General New Medication Caused Bizarre Behaviour In Boyfriend Last Night - Really Scared Me.

[iluvcats4ever]

Hello, my boyfriend suffers from severe combat PTSD. He is on a cocktail of drugs to combat the nightmares, depression, insomnia, all the usual symptoms. I have been with him for 17 months so I am very familiar with his typical PTSD behaviours.
About a week ago they started him on Celexa and I have noticed he is much more animated an seems to have more of a personality....however;

Last night he was acting weird all night, being slightly hostile over everything I said and just being "weird". By that I mean totally not his usual self. He took his nightly cocktail of medications and about 15 minutes later it was like he had drunk 1/2 a bottle of whiskey. He was slurring his speech, his eyes were unfocused but what really scared me was he picked up a prescription bottle, crushed it and threw it at me. He said that is what will happen if anyone tries to get to him, then he pointed his finger (gun formation) went pop, pop and said that will take care of them. He was a gunner this doesn't surprise me, but what did was he then proceeded to get out his real handgun. He started waving it around and I flipped. I told him he was scaring me and I wanted him to put it away, so he dropped the cartridge out of the gun and said now it's safe, but when he continued to play there was still a bullet in the chamber, which he didn't see until I told him. He took it out and tried to load it in the cartridge which he was so out of it he could not do.

I told him he either put the gun down and away or I was going to a hotel for the night. He finally did, very begrudgingly.
I finally got him upstairs to bed, he barely made it other things then happened that I won't go into but it was not normal for him.

This is the first time he has ever scared me. I have been punched, kicked, shoved out of bed all while he was asleep, but this he was awake for.

Any advice, if not thank you for letting me vent. I am scared and very upset.

 

[intothelight]

Dear Iluvcats4ever,

I have only one piece of advise-GET OUT NOW! It is imperative that you get to someplace safe for yourself. He is obviously not in control of his behavior and at this point it is not about him, but about you. You need to remove yourself until he gets help. At that point you can work on the relationship, his treatment or whatever.

Please don't think this is "normal" behavior by any means. IT IS NOT. That type of behavior is extremely dangerous. Also, the weapons should be removed from the premises for his safety and that of others.

Sorry if this is so direct, but it is that important.

ITL

 

[James B.]

ITL is correct...

 

[amethist]

Hi iluvcats4ever

Please take the advice given and act on it now. If you have to report him to the authorities for his own safety then do that too. You can tell them that he is a PTSD sufferer and you are scared for his and anyone else's safety if you need to. Try and remove the weapon from the house if possible, then at least that is one worry out of the way.

This may sound drastic, but under the circumstances it could the best thing you could do for him. He may call you all the names under the sun at first, but hopefully he will see in time that you did any of the above for his sake as well as your own.

What ever happens, don't blame your self for any of it, this is not your fault, it is the way he has reacted to what ever has sent him to this point.

Take care of yourself before you do anything else please.

Amethist

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

At first I was going to say that I was also on Celexa, and had a very bad reaction to it ( sounds like he did too)...then they found out that I have bipolar disorder too, that is what caused the bad reaction...Then I read the rest of your post!!!

Tell him to get help for what might be bipolar on your way out the door! There is NO EXCUSE to be waving loaded guns around!

 

[seedling]

He has severe combat PTSD and is on a lot of medication. They add to his medication and his behavior becomes out of control. This is a dangerous combination at the moment. You need to be safe while whatever it is, is dealt with.

Use your best rational thinking to stay safe and maybe try to keep him and others safe too. He may not be any help at all in dealing with the situation. Get some help from friends/family/doctor, whatever you need to.

You're scared for good reasons. Get somewhere where you can feel safe and think.

Come here anytime you need to talk about it. Good luck and take care.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

First of all, PTSD sufferers should not own guns. Ever. I do repeat, PTSD sufferers should not own guns, ever.

I sold my gun years ago, and my friend with PTSD has his gun kept at his parents house for obvious reasons.

Second of all, I also had a similar reaction to Celexa. It caused extreme rage in me. I was in the phospital at the time and it landed me in the lockdown unit with the criminals and schizophrenics. It was not a good time to say the least. He needs to be off this med, asap.

 

[Tessa]

I am not confident about all the meds they give people just to try. We have had to watch our daughter turn into someone we did not recognise due to all the medication they fed her.

Please keep safe. My heart aches for you as I know how impossible the daily situation with our daughter became. It felt like living in a constant nightmare. The people who prescribe this stuff do not have to go home and live 24/7 with the person.

 

[Redtail]

First of all, PTSD sufferers should not own guns. Ever. I do repeat, PTSD sufferers should not own guns, ever.
.

ScaredOfLonely,
Although in iluvcats4ever case, (weapons in the house are not a good thing). We (PTSD suffers) need not categorize everyone in the same. I carry a weapon every day, it is my job, and own several of them. Not every sufferer acts the same way.

iluvcats4ever,
Combat PTSD is no different than other PTSD, how it came about and the training before may be different, but the symptoms are the same. The actions of your boyfriend are not "ok" in any situation. I would make sure, for your safety and his, to contact his doctor immediately and have his medication re-evaluated. If he goes through this again call the Police. You can not risk yourself in order to protect him. You know his actions better than any of us and if this is completely against everything he has done you cant view his actions as "him". Medication can cause many different effects. Do you know for sure he was not consuming any alcohol prior to taking the meds? I say this because I was hiding a 2 fifths a day problem from my wife and she was not aware until she heard about it during T. Alcohol is easy to self medicate with.

Please take care of yourself first. Best regards!

 

[iluvcats4ever]

Thank you all for the support and advice. I drove to the VA the next day but it was Veterans day and nobody was available, the emergency room would not help me because I am not his wife. My boyfriend did not remember a thing, he had a total blackout. He denied having anything to drink which I believe because I would have smelled it. We both went to the VA Friday and spoke with a counselor who didn't think it was his medications but a flashback.
We also met with the psychiatrist Monday and he did not think it was the Celexa either but took him off of it anyway. They called it a dissociative episode. i would have felt better if I knew it was the medication.
We now have a safety plan in place and the guns are in the gun safe with trigger locks on them. If it ever happens again I am supposed to leave and call 911 but tell them he is a combat vet with ptsd so they will know how to proceed.
I am still pretty traumatized, unfortunately it is not very real for him since he was blacked out through it all.
I will give him credit, he was very agreeable to get help and create a safe environment. PTSD is so much more than people think.

 

[intothelight]

HI Iluvcats4ever,

Thank you for the update. That is great that your boyfriend has gone to get help and that you have a plan in place. You did a great job handling things.

Wishing you the best.
ITL

 

[cusco01810]

.
As a combat medic with PTSD He maybe having a drug interaction with his new meds. That being said he can't handle a gun safely get it out of the house or leave.P.S. you should call his doctor.