Poll How Many Times Have You Been Hospitalized?

[Invisible-Guy]

Most the time, I'm carted off straight from ER, but there's been a couple times that I've caught the slump quick enough to check myself in.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

They wanted to hospitalize me three times but I could not afford it. Thankfully I stabilized with the proper medication. I am glad I never went to the hospital.

 

[safenow]

My first inpatient was when I was about 6 years old. They were trying to help me learn how to be a human child. After I was released from the medical wing, they had me for several months in the mental unit. When I was 10 years old I drank some ditto fluid and ended up getting my stomach pumped and evaluated. For those of you who don't know what ditto fluid is, grammar schools used to have this machine where you put a paper on a cylinder then turn the handle and it prints copies on the other papers. This fluid was the ink. That was in the days before copiers. LOL. When I was about 11 years old I overdosed on drugs my family used to keep me compliant. I got my stomach pumped and evaluated. When I was about 16 I cut my wrist. had stitches and spent the night in mental health unit.

At 21, when my kids were kidnapped, I had a nervous breakdown and when they took me in, I didn't even know it. They said I was walking down the middle of the highway in my nightgown looking for my children.I was inpatient for about two years.

Over the years I ended up in psychiatric units many many times. Some times I'd check myself in because I could not handle being around humans very long. Too many traumas to cope. All those times I was under 30. After 30, I've only been inpatient maybe 3 times. All involuntary. PTSD was triggered and outsiders didn't understand why I was so upset. So they locked me up for my "own protection".

Personally, I like inpatient. In most states of the US I had food to eat, a bed to sleep in, classes in how to cope with different situations, medication to help me sleep or calm me down, safe from other people who wanted to harm me, and most important, people who I could talk to that understand about trauma.

 

[DharmaGirl]

Last year I was hospitalized 9 or 10 times. Two were suicide attempts, 3 were suicidal ideation (SI), the rest were my therapist telling me to admit myself or he would put a hold on me for SI. The last was in Oct.

 

[Changing4Best]

1 major suicide attempt (took 4 months worth of my meds) and at least 4 times I admitted myself. The last time I was shocked they wanted to let me go so quickly, but I think I was only there for 5 maybe 6 days.

One strange thing I did notice is that there have been folks that wanted to stay in touch after the hospital, but never did. They never returned my calls. I think maybe it is because they didn't want to remember what it was like to be in there, even though we were like best friends while there, talking together for hours!

I have usually felt quite good about being in there, but then I was never in there against my will. If I had been, that would have been a whole different story!

 

[InHell11]

Sort of twice, but the first time was just a visit to the emergency room so I didn't die of a pill overdose I tried to off myself with, but all that happened is I had to go to counseling and such because they thought I would be fine or something. Second time I was on the verge of suicide and didn't think I could keep myself from attempting so I went to the ER and told them that and ended up in the psych ward for like 5 days.

The food did not sit well with me, I got maybe a few hours of sleep and that was it, was given meds that weren't helpful, except one which is, but that was only after I repeatedly told them anti-histamines don't help me sleep or calm my anxiety and just worsens my disassocation feelings. They tried like three different anti-histamines before they figured it out because I finally sort of freaked out and was pretty worried I would end up having to stay involuntarily. When they asked how I felt I said anxious and trapped and felt like making a run for the locked door I wouldn't have been able to get through. They also gave me wellbutrin and I am glad the side effects didn't really kick in till I was out...otherwise I'd probably be even worse off stuck there still taking that and having it make me psychotic or whatever the hell it was doing to me.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure that won't be the last time, though it might be the last time I go willingly...since I am rather afraid of what any drugs they give me might do and the trapped inside feeling just really, really really sucks. I honestly felt like if I stayed there too long it would drive me insane, though I already feel as though I am being driven insane anyways so maybe it wouldn't make much difference.

 

[Darkly Detached]

So many times that I've lost count ... I've had 7 surgeries total, was born with a deformed leg which required repeated stays. Had a major accident which resulted in 4 surgeries and several hospital stays. Was a premature kid so was more ill than most kids. For a while I suffered from appendicitis which got so bad that it used to require overnight stays under observation.

I had a strange experience the last time I was in a hospital. I felt safe and cared for there and I didn't want to leave. It's been two months since the last time I was in a hospital bed. Is it strange that I miss it sometimes?