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Thank you all for sharing your experiences and your thoughts on menopause, hormones, and lack of sleep. For those that know people that have had these delusions, do they ever get better? Or is it just better control of the symptoms with the right meds?
I wish I could help you. In my experience, my relative is living on disability and dependent on her long-time partner, who may or may not enable her non-compliance with therapy and medication. She stays mostly isolated from us, but we are compelled to call her or drop in every few months just to check on her general health. What little conversation we have indicates that she still suffers from delusions, just not to the degree as before. It's a very sad situation. This is someone we greatly love and my husband and I expected to live more closely with her as we aged. Our common views that we once shared about life and nature she has morphed into stories of torture and oppression by entities that we can't even be sure are real.
Thank you all for sharing your experiences and your thoughts on menopause, hormones, and lack of sleep. For those that know people that have had these delusions, do they ever get better? Or is it just better control of the symptoms with the right meds?
My son needs meds on a constant basis. I am thankful that I can keep a watch, but it is stressful for me as well. I make sure he takes his meds, and he's been very good about it, but even then, most with this type of issue always need tweeking at some point with their meds. It is a chemical imbalance of the brain. I hope they can resolve the issue with her and that it's something they can treat with meds.
There are physical illnesses that can mimic psychiatric illness, such as B12 deficiency, but there is such a thing as late onset schizophrenia. She needs to be seen by a good MD psychiatrist who is willing to do the work to go through the differential diagnosis of late onset schizophrenia, do the testing to eliminate physical causes, and then refer for treatment if a physical cause is found, and treat the schizophrenia if no cause is found. I'd suggest an academic psychiatry program at a major teaching hospital.
OP, your post got me interested in investigating this subject again and I found this and other articles that indicate menopause as a trigger for some mental illnesses. Your relative will need a complete health work up to rule out other factors of course. Menopause and Schizophrenia - Write Health
The family really appreciated this article and this fits with her circumstance, so they will definitely refer to it as she sees her doctors/psychiatrist. Thank you so much!
Thank you all for sharing your experiences and your thoughts on menopause, hormones, and lack of sleep. For those that know people that have had these delusions, do they ever get better? Or is it just better control of the symptoms with the right meds?
If she has schizophrenia, then I am sorry, but there is no cure. However, some meds are very effective. My brother is schizophrenic and zyprexa works well for him. He is considered 100 percent disabled, and will probably never work professionally again, but on the zyprexa his delusions and mood swings are controlled very well and he is pleasant and conversational and seems to be happy. You wouldn't even know, casually talking to him, that there are any issues at all.
He's 41. He has been schizophrenic for probably two decades but only in the past three years has he submitted to treatment (after two violent psychotic breaks and law enforcement stepping in).
Once we got his meds and treatment plan in place, he stabilized and has been able to come to grips with his condition. No, he won't work professionally again most likely, but with subsidized housing, Medicaid, and disability, he is living comfortably enough and seems at peace. It's great to be able to have a normal, pleasant conversation with him. Meds are the key to success.
From my experience, there is no such thing as a "sudden onset". I would guess that many of the signs of paranoid schizophrenia were already there, but well hidden or masked by the person. However, as a life change happened (possibly hormonal), they were no longer able to keep up the façade.
When this happened with my Mother in her 40's, everyone outside the family could not believe this had happened, and none had a clue that she was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. For those of us closer to the truth (i.e. her kids), everything suddenly started making sense.
And as one gets older, the effort required to mask or hide the signs of mental illness becomes more and more difficult and tiring. Usually most people crack in their 40's (like I am struggling with right now, and as my paranoid schizophrenic mother did), and some life change takes place that just no longer makes them capable of hiding any more.
All I can say is be prepared for heartbreak. The paranoid delusional has nothing wrong with them, and the issue is with the rest of the world. If you can get them institutionalized, they are usually regulated with meds, which makes them good enough to be released. Then, when in the community, they quit taking their meds (because they are not the problem, it is everyone else who is out to get them, and taking the meds may be part of this), and eventually need to be institutionalized again.
Repeat cycle 4 or 5 times until the person dies as they are simply not able to take care of themselves. And nothing you do can help in any way, as they are prisoners of their own mind, something we cannot touch. Unfortunately, the disease is so gripping that even "trump cards" such as grandchildren or children have no value.
Last edited by ScooterMcTavish; 01-02-2014 at 10:40 AM..
This should be investigated by a neurologist before a psychiatrist, IMO.
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Originally Posted by west seattle gal
Needs neurologist (specialist) and thorough workup. Labs done?
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Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen
Has she had a CT or MRI to rule out lesions of the brain? Some brain tumors can cause personality changes and other symptoms similar to schizophrenia.
I agree, on all three counts. It is pretty rare for Schizophrenia to be diagnosed at this age, though it can technically be diagnosed at any age. Most people who have Schizophrenia have a onset of symptoms at around age 20 or so. Given her age, Dementia or Delirium should be ruled out first. A neurologist is your best option for this. If the Neurologist can't find anything, then he/she will likely suggest a referral to a psychiatrist.
Keep in mind that psychotic symptoms can occur with a number of mental illnesses and neurological disorders. Schizophrenia is only one possibility.
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