[Mark in Idaho]

Lizz4m,

I see you have been asking for help. You said "I am looking for help for my son. He has such an array of symptoms. Is there any assistance for him. He is 19. He had 5 concussions in 14 months. 2 bad ones. The first an accident at school and the last one was a car accident.
He was diagnosed a variety of different mental disorders. Please, is there anything to help him? "

Please tell us more about your son's situation. We are here to help.

What is his specific concussion history with dates and symptoms and recovery?

What is his current diagnosis?

What are his current symptoms and struggles?

[lizz4m]

What is his specific concussion history with dates and symptoms and recovery?
He was dumped on his head by a school mate during a class at high school. It was explained that "His head bounced off of the floor." This was spring of 2008. There were 3 minor concussions that left him a little confused but functional, 14 months after the first concussion he was in a very bad car accident. He could not string a sentence together until more than a year later. There were MRIs made of his brain, but there was no conclusive evidence of brain injury.

What is his current diagnosis?
He is now between diagnosis' First bipolar then schitzoaffective disorder. Now they are concerned that it is due the 5 concussions because of some of his symptoms.

What are his current symptoms and struggles?
He reads very close to bipolar but is having some very strange visions, disgusting tastes and he is hearing voices. These voices are God and angles and the devil. He complains of occasional headaches. He attempted suicide several different ways. He stabbed himself in the arms and carved crosses in his arms. He inhaled a combination of clorox bleach and windex... not exactly good for a brain. We found later that he did this activity 3 times because he had a bad taste in his mouth and throat/nose. He walked up to someone's house at night. A shotgun pulled on him because the angles told him to go up the driveway. Currently he is in the State Hospital.. He is very polite and therefore he can convince the doctors that he is ok, as well as law enforcement. He refuses to take any kind of medication. I am so frightened that he will take his life. He has not been violent towards others, ever.
I am concerned that he may become that way if he doesn't get help.

This is a condensed version. I hope that I was able to give you enough information.
Thank you, so much for any help,
Beth

[andromeda]

Beth,

I am so sorry for what you're going through. It must be very hard for your son and family.

Your son is in the best place he can be. How old is he? I'm not sure about the US, but in the UK, if he's under 18 he can be forced to take medication under certain rules. There is also something called a section 2 and 3 which allows for this, whatever the age.

I know it sounds horrible, but it sounds like medication is the best thing for him. I have known people make full recoveries from schizophrenia with the right care and medication.

It also sounds like he needs to continue to have his concussion symptoms investigated.

Let me know if you need any more information on psychiatric care/hospitals - I worked in one and can hopefully help with concerns you may have.

[lizz4m]

It has been horrific. I know that others have suffered longer. I am concerned for his health.. He is 19 almost 20. We are in the US. The laws are awful here for this situation. There is nothing that families can do to help. I tell every doctor he encounters, however, they don't seem to communicate with each other. I end up having to re-tell the story and symptoms over and over. This is fine... I'm his mom. I am so afraid I will forget details. I have things written down and the binder is growing.
Thank you so much for asking and offering advise.
beth

[lizz4m]

He was with a very violent patient. He was verbally assaulted over and over. He kept telling the nurses and finally they moved the other patient. He was so upset. It caused some of the symptoms to reoccur. I want him to try the medication; however, he refuses. It is all very frustrating and upsetting.
All of this just hit on July 14th of this year.
Thank you again,
beth

[Mark in Idaho]

Wow, Beth, you have been through a lot as you have watched your son. I bet you have not recognized your son since 2008. My heart goes out to you. My family has explained how much my personality changed after my severe concussion at 10 years old.

Have you done anything to get guardianship over him? It sounds like he should not be making decisions for himself.

Since he refuses medication to stabilize his condition, will he follow any other disciplines to help his brain get stabilized? He sounds like he is very intelligent. This creates two problems. One, he is very frustrated with his thinking struggles because they are even more obvious to him than they are to you. Second, he can figure out how to snow those around him.

He could likely make improvements with dietary disciplines. Getting a thorough blood analysis can show any deficiencies. Deficiencies and imbalances in B-12, folate, D3, magnesium, calcium, full Thyroid (4), testosterone, DHEA, progesterone, estradiol, and a few others can leave his brain bouncing around.

It will take some work to find a doctor who understands the fine differences in blood chemistry. You can sometimes find them as specialists in ortho-molecular psychiatry or life extension. Both disciplines try to fine tune the brain and body.

Just as a whimsical thought, How are his teeth? Does he have any rotten or abscessing teeth? Or, could he have an embedded sinus infection? A sinus infection can get embedded into the bone and be hard to find and treat. It can release toxins into the brain. It can also cause strange tastes and smells.

I get a strange taste whenever I have even a minor head bump. The taste system can be injured and malfunction. Few doctors will accept this as a valid symptom of brain dysfunction, especially a simple bump.

I hope this is helping you to have hope for improvement. You may see an improvement but it will take months of discipline.

My best to you and your son.

[lizz4m]

Thank you for your words. No, it has been so quick and it is very difficult to get guardianship unless the doctor is willing to sign the paperwork. Our son can sound very reasonable... Yes, he has changed. Did I mention Hyper-religious? Alone can be ok, but with these other symptoms has been very dangerous.

We have the paperwork to take to the doctor at the state hospital for the guardianship.
We were told that even with medical guardianship, if he is Mentally disabled we cannot get him into the hospital. It doesn't include mental illness. If it were health related, yes.....

[Mark in Idaho]

Did anything happen that could have triggered his recent decline? Was it possibly from his attempts to hurt himself? Have there been any serious tox panels done after his recent change?

With his bad concussion years ago, you did not notice a change in personality?

[andromeda]

Clearly you're doing absolutely everything you can and you care so much for him. I wish I knew more on US law so that I could offer more advice. In the UK he would most likely have been sectioned by now which signs all his rights over the the hospital, on the basis that he is a danger to himself without knowing what he is doing.

Is there any way you could get another psychiatrist's opinion? When you say state hospital I assume that means psychiatric hospital? It may even be worth talking to a lawyer if you haven't already.

[lizz4m]

I think that there was an incident where he went over the "edge" and all of his close friends turned their back on him. He became more angry over the course of his jr and senior year of high school. This was after the last concussion.
It has been very difficult for him and I hurt to see him experience this.
I did have some news today....
He said that he took the first round of medication last night. I was very surprised. I asked why he had a change of heart. He said they gave him no choice. They were going to hold him down and inject the meds into him if he didn't comply.
I just hope that after all of this.. it works.

I will keep you apprised of the situation as it unfolds.
Thank you for all of your support.
Beth