Help me figure out whats going on with my spouse

Hello all-

About 3 weeks ago, I noticed my wife was acting strange. She was taking a full load of courses at college and was dealing with our kids as well. I went away for a week on business and when I came back, she was in a full-on psychosis. She was paranoid people were out to get here, the FBI, etc..

I was only able to convince her to see a doctor about 5-6 days after the initial psychosis, at which point she was prescribed .25mg of risperidal and .25mg of lorazapam. Immediately after taking it the first time, she seemed more lucid and told me of some of the hallucinations she saw.

However, some of the paranoia is still present to this day. Her memory is absolutely shot and she is frequently confused by almost anything. About a week ago we moved her from .25mg to 1mg a day of risperidal only (no more lorazapam), but the symptoms seem mostly the same. We plan on going to 2mg tonight. She no longer thinks the FBI or etc.. is out to get her, but she still is very confused and 'slightly' paranoid. She will sometimes ask if someone is mad at her, even though there was no indication of that.

She has also lost about 15lbs of weight during this time (last month or so) - However, she is gaining it back now as I help ensure she eats more. Her sleep also was taking a toll in the earlier stages.

I am very frightened by all of this and not sure if the medication is even working or not as the symptoms remain. Ive also read that Brief Psychotic Disorder is supposed to subside within a month so now I am worried this might be a life long illness.

Can anyone lend some thoughts on this- Particularly if the medication seems appropriate (dosage/brand) and if this usually subsides.

Thanks


She is 32 years old, no history of family mental illness and no previous mental health issues.

Based on my case, here is my thoughts :

- she has a mental weakness since a long time ago (no self confidence ?)
- she was too tired and stressed
- maybe she tried drugs ? (cannabis)
- this lead to psychosis

In my case it lasted around 3 months, took meds then stopped, coz turned me into a complete zombie.
This was 5 years ago. Meds don't help as much as therapy, you supporting her, etc.

This will be a life disorder, once you got it, you keep it. BUT you can still live a somewhat normal life, without any "mad" (or "positive") symptoms. The goal is to live without getting into psychosis again.

A few years ago my spouse went through a series of really traumatic events. When things had finally settled down a year later, he was confronted with a deposition. He lost it. The anxiety was so bad he made anyone who spent any time with him a nervous wreck. There was no calming him down. Then suddenly one evening he called asking me to come home early and not to talk on the phone. He was convinced the FBI had the phones and house tapped and that they were coming for him.

This was just the beginning of a two year long nightmare. If I had known then what I know now... so I am hoping to save you from a long and horrible experience if this is still going on for you. Find a good psychiatrist and counselor. I can't begin to tell you how ma y quacks are out there. The first counselor told me to agree with everything my delusional spouse said. Well that was a load of huey, all it did was help him "prove" that the FBI was after him. That was about a year wasted.

The second counselor suggested that he see a psychiatrist, but the appointment was four months away and he couldn't get us in any faster. Meanwhile spouse took all the computers and electronics and destroyed them with a hammer. All my pictures and work gone. Then he canceled the psychiatrist appointment three days before we were to go. I tried to reinstate the appointment, but was told that spouse had to make the appointment himself due to HIPPA. This entire time my delusional spouse fought me tooth and nail for every counselling session and was angry with me because I would not believe a secret society and the FBI were after him.

By the time we got to a third counselor I didn't have any faith in anyone who has anything akin to a psych or counseling degree and was thinking I needed to save myself, that I had nothing else to give towards helping my spouse. I was exhausted and no one cared. Well the third counselor actually LISTENED to me! She agreed the man was delusional and I didn't have to just go along with the delusions, or spend months doing meditation, and retelling stories of delusion, or journaling, before being told that we needed a psychiatrist. She called a psychiatrist and got us in the next day, and in less than a week we had a diagnosis and medication. Six weeks later things were so much better!

My point is this, don't waste your time on anything that sounds like BS. If you find yourself standing in a hidden area at the side of your house supporting your spouse while they beat the family computer into tiny pieces because some counselor says it will help, give that guy the boot. Get a psychiatrist, not a doctor, not a PA, a psychiatrist. And do it asap. The sooner you go the sooner your spouse will find that correct combination that will eliminate the delusions. Then go to that counselor and learn some new coping skills.

This can be solved in a matter of a few weeks with the right professional. Remember, they can't divulge your information due to HIPPA so remind your spouse of that because if she is paranoid like mine was, it will be hard to get her to go. Best wishes.