Need to vent

[Mary Kay]

Grandma had Paranoid schizophrenia complete with 2 extra personalities...mom was Bi-polar and my sister was Bi-Polar with schizophenic problems budding when she died. My childhood was very odd to say the least! Back then nice southern families did not have mental problems..we said someone was having a spell. I do genealogy, so I know for a fact that mental illness was present as far back as I can trace Grandma's family. My great Aunts always said that Grandma had scarlet fever as a child and that's what happened to her..yeah right!
Of couse none of my family was on any meds..my cousins didn't even know Mom or my sister were troubled by anything. Grandma was a different story, she cycled in and out of realities..in one she wore hot pants and a red wig..she smoked, drank and dated men 20 years her junior. In another she was wild..she would leave home and go to let's say the world fair in new York..without letting her family know! In her normal life she was a dress wearing, Church going, meek and mild elderly lady who never cussed, drank or smoked!
All I can say is Thank God for meds! I hope it helps all you with these type problems, I feel for you more then you will ever know.
I was adopted so I hope tha line of illness died with Mom...I have my own set of problems!

 

[Alatariel]

wow, its interesting to find out about how far these things go back.
i know mum has schizophrenia of some sort (lol early in the morning brain not working properly :/ ) and bi-polar
my twin had epilepsy and my older sister has just been put onto anti-depression meds.
my hubby has mild aspergus.

we have people who have become family to us and most of them have some kind of mental illness. so ive grown up with it and learnt. but it is hard sometimes and trying to explain it to people and having to repeat it to psychs is annoying but i guess you need to :/

 

[Mary Kay]

Since most mental illness come in groups ..it makes it harder to diagnos and treat.

 

[Fudgey]

Grandma had Paranoid schizophrenia complete with 2 extra personalities...mom was Bi-polar and my sister was Bi-Polar with schizophenic problems budding when she died. My childhood was very odd to say the least! Back then nice southern families did not have mental problems..we said someone was having a spell. I do genealogy, so I know for a fact that mental illness was present as far back as I can trace Grandma's family. My great Aunts always said that Grandma had scarlet fever as a child and that's what happened to her..yeah right!
Of couse none of my family was on any meds..my cousins didn't even know Mom or my sister were troubled by anything. Grandma was a different story, she cycled in and out of realities..in one she wore hot pants and a red wig..she smoked, drank and dated men 20 years her junior. In another she was wild..she would leave home and go to let's say the world fair in new York..without letting her family know! In her normal life she was a dress wearing, Church going, meek and mild elderly lady who never cussed, drank or smoked!
All I can say is Thank God for meds! I hope it helps all you with these type problems, I feel for you more then you will ever know.
I was adopted so I hope tha line of illness died with Mom...I have my own set of problems!

How sad for your grandma, did she know she was like that?

 

[classwife]

Would be scarey to wake up from a night of being the wild one for the calm one !

 

[Mary Kay]

It didn't seem to faze her at all! She did complain that Grandpa left cigarettes all over the place! Grandpa had been gone for 20 years! I asked her once did she remember being another person? She said no..but smiled slyly. It did disrupt us..but she knew everyone all the time. I bailed her out of jail from the time I was 15..mom refused to go. Grandpa and grandma were divorced 3 times and remarried..she was a lot to handle!

When she was Grandma she was a prig, no fun at all and the worlds worst cook. She was strick and had a sharp tongue. her only friends were her 4 sisters and a couple of cousins..to a lesser degree her Church people.

But when she was hot pants..she was a hoot! I liked that one a lot..we went to the movies and the beach. Mom would pitch a fit! I only saw the third one once ( by the time I came along, that one rarely came out)..she came up to Cheyenne with no notice and switched back to grandma while she was there. She didn't seem to notice the change but insisted on me finding her a church for Sundays. My Uncle was frantic until I called to say she was with me.

Grandma was in Chattahoochie hospital twice..back then (before I was born) that was the most nortorious hospital in the state. Mom said it was like a waking nightmare in there. They even made a B movie about it. Now it's a wonderful hospital..one of our ECF members is a Nurse there.

In her last years she had alzhimers, I took care of her most of the time in St, Cloud because Mom couldn't cope. She cycled so fast then I didn't know who or when she was. Sometimes she would come in the kitchen without her walker (and she was walking like a young woman) and say things like "Hi Chicken! where's the ice cream Laura just brought up?" This was in early 90's and my sister had passed away in the mid 80's. Yesterday was my sisters 55th Birthday..she has been gone 25 years. Grandma would then switch to even earlier years and ask if she could go to the barn dance! It was very odd..but we managed.

Then she had to be put in a private residence care home near mom..because her knees quit working, if she went down it took me Mike and my son to get her back up. She passed at 90 with nothing but her knees and alzheimers wrong with her.

 

[CES]

Wow, your grandmother was a handful- but i'm glad you have some good memories with her too. Sorry for the loss of your sister, she was quite young.


The meds these days are better than no meds at all- but i wish we understood the illnesses well enough to develop meds with fewer side effects

 

[classwife]

Amen to that !!!!

 

[Mary Kay]

Alat..have you gone back futher then your mom to see if her problems were inherited? It gives you a good tool for the Dr. If you know.

 

[Alatariel]

well i know that my grandmother, great grandmother and my great great grandmother both had bi-polar and schizophrenia, but i havnt gone back any further. i think my grandmother had a file some where of the family history, ill have to see if my grandfather has it somewhere.

 

[MyGGlovesme]

about 6months later i met I♥myGG and she's been like a mum to me.

Ellen, you make me crying. ;-) I am not so old yet.

 

[Alatariel]

lol awww dont cry.