[Just Jacquie]

Hi again. We have somewhat of a dilemma with my husband presently. He has been in the hospital for almost two months now. Early on, he certainly needed to be hospitalized. He was acting erratically, was very paranoid (even thinking our son was stealing our money), delusional, and, on top of that, he blood pressure was sky high. As a matter of fact, we brought him to the crisis center, and, in turn, they brought him to the ER because of his high BP. He was hospitalized on the medical floor until his BP was under control, which took 3 days, then he went to the Psych floor. From there, he was transferred to the hospital he is presently in, which (I hope you can follow all this!) he was in for 6 days back in 2003, after he confessed to his boss that he felt suicidal and was depressed. When I brought him home from this place, I'll call 'HH', and, within hours, he had attempted suicide but cutting his throat with a utility knife.

So, now that I've laid the background, I wil go into the present dilemma ... This place was horrified to learn of that episode back in 2003, and, although these are TOTALLY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, they seem very reluctant to D/C him. Their solution is to send him to a county hospital, which is generally for LONG TERM care (a nursing home-type place, with a Psych Unit). Problem is, they seem to be taking folks directly from ERs and crisis centers, and, even tho they changed DH's status to 'involuntary' to get him in faster, it's still not happening. I would like him to go there for a short while, only with the hopes of them giving him a try on another bipolat med, such as Ability, Lamictal, Geodon, etc. Here are the psych meds he is currently on: Depakote (1500 mgs,), Zoloft (25mgs, but he had been on 250 mgs for the past several years), Risperdal (2mg tid),Trazadone (50 at bedtime), and Vistaril (not sure dose, but it is PRN). The rest of his meds are for BP, w/ Zocor and Plavix, Claritin thrown in, too.

As to how DH is acting now, he surely is over his paranoia and mania. He is pretty low-key, not delusional, is totally coherent, has his memory, knows current events, etc. His main symptom that I see is still his depression.. Who wouldn't be depressed after what he's gone through? BTW, he had needed skin grafts on both his hands, and doesn't have full use of all his fingers, though they are very slowly improving. (Side note: he had left our bedroom the night of the fire, and, all of a sudden, the fire flared up at him, so he covered his face with his hands, probably saving his face, eyes, etc.) I have spoken with him numerous times, and, tho depressed, he is very happy to be alive, and has absolutely no thoughts He also has an excellent pdoc on the 'outside', who has seen him through since after his release from the hospital after is attempt in 2003. (Another sidebar: he has 12 ECT treatments back then which are not even a possibility now due to health issues). He is reading a book I brought him, reads the newspapers, and although not totally himself, he is getting back to his 'new normal'.

I know you all can't predict with certainty how he will do, nor do I expect you to, but I am asking for your thoughts on this whole situation?? He would be coming home to our new house, which he lived in with us for 2 months before his PTSD became a problem. I will be here, by his side, as we are both retired. We also have my 31 year old son, his wife, and their two kids, 5 and 3. There is no question that he would be much happier being out of that place (he's in the 'Older Adult' unit, is age 60). I really want to be more pro-active with his care, but HH is really not likely to take any med suggestions from me. I know his (and my) pdoc is well versed in all the new meds, and knows him better than the docs he is being treated by in HH.

Please share your thoughts and ideas with me. I feel like I am up against a brick wall here!!

Thanks and have a good day all! Jacquie

Sorry this was so long, but I needed you to know as much about this situation as possible