Son just diagnosed

[Mom_of_an_addict]

Hello

My son is 23 was really bright and about a 1 1/2 years ago started having problems with pot. He has about 6 months to finish college and lost his job in August -  he was a computer programer. He is in debt and has no real friends and lost his drivers license because of speeding tickets and becasue he did not show up to court.

My son really had a few bad days last week. He started hallucinating and burning stuff in his room the middle of the night. It was really scary.

Well what happen was that my husband came home from lunch and my son was posted at our front door like a soldier with an ax… So my husband asked him if he wanted some help and he said yes. Right away he took him to mental health and they admitted him. He was tested – urine and blood – and all he tested positive for was pot, no meth, no nothing else. We are not sure but our son had said that he had taken some mushroom tea??? But  that was not found on the results… it could be that he needed a different test…
He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and after 3 different medications he is now taking Geodon.

After three days there he was released and he is back with us. We are waiting for the medicine to take effect. He seems a little better and is sleeping through the night at least, but he is still having disorganized thoughts, paces a lot, and can’t really sit still. Today he did tell me that he was craving pot because it calmed him down?? I don’t think he thinks that he has a drug problem but I do think he knows that something is wrong. We are planning on going to some support groups as a family with NAMI ( National Assoc. for Mental Illness).

Things are really rough and to some degree we are feeling hopeless because now we are not just dealing with a drug problem but also mental illness. Please pray for us and if anyone has any advice it is much appreciated

[ILADVOCATE]

Well you are doing the right thing. The important thing is to find a support group for him that is a dual recovery group for a person with a psychiatric disability and a substance abuse issue. He should also make new friends apart from any people who encouraged him to get involved with illegal drugs in the first place. Self medication can sometimes be a part of schizophrenia or other psychiatric disabilities and it can hasten the onset and worsen the recovery rate. I have never had a substance abuse issue but I have been through the recovery process for schizoaffective disorder and with a treatment in Phase II FDA study have been documented as having made a full recovery so the response rate to medications will advance but for anyone to response to medication at all they have to stay free of illegal drugs. So you are doing the right thing but he all needs all the outpatient assistance and emotional support he can.

[choo_choo]

Hi.  I stopped medication treatment for a number of years.  Before I resumed treatment the second time, I self-medicated with alcohol.  I wasn't an alcoholic per se, but I did use alchohol excessively as a way to treat my schizophrenia symptoms.  

I discontinued treatment because I didn't think I needed to take the medication anymore because I felt ok.  A few years later I began to relapse.  At that point I began to self-medicate with alcohol.  As my symptoms became worse, my consumption of alcohol became larger.  I recognized that the amount of alcohol I was consuming was excessive and expensive.  Besides that, my mom and sister told me it was really time for me to start treatment again.  I decided to go to the doctor.  As the medication started to kick in, my use of alcohol decreased, though I never told my doctor about my alcohol use.  When I moved up with my family, I was enrolled in a comprehensive mental health outpatient clinic, which was much different than I was used to.  Nothing got past them and they found out about my self-medication issues.  They made me go to individual counseling and dual-recovery support groups.  I quickly found out that I was not an addict.  Some of the people in the group were addicts...some weren't.  Some of them were alcoholics who happened also to have a mental illness, while others were like me and simply used alcohol as a drug because either they had no other drugs or their other drugs were ineffective.  The group was helpful in addressing my attitudes towards self-medication and some alcohol-related issues.  It was also very educational.  Since I didn't have issues with addiction, I didn't really benefit from that part of the group.  I think a dual-recovery group would be helpful for your son.      

I can understand why your son says the pot calms him down, because it does.  It probably alleviates some of his schizophrenia symptoms and for him that's a positive thing because he feels better.  Just the way I craved alcohol because of the way it made me feel and the way it alleviated some of my schizophrenia symptoms.  Once my symptoms were lessened by regular use of prescribed medication, I didn't crave the alcohol anymore because it no longer served a purpose for me.  I don't know how to better explain it.

I know my story was long, sometimes I get like that...lol.  I was "highly encouraged" to go to NAMI support groups, which I did, and I found them extremely helpful.  I started to become involved in the organization and became the secretary of my local NAMI chapter.  I did quite a bit of volunteer work for the organization, too.  NAMI gave a lot to me and when it was my turn, I decided to give back.  I hope you find the NAMI groups as helpful as I did.      

Good Luck.      

[drifter0213]

i am dual-dx. and recently joined NAMI !

[whisperwolf]

Hi.  I have had schizophrenia for 13 years and I just want to tell you that I am praying for you.  It will be a rough road for all of you.  NAMI is a really good support group for you, I am glad you are joining.  Also, www. schizophrenia.org is pretty good too.  The biggest challenges are going to be to find the right combination of meds that will work for him.  Hopefully he is compliant with taking them.  Also, hopefully he will stop taking the pot.  

Just remember, that even though it doesn't seem like it right now, your son is still in there somewhere.  Don't lose hope.  I have come through the other side and I know.  

Your sister in Christ,

Krista