16 year old hearing voices

[Beth49]

I am out of my mind with worry over my son. He is sixteen. At the age of 9 he had a left temporal lobectomy for removal of a DNA and ganglioglioma. He had severe epilepsy which dramatically improved after surgery.  Over the following years however he developed severe tics and was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, he has OCD and learning difficulties (he attends a school for special educational needs).  He is like a 10 year old in a 16 year old's body.

He has complained of hearing a voice for some time and has been seen by our child mental health team. He was on Sulpiride but this gave him something called Tardive dyskenisa and he had to be weaned off it.  He is now just on Lamotrigine 225 mg twice daily which he has been on since his surgery all those years ago.

Recently, the voice has become more pronounced, often abusive, accusing him of murdering his grandmother by poisoning her (she died aged only 60 of cancer at the time he was having his surgery).  The voice continually tells him to kill himself.  Last night he stayed up all night because the voice wouldn't let him sleep.  He made a list of 22 ways he could commit suicide.

I did have him to my family doctor last week as things had started to get bad then and she said she would refer him urgently again to our local hospital.  We've heard nothing.

I think the problem is that being sixteen he falls somewhere between that of an adult and a child in our health system, and maybe that is why I feel no-one really cares.  I feel very much out in the wilderness. How do I help him? I tried staying awake with him all night (I was scared to sleep in case he did harm himself) but felt guilty when I nodded off.  He eventually fell asleep at 6 a.m. and is still sleeping now (12.00 midday). What do I do? Do I let him sleep or wake him and try and keep him busy?  I'm very worried and any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks, Beth.

[AMO]

My heart goes out to your nad your family.......while i am certainly not anyone can give medical advice, and this side of the forum iss for patient support.

But i a moth er. If he was my child, i would not sit and wait any longer.... to me it sounds like you neeed to have him in professiona l care NOW .....is the e.r. an option?
or...
take him into the doctors office... sit there until you get the help an dcare he deserves ! do not take any run around!
do not take no for an answer! if it means sitting there all day then do!
take them by the collar and shake these doctors up   if  they say they are
'worrking  on it' . THIS IS SERIOUS!!!, he is suicidal!

... if they have not gotten it inn order yet, and this is last week... i would litterallly take him to the docs office and not leave til they have what you want!!!!!
god blesss and prayers

[ggreg]

People who hear voices can be treated with other drugs besides the one that didn't work well for your son.  I knew a lady who heard them until she took some sort of medication, and they went away to where they didn't bother her so much.  Obviously the proper drug is very important in this situation, since all this seems to come from his previous physical brain problem.  

You have several options.  One is to visit a psychiatrist or group of mental health practitioners or even the county clinic has a psychological department and will take walk-ins.  Mental health people don't just talk to patients, they don't just treat nut cases; they are also expert in treating organic diseases of the brain with medications, plus they have access to private facilities that can perhaps keep your son there until they get him straight on his meds, where he will be safe.  

You said you were waiting to hear from someone, but your son being suicidal trumps that.  Even seeing a neurologist or SOME physician is better than nothing, if you can get an emergency squeeze-in appointment, altho I personally do not think it would be a good idea to just let him come right back home with a bottle of pills that might not work.

Hearing voices is a treatable disorder, with many different origins, diff treatments, and there is nothing to be gained by waiting, and everything to lose if you do. I hope you will find someone today, as his suicidal direction worries me.  

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

When a person says he has plan to kill himself, there are chances that he will do so. The least you can do is get rid of any sharp instruments and hide them somewhere he won't find. Throw them away if you have to. You can always but new ones, but you won't get him again.

This most certainly looks to be a consequence of the brain surgery. Auditory hallucinations appearing as a post temporal lobectomy phenomenon is known. The treatment can be a difficult challenge, as it is proving to be in your son's case. Some patients benefit from the newer drugs, but other somehow respond to the good old antipsychotics. I hope you get him to a psychiatrist or a neurologist and get him in.

Regards