Re: My 16 yr old - forced into psych ward for Prozac & Geodon

November 6, 2006

Hi Merrie,

Wow, what a story! It sounds like something that would take place is

communistic Russia years ago! My hat off to you for sticking to your guns

and not authorizing the use of these antidepressants on your son. You truly

impress me! Check out this website and contact someone there. I bet that

they can help you! http://www.cchr.org/

Good luck! You're doing the right thing!

J. Jolivette

My 16 yr old - forced into psych ward for Prozac

& Geodon

I know you all don't like this subject line. I have fought Prozac and

Geodon and I am suppose to get my 16 year old son back tomorrow, Monday,

at 10am. I live in southeast Virginia.

I want you all to know what has happened. I will try to make this short,

but it is a terrifying story.

My son suffers with the signs of OCD. In addition, he has spells of

uncontrolable rage. Last Wednesday we found a psychologist who claims

he can get 100% results with OCD by using the exposure response

technique if the patient will work with him. My son has never had the

opportunity to try this. My son said he wanted to work with him.

When we got home at 8pm, my son ran away and was not found until 5:45am

the next morning. The police brought him back in handcuffs, however he

had done nothing wrong. He had just run away. He came into the house

with bottled up rage. Once the police were gone and he was inside the

house, he attacked me with his fists while trying to bite me as well.

My boyfriend was there at the time and called the police as he pulled my

son off of me. My son began attacking him. I intervened and talked my

son down and got him to stop hitting, however unlike most times, he

still stayed angry. The police arrived and said that he didn't have a

choice about going to this city facility to talk to someone. He only

had a choice about how he wanted to go, in handcuffs with the police or

with his mother. He chose me, his mother. I had no idea where we were

going or what was happening, but I had to take him there.

Once there, I was very polite. I did not reveal all the problems I was

having with my son but said instead that he was a difficult child and we

had a psychologist who was working with him. The interviewer tried to

talk to my son but my son was still angry. The next thing I knew, she

asked for a petition and looked up at my son and said, " I am admitting

you to a psychiatric hospital. You will not be going home today from

here. " My son blew in rage and began to move aggressively in my

direction. I turned to her and said, " I think we might have trouble. "

It was impossible to get out of my son's way fast enough, so I turned to

my son and said, " Wait a minute. We have to have an agreement. You

have to agree not to in any way physically address me or use

inappropriate verbal language in any loud and abusive way. Do you

agree? " He was steaming, but said 'yes'. Several police officers

entered the room and my son said, " I have to see my mother alone. " They

said, " You will not be seeing your mother alone. " I weazeled my way out

between the officers.

My son was taken to the children's psychiatric hospital. The next day I

got a call from a doctor who was from India and had a very thick accent.

He was very unspecific about my son's condition and just told me that he

was prescribing Prozac and Geodon for my son. Oddily enough, I don't

know why, he needed my permission. He needed me to sign papers allowing

my son to be given these two drugs. You all know I'm not going to do

that. There's just no way I'm going to do that. I had never heard of

Geodon, but I figured it was probably pretty deadly. I told the doctor

that I would have to get some information on these two drugs and get

back to him. I didn't say anything else.

The doctor called me back Friday afternoon and told me I needed to give

permission for him to give these two drugs because my son really needed

them and he didn't want to wait too long. I told him that I understood

that Prozac was labeled now as something not to be given to teenagers

because it could cause them to suicide themselves. I told him that I

had talked to my son's current doctor and he did not think my son should

be given drugs, so I was going to be following his advice and not giving

permission. I told him this doctor would be happy to talk with him at

his convience. I also told this doctor my son had allergies that caused

some of his problems and that I had a leading pediatric allergist that

wished to call him and discuss my son's case, so I needed his number for

her to call him as I was sure he had my son's best interest at heart and

would want to avail himself of as much information as possible from the

many professionals who had worked with my son. This doctor said, " Who

are these doctors? I don't have to talk to anybody. If you don't come

down here and sign these papers, I will take your son to court, refuse

to accept him back here, and send him to a state hospital where he can

just rot. " Then he slammed the phone down on me.

A few hours went by and he called me to tell me that if I didn't sign

these papers, he would send my son to a hospital so far away that I

would never see him again. I again told him that I was going to follow

the professional advice of my son's doctors and not sign these papers.

Then someone from the office called me to tell me that I had to come

down immediately and sign papers so they could keep him long enough to

have a commitment hearing. I live about an hour from the place and

couldn't make it in time. They asked if I was getting in my car. I

didn't get into my car. I didn't sign any papers.

Friday night, someone called from the hospital and asked me, " Do you

wish for ____ (name of hospital) to treat your child? " This sounded

like a total set up as they had already told me they didn't have to get

my written permission, only my verbal permission over the phone. I

said, " No " . Now this is the strangest thing. Then they told me that if

I wouldn't allow them to treat my son, they could not keep my son. This

was just too easy, so I got very uneasy. They told me my son would be

ready for pick up by 7:30pm. I couldn't get there by then, so then they

said they had already discharged him and he would have to now be

re-admitted in order for them to keep him and I would have to sign

re-admitting papers. I live an hour from this place, so I couldn't get

there. Then they told me that if I didn't pick him up by 7:30pm, they

would have to re-admit him and I might not ever be able to get him again

as then it would be up to the doctor.

On Saturday morning they called to tell me that if I didn't come down

there and pick him up, they were going to call Child Protective

Services. I told them that I was looking for the best care for my son

so that when I picked him up, I would have things ready for him that

would be in his best interest. I told them I could not do this over the

weekend. Then they told me he had to be picked up on Sunday.

On Sunday, the doctor called to tell me my son was doing " surprisingly

well " , but that if I wouldn't let him treat my son, I would have to take

him. To this he added, " And I wouldn't be surprised if somebody didn't

call Child Protective Services, have them come knock on your door, and

take your child. Then I will be able to treat him. "

Sunday afternoon I got a call from a social worker at the hospital. He

wanted to know if a family therapy session had been scheduled between my

son and me. I told him that I was scheduled to pick up my son at 10am

Monday morning and so I did not think we would be scheduling a session.

Then he said that he could schedule it after court. I had understood

that my son could not have a commitment hearing without my signing the

papers for it, so I told this man that I did not think my son was going

to court. It is still unclear about that. Finally this social worker

said he would like to offer me a family session if I would like. I

thanked him but told him that I had things set up for my son to

immediately be seen by his regular doctors and I would like to get him

there as quickly as possible as I felt that would be in the best

interest of my child.

I am planning to pick up my son at 10am tomorrow. I was told a few days

ago that I would have to sign a AMA (Against Medical Advice) form when I

picked him up. I was also told that I would have to sign re-admittance

papers as he had been readmitted when I couldn't get him on Friday

night. Then I was told he might not be discharged as that would then be

up to this doctor.

I have spoken with my son one time over the phone. He told me that all

over the place they have signs posted that say you do not have to take

any medicines offered to you and you do not have to participate and do

anything they ask of you. Then my son said, " But Mom, if you don't do

it, they put you in solitary confinement. Don't worry, Mom, because the

doctor says I'm one of the worse people here, so he has ordered a person

to be with me 24 hours a day, so when they put me in solitary

confinement, that person had to go in with me, too. That day the person

was one of the best people here. " My son told me that he had gone in

once because he refused to sign some papers they asked him to sign.

What do you all think of this?

I have one other question. If your child shows signs of OCD and the

only drug they want to give is Prozac or another SSRI, what do you do?

I cannot expect my son to make a spontaneous recovery, so if he acts up

again, gets violent and the police are called, it's going to be much

worse for them because I'm sure the next time they will make all efforts

needed to be sure they don't need my permission to do whatever they wish

to my child.

I have since read about Geodon. It's label says that it can cause

sudden death if you have a heart condition. When my son entered this

place, I told them that my mother had a heart condition and wore a pace

maker and that my only sibling had just died from a massive heart attack

this past June. The two drugs this doctor wanted to give my son were

both labeled as known killers for my son. Is the way they cure the

mentally ill now is to kill you?

What do you all think about this?

Merrie

November 6, 2006