A 9 Day Mental Adjustment

I spent the last 9 days in a private psychiatric hospital getting my medications changed.  I had been having command hallucinations and I was paranoid.  I showed up to my Wednesday morning DBT group and instead of going in, went to the receptionist and asked to see my psychiatrist.  She wasn't there but they put me in with one of her colleagues and after talking to me for a few minutes decided that I needed a rapid med change which is done safely in an inpatient hospital setting.  So an ambulance was called and I was brought to the psychiatric ER at Lowell General Hospital.  There were patients there being restrained and screaming.  It wasn't fun.  I was evaluated and sent to the psychiatric hospital a few towns to the North.

I was started on Zyprexa and it worked for a few hours.  Then they decided Zyprexa was bad because it can lead to diabetes in patients.  So I was switched to Latuda.  But the doctor forgot to take me off the Zyprexa, and I was being weaned off the Trilafon which was what I have been taking for years, so I was on 3 different anti-psychotics over the weekend.  I felt very strange to say the least.  Monday the doctor realized her mistake and immediately took me off the Zyprexa.

Yesterday I was off the Trilafon and not hallucinating anymore so today I wa discharged.  After 9 days I was so happy to be home.  I experienced many things with other patients but I don't feel right sharing in their stories.  I believe that even though I won't disclose which facility I was in, there should still be some level of anonymity.  I will say by the time I left I had heard it all.

I kept a journal while I was inpatient.  I had my husband read it when I got home.  He said it sounded like I was in a prison.  It was a locked facility, so in a way I guess it was like prison.

I don't like hospitals, but at least I got the help I needed.