Improving health – Andrew’s story
Andrew is 30 years old and lives in a residential home with one-to-one support during the day.
For more than ten years Andrew had been taking medicines to help manage his behaviour even though he does not have any mental health condition. The drugs gave him side effects which meant he put on weight and often felt sleepy.
Andrew’s psychiatrist worked with him to reduce the drugs he was taking in a planned and controlled way. So far Andrew has stopped taking two kinds of drugs and is taking half of the third one. He is less tired, more alert and better able to express himself.
Andrew is now doing more activities, having more contact with the local community, coping better with changes to his routine and using new ways to communicate how he feels. He is no longer seeing his psychiatrist and is working with his GP to reduce the drug he is still taking.
Over the last two years Andrew has lost 26kg in weight and the community mental health team and GP are supporting him with his weight and behaviour.
Contact
Danielle Adams, Hertfordshire Partnership University Foundation Trust, Danielle.Adams@hpft.nhs.uk.
Dr Indermeet Sawhney, Hertfordshire Partnership University Foundation Trust, Indermeet.Sawhney@hpft.nhs.uk.