeping on the sofa since he now has one in his room.
The first thing I had him do last night was have a shower. Today he put the corduroys back on and I told him to change ;) Last night he feel asleep on the sofa... I woke him up at 1 to go to bed and he ended up being awake all night. Hopefully he will sleep good tonight. I told him last night that he is not on enough antipsychotics and that I can see the psychosis on his face. He seems to have a lot of voices so I will see about making the Olanzapine a nightly medication. The Invega is good for other things but doesn't seem to touch the voices. He is now on an antidepressant, Citalopram/Celexa which he says helps him.
He seems happy to be home. He likes the new place. I'm happy he is home. I didn't realize how much I missed hearing: Mom... He also bought a new computer game today that I can hear him playing.
Me, I'm feeling somewhat dragged out. I think it's the Venlafaxine. I noticed today when we were out driving I was able to NOT comment on my hubby's minor 'road rage' which I usually can't resist doing so I'm guessing that's the Venlafaxine working. Hubby has been great today about driving my son around and helping to set it up stuff. Let me just say that futons are a biatch to set up!
Hubby had to go move some snow so I think I'm going to figure out the tablet and doing some reading on the Kindle app.
Mom
BarbieBF
© BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey, 2014 - 2015. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Links to blog posts and/or pages as a whole (in there entirety) may be used provided that full and clear credit is given to BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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