These past 2 weeks were hell. Emma had transformed to an angry, obstinate daughter who does not trust us. She dresses up in very tight revealing clothes and demands to be dropped off for appointments.
She has been making more than normal doctor appointments, and also says that she is applying for jobs. She rambles on, and gets very loud when talking about what she is planning to do, that she will be independent.
Any disagreement sets her off about how we always tell her NO NO NO.
This past Wednesday was the worst. She was dressed in a tight black dress with cutouts that revealed too much skin and rhinestone high heals. She demanded that we drop her off, which caused my husband to explode at her. Even though I said to get in the car, she refused and said that she would find her own way. We left. We were going on a trip and would not see her for 3 days, and her younger sister was in charge of keeping an eye on Emma.
At 5:00 am, we get a call in our hotel room that Emma had walked into the police station, raving about getting married and making very little sense. Little sister was called to pick her up, and the day went downhill from there.
Emma’s favorite therapist came in but could not control her. She was taken to her psychiatrist to get a prescription for sleep, but she refused to take it. Things got so bad and Emma became even more argumentative and angry, she was manic. An ambulance was called and she was admitted into the mental ward at our local hospital.
They put her on Zyprexa, 10 mg. She became very sleepy and tired, and hopefully she did get to sleep. The young resident doctor called – I had a good feeling about her because she sounded like she actually cared. However, Emma is talking nonsense.
They may put her on lithium since they are thinking it may help calm her down. They will be keeping her for a few more days. At this point, I wish they would keep her forever. It feels good to not have to physically watch over her, and it is the safest place for her to be, even though they treat with drugs rather than therapy in there.
Apologies for the previous post a few hours ago asking for updates; I now see that they are already on your blog and I am sorry to hear things are still so bad for Emma and you and the rest of your family. Please don’t give up trying to help her and please don’t give up trying to fight the mental health care system so that she can get the therapy she needs in order to get off the drugs that she’ll be forced to take. Things for me have never been as extreme as they sound for you but I believe that there’s hope for your family as well; if you keep looking you will find someone in the system that will be able to help whose willing to look at her overall health (mental, emotional and physical). But you need to think of yourself first and take care of yourself; even if that means she’s locked up in a hospital because you wont be able to help her in the future if you take too much of her struggles onto yourself. Thank you very much for your blog, it has been very helpful to me.
Thank you for your encouragement, Tamira! Each day brings new challenges and I have learned to cope.
Please also take care of yourself. Be aware of unwanted changes in yourself and then think of what could have caused them. Stay healthy!
Peace be with you.