User Friendly?…Let’s get Mom out of Haven Behavioral Senior Care, Thornton, Colorado

If you are reading this and considering an admission to a Psych Hospital some place, be sure that you do your homework and check for happy customers~

I can’t sleep for the anticipation of what’s to come.  I’ve asked God to take it over and guide me.  And MOSTLY the week has gone well with me doing this.  But, because I’ll be picking Mom up tomorrow,  choke**choke** I’m more restless and hoping that I actually can HEAR what He wants me to do.  What if I’m not paying attention when He decides to show everything clearly to me!!  :o)  Anyway, I’m plagued with excited anticipation, fear, relief, that paralyzed feeling that comes with having to make too many decisions in too little time and then beginning to cringe when yet another is thrust upon me.

I haven’t been able to visit with Mom more than a couple of hours over the past 10 days.  When I talk to her, she still talks about insanity and how her brain is frozen and is just certain that the devil will not let us see each other anymore.  She mentioned slashing her wrists when I was there on Sunday.  I don’t know about her screaming and the frequency, only that it has continued to one degree or another.  She has been put on 2 anti-psychotic drugs, and two others to deal with the side effects of the first two and she sounds very druggie on the phone.  If you read the post about my visit with her on Sunday, you know that this was a problem on Sunday.

So, I don’t know exactly what I’ll find when I pick her up, tomorrow.  I know that the effects of the Serequel have worn off and so she is less restless and aggetated.   I spoke with a professor from the University of Colorado who is a Psychiatrist who specializes in geriatric psychiatry.  He was frank and wanted me to ask Mother’s treating doctor at Haven Behavioral Senior Care, where she has been for the past 10 days, to sit down with me and consider his recommendations.  He stated that they should not have put Mother on two anti psychotics without talking with me and making me understand the ramifications and giving me the alternatives to doing this.  I was aware of the danger of using these drugs, but knew of NO alternatives and was never told that the use of more than one of them at the same time increases Mom’s risk of sudden death.

This Doctor’s recommendations were to gradually take her off of the anti-psychotics and to begin treating her depression that was the precursor the psychosis.  He couldn’t imagine that I wouldn’t be able to have a heart-to-heart visit with Mother’s treating doctor and was very disturbed when finding out that I couldn’t get a confirmation about the meds that I was originally told that she was on.  Even MOM’s treating doctor at Have Behavioral Senior Care, Dr. Rogers, told me that she was sure that Mom wasn’t on Cogentin because she thought it would NOT be something used for someone in her age group and with any amount of dementia.  I called, once again, and last night found out that, in fact, she IS on the Cogentin as well as Lexepra, Adavan, and Neurontin.

Now, my prayer is to find a facility and doctors that will be more user friendly.  Mom will be discharged to me tomorrow morning and I’ll take her to some friend’s home in Thornton who has offered their home to us for several days to see how she is.  I had originally thought that I would just have her there and if she was better enough to bring home after a couple of nights, I’d bring her back to Heidi’s Chateau in Montrose.  However, now that I have been newly educated about the medications, I suppose that I should try harder to find a facility for her that will watch her as she comes off these drugs.  I have calls into a couple of Senior Psychiatrists in the Denver area that I hope will consult with us over the weekend or on Monday to help give me a clearer picture of where to go.

Thank you for your prayers.  I may be able to check my e-mails, but you can also call, if you want.  MY number is 970-275-3226 and you can send me messages here on the blog or e-mail me at drmary@drmary.net