Hi all. My sister was recently hospitalized with postpartum psychosis. I had to call the police because she was threatening to harm herself and she was hospitalized against her will four days ago. The doctor says that she is not getting better because she is refusing medication. They are permitted to give her shots of medication once a day (adavan and haldol) to keep her calm so that she is not a danger to herself or others, but otherwise they cannot force her to take medications.
How is she ever going to get better if she refuses treatment? Have any of you dealt with this?
We are in the United States, by the way.
Written by
katielady
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Welcome to the forum and thank you for posting - I’m really sorry your sister is suffering from postpartum psychosis, it’s such a traumatic experience for all involved. It can’t have been easy for you to see her hospitalised against her will but it’s really good that she’s safe.
It can be really hard with medication and it must be really worrying for you if your sister is refusing treatment. I had PP in 2012 and remember being so confused, suspicious, paranoid, with no idea of what was real or who to believe. I was very suspicious of the medication I was being given but did take it. In the UK medication can be given without consent under a section but I don’t know if there are limits within that similar to what the doctors are saying for your sister, others will hopefully have more insight and I’ll see what information I can find.
Is there anyone your sister seems to trust at the moment or is she too acutely unwell? Is she allowed visitors? As I became more lucid my husband was the one person I trusted and he kept reassuring me that it was really important to take the medication - I really wasn’t sure but it was such a consistent message I think I believed him. In the midst of that really acute phase it must be so distressing to look on feeling helpless but you may find things change when your sister’s managed to rest a little.
I also wanted to check you’ve seen the information and resources on the APP website that you might find helpful - app-network.org/
Postpartum Support International is another resource to look at - postpartum.net/ - I’ve just seen your question on the post about the new PSI peer support groups and whether they are for families as well - I’m not sure as the group titles all seem to say ‘for moms’ but hopefully the website will help you to find relevant support, there are links to find local support groups and you may find some advice that’s helpful in regard to medication as well...
I am so sorry to hear your sister has been diagnosed with pp and is in hospital at the moment. It is a very hard and traumatic situation for everyone involved, but rest assured she is safe at the hospital and that's the most important thing now.
I had pp in 2018 and I was also hospitalised against my will under a section of the mental health act in the UK. As Jenny says, patients under section are not allowed to refuse treatment or leave hospital, but different countries and perhaps even states have different limitations.
Like your sister, I was very suspicious of medication when I was deeply unwell and it was very difficult to coax me into taking it. Between my husband and my brother both who came to visit me every day, they managed to convince me to take it, same with eating and sleeping which were also a struggle.
Are visits allowed at the moment for your sister? Is there a close relative that she trusts, that can sit with her around the medication time and talk in a soothing voice or just be present for her? It may calm her down and help her accept the medication with more ease. It is really hard, especially in the early days. The paranoia is so intense and you oscillate between extreme emotions in the space of a few minutes. I remember begging my husband to stay with me in the hospital, and a couple of minutes later shouting at him to leave. It is exhausting and confusing, to say the least, for both parties involved.
Despite how severe and traumatic this illnes is, I just wanted to leave you with a note of hope that mums do recover from it. Your sister will be back to herself, you won't believe it now, but she will. Time, medication, patience and support and she will go back to lead a full life as so many mums in the forum are testimony of.
Take good care, please write here for any questions and concerns or for anything you wish to share, we are all here to listen and help in what we can from our experience
Hi there, I am so sorry your sister is suffering - my thoughts are with you all at this difficult time.I don't know if this will help but just from my experience...
I was diagnosed with post partum psychosis and sectioned last year. Before I was moved to a secure hospital, I was injected with sedatives and goodness knows what else. I was terrified and confused.
When in the hospital, I then sat with a nurse and she told me exactly what medicine I was being given, how often I was to take it and how it was going to help me. I wanted to know the names and it made me feel a bit more in control. My mum and husband also kept reassuring me that the doctors weren't trying to poison me!
Your sister must be so scared and I really feel for her. This is such a traumatic time for you all and I really hope she starts taking her medicine. Xx
Hi Katielady, I am sorry to hear that your sister is going through PP at the moment. It is traumatic for you to see a loved one go through this horrible illness. Rest assured she will come through it though.
My wife had severe pp after both our sons were born and was sectioned in psychiatric units for a few months each time. Suspicion and paranoia is a common behaviour so refusal to take meds is quite common.
My wife refused meds, food and drink during her last admission and rather than nursing staff having to forcibly administer her anti psychotics with injection twice a day which is a horrible experience to go through they administered the drug in a depot form. Essentially it is a months dose injected into body tissue in one go and it slowly enters the blood stream over the month. This saved her a lot of trauma from being restrained. There are some risks with administering the depot which must be weighed against the harm of not doing anything. Also obviously you can’t lower the dose for a whole month once it is administered.
I’m sure that your sister will improve but if problems with medication compliance continue there are other methods her doctors have.
Im so sorry to hear about your sister and your family in this difficult situation.I hope that with lorazepam and haloperidol your sister will calm down and eventually accept the treatment
I was also hospitalised against my will. What is she delusional about? I was delusional that my family is against me and that they wanted to take my baby away from me so putting me into mental health hospital seemed like a part of their vicious plan. Naturally i wasn’t eager to take meds.
i can only give my personal opinion, and hope it will be tiny bit helpful.
I think i would have been more willing to take medication if anyone would explain in detail to me what is postpartum psychosis and why it’s important to take meds. My delusion was that i was hospitalised by mistake and nobody could find the right words to explain why i’m considered ill. I wish my doctors were more wordy. I only got information that i had postpartum psychosis but it’s absolutely not self explanatory, especially when you are hospitalised against your will
If any of your family members can visit your sister or at least telephone her and give her more information or answer her questions, it may contribute to the progress. Even if she argues every word you say and reacts aggressively it’s because she lost critical thinking due to psychosis, but a little part of her brain will still absorb all the correct information and process it and eventually she may soften and accept the medication.
Also i was motivated that the sooner i start the treatment and pretend that i agree with everyone that im ill, the sooner i will be back home with my baby. Actually the first 2-3 weeks i was still pretending and only with time and medication i started to realise that my hospitalisation was no mistake.
Hi Katie lady Full sympathies to your sister and all that the PP psychosis is effecting. It is the most cruel illness and it’s very frightening to go through (speaking from experience) and for those caring for someone with it.
I too refused medication as I hate meds at the best of times and whilst Ill this notion became stronger still and so I got better on my own without medication. It took some time, and the illness took on different forms, first mania and insomnia and then crippling depression. The whole illness without meds took about 18 months to recover from but I think had I taken the meds I may have got better quicker but it would have been a very traumatic experience for me and I was already in a bad state of mind.
Just wanted to reassure, your sister will get better either on her own, without meds or if she chooses the meds- the illness will run it’s course and she’ll return to herself. It might be hard to believe now but the brain knows how to recover, it just takes time.
I'm really glad you have found the forum here, and have reached out for support. It sounds like a really worrying and stressful time for you and your whole family. I do hope you have found some reassurance in the experiences shared by other mums, please do keep in touch if we can support you in any way.
I hope the information on Postpartum Support International was helpful, and you are able to access some support on the legal system in mental health care in the US.
How are things going with your sister? I wondered if the following information on antipsychotic medication might be helpful for you so you feel informed, and in time for your sister when she feels ready to take in information about meds.
I am so very sorry about your sister being so terribly unwell.
I do hope so very much that you could follow up the suggested links.
Of course, legislation do vary from country to country.
When sectioned, eventually health professionals diagnosed PPP I have had to be injected and responded only once the appropriate combination of traditional meds were found.
I hope the light will shine again for your sister. I shifted from hallucination to light moments and this was the time when my partner was able to get my consent involving a witness, so that he could access my meds file and subsequently to have a voice for my needs. That was in 2010 and in a psychiatric hospital. Luckily a lot has changed since then.
Wishing you well, too and thank you for reaching out x
I’m so sorry to hear that your sister was recently hospitalised with postpartum psychosis. I can relate to her cry for help which was similar to how I was behaving when PP hit me. I’m sure your sister is so thankful that in the midst of such a stressful situation you were there for her.
Just wondering how your sister is now and whether you are making sure to take care of yourself too? I hope Postpartum Support International in the US were able to offer support and advice. Thinking of you .... take care.
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