my 48 yr old brother has been diagnosed bipolar and psychotic,he refuses to believe this and refuses meds. he lives with my terminally ill mother whos health is deteriorating due to his increasing verbally aggresive behaviour, along with his loss of reality "mum is faking cancer for attention", "its all mums fault that i have problems" etc.he is under a dr for this but refuses appointments, we had to call the crisis team as the situation has become unbearable. in the past he has threatened to kill his children as he said they have aids and he doesnt want them to suffer( not real),he has threatened suicide 3 times to my knowledge, we feel he needs to be somewhere that meds can be forced just to get him back on an even keel, please help with any advice.the main concern is, for worry about my mother i may need to get him out of her house but where would he go?
Q: brother refusing meds
wow, your poor mom, i dont know what i d do. i think i d
show him around a nursing home, and tell him if he doesnt
take the meds. that he will end up there.
Not taking meds is a classic symptom of both diseases. The next time he talks suicide maybe you could get legal help to have him hospitalized. In oklahoma you simply can call 911 I believe. It happened to me.
Not taking your meds is a usual response to someone who is in denial about thier illness. The best approach is to stay calm, try not to be demanding about what your brother needs to do but be supportive and put it into the perspective where he can make his own choice. Give him options about his treatment and try to educate him and yourselves about what his illness is, how it effects him and the family and let him try to make the choice as to what he should do. Remember that the way he percieves things is not the same as some one with out an illness. If he feels threatened or forced it will make things worse. Try offering to take him to some kind of counseling, or just be an open and empathetic ear. If he can express how he feels inside without judgement it may open a door to his recovery. If he becomes homicidal or suicidal again call 9-1-1 they can have an ambulance take him to the hospital for psychiatric treatment. Also contact the mental health division of your local Health Department there are people there that will be able to link you to counselors, support groups and psychiatrists. If he has no medical insurance it would be wise to get in touch with the Health Department while he is in the hospital. They usually have social workers located right at the hospital. Then hopefully he can be put into a program for mental illness
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