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Submitted by PatientsEngage on 4 November 2016

Request/question from a sister:

hello.m from chandigarh India needs help for my brother.He has been
suffering from schizophrenia since 3 years.He is an engineer student too.He
can't concentrate in his day to day life due to the side effect of ricnia tab
2 mg..he sleeps all the time and moreover he avoids medicine..moreover he
says that he is normal too..and doesn;t require  any medicine...It is a
torchable job for the family as we have to complete his course by giving
medicine him in food items..presently he is treated by pgi doctors of
chandigarh.He goes here and there to find out a ,medicine which doesn't make
him sleepy or drowsy.plz guide him.how to live with this disorder..we
will always be thankful to you..

Dear sister caregiver - Your brother is lucky to have such a caring sister in you. Side effects with new drugs are less severe and mostly cause weight gain, drowsiness and drooling. Please discuss with your brother's psychiatrist. He may change the medicine or may advise it to be taken after dinner, which will avoid drowsiness during the day. Mostly patients don't have an insight about their illness and refuse to accept that they have an illness and need medication. The family should arrange counselling sessions along with medicines. This should help. Covert medication is a common practice and is supported by psychiatrists. Please do it carefully without being found. Take help of the NGO Prayaas (contact Col. Mehandiratta) for home based treatment service, supported by Dr. B.S. Chavan, HOD Psychiatry, PGIMER. You will find answers to your queries and doubts in the book "Mental lllness and Caregiving" written for Indian caregivers. Information about the book was given on this website.