Hi I saw my shrink again and was in bad enough shape to agreee to go into the hospital. I found out later they had committed me anyway. I'm not sure for how long but whatever. I was there for 3-/2 weeks, just got out yesterday. I still have to follow up with a shrink on an outpatient basis and with a psychologist. I live in Toronto. Anyway it wasnt as bad as I thought. They messed with lots of different meds. Now i am on 2 anti depressents and an anti psychotic. I am not really sure what my diagnosis was. I was afraid to know but I will ask the shrink next week. The nurses were pretty cool and the doctor was good. If anyone reading this is thinking about going into the hospital don't be too freaked out it is better than being really mental. It definitely helped so I guess in a way it was a positive experience. They tried remeron on me and I had a bad reaction (totally psychotic and paranoid for about 24 hours, seeing snakes crawling all over me and hearing voices and seeing wierd images in my head) I was okay the next day. This was the only really negative part and I guess it was a fluke that the pill was no good for me. heather

Hec, I don't know in which country you live, but there's such a thing as voluntary hospitalization in North America, wherin you can sign yourself out when you feel better. In that way, you have some measure of control over expenses and duration, particularly is you discuss it with your doctor before being admitted.

Hi Anne Marie Thanks so much for answering back. I really cant talk about this stuff with any one else so this seems to help some. The reason I think that they think that I am schizo is becuase they kept asking me if I hear voices and if I think people listen in on my phone calls and if I feel I am being threantened by anything. I know a bit about schizoprenia and hospitals not becuase I am hearing stuff from other people but because my brother was hospitilized for 4 months with schizophrenia when he was 19. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia but he may have been misdiagnosed because that was 15 years ago and he has been on no meds for 14 years and has never had another episode. I went to the hospital every day to see him because I had to bring him food because he thought that they were poisining him and would only eat food that I brought for him. I saw a lot of bad and frightening things during that time. Also they seemed to switch his meds around so much that he would seem better one day and ten times worse the next day. He was completly psychotic for 3 months. I am worried about going into the hospital because of that and also because my parents went through such a horrible time when this was going on. It was so devastating to them and I feel I cant put them through all of that again. Especially not that they are pretty old and have been ill. I know what they would go through because I went through it with them. My father completely shut down and my mother was in tears every day and thought it was because she was a failure as a parent. I cant not tell them if i get hsopitilized because I cant just dissappear for a couple of weeks. I am also worried because I don't get paid if I dont go to work. We dont have insurance for that at my work and employment insurance only pays 55% of wages and doesnt kick in for weeks plus you get no money for two weeks. I have really risen above a lot of hard times that I used to be able to deal with and up until now have managed to hang in there. I am afraid of losing everything that I have worked so hard for. I just bought a house 6 months ago and sunk every penny of my savings into it. I just dont want to lose evertyhing and have to

Hi, Hec. Hospitals are so difficult to get into these days because of cutbacks that if your doctors feel you should be there, then they are not saying it for nothing. While other people can feed you stories to further your fear, it does not help. Focus on you only. You have not been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but with depression. Delusions (seeing and hearing things) are not uncommon with depression. Ask your doctor what to expect from hospitalization. A friend of mine was hospitalized in the fall and his blood chemistry was way out of whack. His meds were therefore not helping him at that point. In ten days though, he was much better and ready for discharge. He too was having delusions, and he has been diagnosed with depression. If that's what your doctor says you have, then why think otherwise? What I recommend is that at your next visit, you talk about your fear of hospitalization with the doctor. It sounds like what you're living through is very difficult at this moment. I'd hate to see you prolong this more than necessary, when help is being offered to you. Why not take it and look forward to discharge day in a couple of weeks?

Me again...I forgot to say that they were asking me a lot of stuff about my family and what kind of stuff I went through when i was a child. I told them everything was normal but it wasn't. I just couldnt tell them about the stuff I went through because I have tucked that away deep inside and I can't go there. I don't want to be a victim of my childhood and even thinking about it get me really upset. I am done with it. Can they still help me even if I don't tell them all that stuff?

Hi I saw a shrink and counsellor last week. They were double teaming me to go into the hospital. I don't want to go because my brother was hospitilized one time and it was really bad. I have another appointment next week. Does anyone know if they can force me to go into the hospital? What can they do for me in a hospital that will make things better than they are now. Someone told me that more people kill themselves that have been in a hsopital than people who havent. I already have suicide thoughts why make it worse. I couldn't really get an answer from them what is worng with me except for depression. They kept asking me questions cuz I think that they think I am also schizo. I see visions and wierd things but I am not paranoid and don't hear voices. How can I tell for sure what they think is wrong with me and how can I make them see I am not schizo? Has anyone else been hospitilized? Did it help or make things worse? thanks h