The last Monday in March was Ben's Clinical at the state hospital and afterwards, we had a lunch date at the drive up of some Mexican restaurant. Ben even smiled for this selfie.
He continues to struggle. He has a very strong delusion that he is being poisoned by some of his medication so he is refusing to take medications on most days. They have tried a variety of shots without much improvement.
Because this has been going on for over five weeks now, on April 1st, the hospital held a forced medication hearing which ruled in the hospital's favor. This means that Ben is required by law to take medications as ordered by the doctor. Nothing much has changed since that time, but it gives staff the option of giving medications in different ways to "force" compliance. To clarify, staff could always give short acting medication to calm a patient who is aggressive, but they can't to treat the illness without this additional step. Since Ben has been taking medication in the past, it had not been necessary before now. They were hoping that with this new order, Ben would agree to take oral medications without requiring more forceful options. That hasn't helped yet so this is an developing story as they say. It is so hard because the delusion of harm is so frightening and real to Ben. But unless he takes the Clozaril, that delusion isn't going away....a catch 22!
Wish we could make this better for him. Love that kid so much!
1 comment:
Ben looks good. So the medication he really needs doesn't come in shot form. That is too bad. I don't think you can really force anyone to take medicine. A child if not wanting 5o take antibiotics for example will sometimes just clench there teeth or spit the medicine out. In Ben"s situation it's tough because you know he is really afraid the medicine is poisoning him.The fear is real to Ben.I don't know if he can be bribed like a child might but basically Ben could care less if he is court ordered to take medicine. That probably means very little or nothing to Ben at this point. I feel sorry for Ben in this situation. As you said it's catch 22.
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