should schizophrenics be forced meds

Originally posted by MorningtonCrescent

Originally posted by sanctum
I had a friend with an almost identical history/diagnosis. My friend would
suffer depression, but always was nice when friends were around.
One night the police almost hit him in the middle of road, while
he was suffering an episode. They rushed him to hos' and the
psych's took over. They dosed his brain with enough Lithium
for ten people. He could not even remember his own name,
so he was 'certified', and his med' dose was ground in a
pesel and morter and mixed into his fluids and food.

I met him in 1988 and he died in 02, aged 37.
A tragic case of medical ignorance.

sounds like your friend was bipolar, not schizophrenic. sort of a moot point, but they are pretty different disorders.

You could be right
In Oz, 'Bipolar' is the polit' correct(general) term for schizophrenia.
Anyhoo, his treatment was BS because the medico's just
considered him a hopeless case and turned him into a
zombie/wreck, thanks to good old Lithium. That was his main med',
but there were others. I knew the guy for 14yrs and i used to
have a quiet word with the nurses, like "why is he 24/7 stoned
out of his brain", and some nurses would tell me outright that
i'ts cheaper to turn them into vegetables, and then wait for
them to die. They did not agree with what was happening, but they couldn't
do anything about it.(how 2 lose your job 101)
This is because the'hopeless' patient is allocated a bed,
which could be given to a patient whose prognosis is better
which equals more MONEY for the medico's coz' they
make more one on one consultations The psy' specialist's, i believe
in my friends case are/were negligent. They just nuked
his brain...out of sight, out of mind. To them.
Just a point, he wasn't in the same bed in the same hos' for
14yrs, he got shoved from 'home' to 'home' to save the
health sys' money.
Through no fault of his own, medico's and their drugs killed him.
Note: I am not a Doctor or Nurse, but i have been directly involved
within the health sector for almost 16yrs

Vale, Peter Reardon.

I'm really surprised that no one is freaked out by the fact that I used to assist with Electro Convulsive (Shock) Therapy.

[Edited on 3-3-2004 by goose]

Originally posted by goose
I'm really surprised that no one is freaked out by the fact that I used to assist with Electro Convulsive (Shock) Therapy.

[Edited on 3-3-2004 by goose]

Well, there are a few cases (VERY few cases) of mental disorder where ECT is the only treatment, and the alternative is worse.

My friend is schizophrenic, hes very smart and all when hes on his medication...when he forgets to take it he goes pretty crazy. Last year he tried running away from school and was found in some shed or something, i dont know the whole story. But I think he's just better off taking the medication. I myself am a bit schizo.

My mom works at a psychiatric hospital, and believe me, some of those people are better off with medication. Some are so low-functioning that they dont know what is good for them, and would cut thier skin off if they could. There are some extreme cases, where i think meds are mandatory, but I think those are exceptions.

(besides, we're all a lil schizo sometimes...right?)

I have lived with one for 22 years.

Without her meds she cannot function. Period.

So yes they should

Yes, I do think that schizophrenics should be forced to take their meds, if it is found that without it they are a danger to themselves and or others,which is often the case. Just the tought of be forced to take meds is scarey, but think about it.If someone is hearing voices all the time telling them to kill themselves or someone else,and this happens all the time, and they are not on any meds, than chances are that they are going to follow throw with whatever the voices are telling them to do. Now if that same person is on meds than they can usually drown out the voice or not ever hear it.I have worked with schizophrenics for a few years and I have seen just how well they can function on meds and I have also seen what can happen when they don't take them

Originally posted by Esoterica

Originally posted by goose
I'm really surprised that no one is freaked out by the fact that I used to assist with Electro Convulsive (Shock) Therapy.

[Edited on 3-3-2004 by goose]

Well, there are a few cases (VERY few cases) of mental disorder where ECT is the only treatment, and the alternative is worse.

~*~

I seriously doubt that your goal in life was to to assist
in ECT ... more likely, as a technichon? the road eventually dumped you there- at the ECT gurney- life takes twists & turns

The last electro-shock i seen was to ms Mary McF----,
she was old & frail, but the crud MD, signed the OK
to zap her...i was only 17 and she about 60?
or so it seemed...all the others zapped we had fun with.

Mary got shipped out, never got a 2nd session, wonder why??

Shock Treatments are barbaric pseudo science, see the
intellectual elite weren't content on the study of bumps on the head...they had to improve the Nazi brain studies
and make a Professional Programme to treat the special cases,,,& get fat & happy along the way

but, thats my view point only

You are right it was not my goal to assist in ECT's. I was very worried about having anything to do with it, and did not realize when I took the job that they did this, the nurse manager neglected to inform me of it at all until the day before I was due to assist and would have quit had they not been given in a very humane fashion, Like many people I had seen the ones from the horror movies but todays are very different in regard to how the patient is treated. There is also a limit to how many they can have in a cetain time limit. And all patients and their families give their consent and have watched one on film before being asked to give their consent. Most people woke up asking when they were going to have the ECT, not even aware that it had been done, the only side effect I saw was some confusion for an hour or two immediately after by a few patients, many slept a little later than they were used to. I guess that if my alternative was ECT's or being sick and miserable since no medication was helping I would give consent without much worry.