I've just joined this site . I found it after looking up the anti -psycotic drug "Quetapiene" which my husband has just been prescribed. He is aged 65 and has suffered for many years with clinical depression. 3 years ago he started to get some things out of all proportion in his mind almost a state of paranoia (he had been on anti-depressents since he was 38 after a first , breakdown in 1978) He had recently been diagnosed with severe diverticular disease (after being treated for 10 years for ulcers and IBS) which meant the possibility of a bowel operation. After seeing a surgeon in May 2004 it was found that the condition was manageable, this was quite a relief . In November that same year he started getting a business matter out of all proportion. This got so bad that he imagined the police were going to come and get him. It ended with him taking an overdose of his anti depressant in the January He immediately told me what he had done and he ended up in a psyciatric hosp. for 3 weeks and then followed an intensive programme of therapy. We were lucky that we had private health insurance. He improved quite a lot., and was able to get back to work in the small business we ran together. His anti-depressants were changed and we visited his consultant every month or 2 . The change in medication began to effect his bowel problem and he had constant changes, at one time also taking a ant-psycotic drug (for about a month) as well as the anti-depressant. He was also taking beta-blockers. In November 2006 he began to lose his sense of taste & smell and within 3 months that had change to everything tasting & smelling obnoxious This had a huge effect on him and he gradually went downhill again He still felt ill and began to feel there was something more seriously wrong that they weren't finding. His GP gave him blood tests and he saw an ENT specialist. Every test -negative. My husband then realised that he was diagnosed with Hypercondriosis and this had a huge detrimental effect on him ending in him taking another overdose in Sept 2007. He wanted to give up as no-one was was ever going to believe him. He had felt to ill to work since the May and we retired and gave up our business of 25 years in the Sept, a week after he took the 2nd overdose. It was a horrendous time. Our family live overseas and we had very little support. He went into the private hospital again for 3 weeks, but very different this time. He "knows" he lost a lot of blood in the hospital and no-one helped him take the sample. Anyway to try to cut an already long story short. He felt to ill to take part in any of the therapy and basically spent 3 weeks just lying on his bed in a very expensive hospital. He came out with a no better state of mind still very convinced there was something seriously wrong physically that they will not find because they are doing all the wrong tests. He is no longer covered by our private insurance for psyciatric problems and in Dec after losing 2 stone in weight went into an NHS psyciatric hosp. I felt they were more "on the ball". He stayed in for 1month coming home for a short period for Xmas. and being discharged in early Jan. He was put on Prozac and Olanzapine. Since then he has basically felt NO better. The horrible taste & smell are still there.. He feels there is an infection running through his whole body and won't go to the GP because of his diagnosis. " They won't believe me" He is in despair and so am I
His new consultant under the NHS has decided to change all his medication now as he wasn't improving . He came off his anti-depressannts 2 weeks ago and the Olanzapine was cut from 5 mgs to 2.5mgs for 3 days from last Wed. Friday he was feeling dreadful so I rang the consultant to see if I could put the Olanzapine back up to 5mgs until hie got his new meds on Monday which he agreed to. Monday hubby started on 25mgs of Quetapiene. twice a day. It's then going to be increased gradually so that by a weeks time he will be on a 100mgs twice a day. He feels he has an ulcer coming back and keeps sweating a lot. Over the last few months he has been in a lot of pain with a burning sensation all over him and that is now far worse since the weekend. I haven't let him read the meds leaflet but it does say the med can cause stomach upsets. I really don't know what to do. He is the most caring , completelt non aggresive person and I can see his personality changing. He is not aggresive but feels so bad all the time. He threw his full cup of tea across the kitchen a few days ago he feels so much despair. His official diagnosis is severe depression with dillusional tendencies. Sorry to write all this. But any suggestions or reassurance would be so much help to me