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How can I get My wife out of a mental hospital

My wife tried to commit suicide by taking 100 ativans. We got her to the hospital and she was given tar and her vital signs were monitored. She had too much to drink and took the pills but realized what she had done and did not want to die. The hospital said by law that she had to be interviewed by a shrink at a mental hospital. If we did not go they would have the police take us. They took her from my arms and I had to leave her. Are they allowed by law to hold her against her will? What can I do to get her out? Please help, the thought of her in there alone is killing me
Steve
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Avatar universal
Feel sorry for you and I feel for you your best bet is to get her off Ativan immediately or any of the benzo-class drugs and search for alternative medications such as herbs and teas most of the drugs on the market are deadly and make person want to kill himself and the only alternative to it is to keep raising the dosage to the point of liver and kidney failure and then once you try to get off of seizures will kill you get her off of it immediately
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
It should be against the law to even use a benzo for anything other than to snap a person out of a psychosis mode or put them to sleep for a surgery after that there should be no prescriptions there should be no repeated use of it.. period
Avatar universal
I've heard there was a 72 hour hold.  I know in some cases that is the case.  However, some places can hold you longer and will if you have insurance coverage.  If you don't they let you out.  
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460185 tn?1326077772
I am not sure how helpful this will be since I don't know where you are but my understanding was that if a person voluntarily committed himself/herself they could leave at any time, without medical consent.  If someone else committed him/her, the person who did the committing could legally have the one committed forced to stay institutionalized.  It sounds like you both voluntarily went to the hospital.  Probably they do have to have a psychiatrist speak to her to determine whether or not she should remain in the psych ward.  I THINK this is done to protect the hospital.

Since I am suicidal, it seems to me that taking that many pills is a serious attempt but that she realized she wanted to kill the pain, not herself.  Drinking and drugs is a common way to commit suicide (sounds awful and cold but I believe it).  Has a shrink seen her yet?  If they won't let you communicate with her, you might need legal help.

lonewolf

Helpful - 0
1 Comments
I heard of a v oluntary turned into an involuntary.    I heard that happens all the time too.   Bottom Line Know your rights.  Know if there are rights.
Avatar universal
Laws very by state in Wiscosin I believe it is a 48 hour hold but I know many areas are 72 hours. A shrink can of course wave this order once he examines the patient.
Helpful - 0
432009 tn?1304749841
I don't what  the laws are in the state that you live in - I agree with hope for more's suggestion about talking to a social worker about this.

Steve, I think that you need to get to the bottom of this as 100 ativan is an enormous amount of  pills to swallow. She is so lucky that she survived this. I know that it's frightening for you right now as it's a crisis and you feel like you don't have control over the situation...both re: your wife's health but now the forced confinement.

Hopefully, through this episode, you will find a good therapist for her so she can  get some help. This was her cry for help...
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1 Comments
If she's on Ativan or any kind of benzo you're more likely to want to kill yourself because you can't feel anything and you just want to feel I don't blame her for wanting to kill herself I'm trying to get my wife out of the same situation she was in it once before had a a head injury recently and they wouldn't do a CT scan leading to a psychosis event which is exactly the same as TBI by the time the hospital kicked her out she was completely fine cognant and speaking in full paragraphs with no issues she was angry about being strapped up so fighting the staff a little but other than that she was her normal self but it was too late because CPR had already put a court order in to have her evaluated no matter what I did nothing could change it I desperately want to get my wife out as well all kinds of things have to young pretty girls in a institute full of men and women in paper clothes and no visitation rights it's disgusting the way they treat patients and  can get away with murder she's been raped before at one of those facilities it's very disturbing on your wife's welcome at 2:30 in the morning to a couple of guys trying to force some medication down you if that's what they were really doing and another gentleman next to her and she's wearing a paper bag pretty much
Avatar universal
Yes, they do have the right to hold her  there until she is given a good going over by a "shrink", But, maybe that wouldnt be so bad in her case. Steve, if she took all those pill's, then there is something going on that hopefully a good dr. can help her with.  It's something beyond your control and sadly her's right now.  The main thing is now that she comply's with the dr's, and in no time she will be home with you and hopefully on the road  to recovery.

Good luck.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Honestly there are so many better medications than any benzo simple tea and herbs and changing your diet can make a dramatic change for someone that's suffering from psychosis or anything of the sort medication itself makes you delusional agitated and everything else in suicidal everyone really should read up on the side effects it's a horrible drug and should be illegal to use accepting minimum doses to snap people out of the psychosis it should not be prescribed drugs it's deadly and deadly to get off of
476009 tn?1211466989
I don't know where you live or what the laws regarding it might be there.  I know that here where I live the answer would be yes.  I took my daughter to the emergency room because she said she had thoughts of killing herself (had just recently been put on meds for depression and then went through a break-up).  At the hospital they posted a police guard at the door saying that they were required by law to prevent her from leaving once we were there until the doctor was sure she wouldn't harm herself.  After she was there for a few hours she realized she didn't really want to die, just wanted not to have to deal with the break-up and only needed a tranquilizer to help her cope. Long story short, the first doctor wanted to force admission and only when I had them really explain what it meant did she object.  She then had to be interviewed by an outside source and if they had they agreed with the first dr she would have been admitted against her will and could have been held until they felt she could be released or we were able to get a judge to release her (they had up to 72 hours to decide). We would only have been allowed to see her for 1 hour a day so I know what you must be going through.  

Check with the hospital and have them explain what their legal position is and your legal rights.  If you have social services in your area check with them too.  

Good luck to you both.


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