My mother has a psychiatric disorder where she thinks that within hours of taking an antibiotic, she is cured!

My mother is seriously delusional, and I'm not quite sure if it is hypochondria or more of a munchausen's type manifestation. Whenever she gets a common cold (i.e. sneezing, sore throat, fatigue, headache, and no other symptoms), she is CONVINCED that she has a bacterial infection and takes antibiotics that I have left over from my frequent sinus infections. I tried to explain to her that she does NOT have a bacterial infection, no fever, no green or yellow mucus, no sinus pressure, no ear pain, no nausea, etc., etc., etc., but she won't listen to me and takes them anyway! Worse yet is that she claims to feel better within a few hours of taking expired amoxicillin or Augmentin! I told her that this proves it is psychological in nature since bacteria cannot respond to an antibiotic (to the point where you are asymptomatic) in a matter of hours.

PLEASE give me link/your own words about what to say to her and how to deal with this!

Thank you so much! I'll pick a best answer TODAY!

You don't get high off of amoxicillin, dumbass.

theres probably nothing you can say to her to convince her.
you guys need to see a doctor about this
it may seem a bit harmless now but but it can become dangerous

you both need help

um munchausen's is when a parent harms their child so they ca get attention, so thats not a correct diagnoses; shes just a hypochondriac

replace her medicine with a placebo or take her to the doctor so they can convince her that whats she's doing is not only not helpful but dangerous

Wow.. some people just post pointless stuff just to get two points. Get a life.

I think you should try to convince her to go to a doctor and flush all your pills down the toilet.

It's dangerous for someone to take an antibiotic when they aren't sick anymore.

Good luck

u need outside intervention.

there are people that are available to help u deal with this type of thing, its not a healthy way to live and ur mum could way day get very sick from taking expired medication that wasnt even for her in the first place.

look up ur local directory for numbers that help with mental disorders.

is it diagonised by a doctor? if not take her to a doctor and get it diagonised. if it is take her to a phycologist or doctor. she might be using it as an excuse to try to get high.

Most cold and flu like symptoms are from viral infections, so antibiotics wont work. On the other hand, if you are treating a sinus infection and you dont finish the antibiotics the bacteria will grow back and become resistant to those antibiotics, that is probably why you are having recurring infections.

sounds like it is bothering you more than her...if it makes her feel better who cares? i dont understand why you care so much...is she hurt? does it hurt her if she takes it? if no then let her believe what she wants to believe as long as no one or thing is getting hurt. She really believes that this makes her feel better then dont bust her bubble!! Be concerned when something really bad happens or if you know its going to hurt her...but treat the situation like you would a child!! Let her be her!!

I think your mother is like that because there is instability in your home or she is suffering from a compulsive neuroses , the Dr who prescribes those antibiotics , he doesn't appear to understand what she's suffering , any way he should not be prescribing tablets at lib . take her to see another Dr and you'l find her medication will be changed antibiotics are only prescribed for a limited time she has one prescription and one repeat, thats all. I hate to put labels on a woman who appears to be suffering from neurosis , she should see a psychiatric Dr.

First I will clear up the person who "defined" Munchausen's for you - Munchausen's is a syndrome when someone does things to themselves to convince themselves and others that they are seriously ill (which it doesnt sound like your mom has) - Munchausen's by Proxy is when people harm their children for those same reasons - Just felt like I needed to clarify that

Anyway, I would first try and explain to her that it is very VERY unhealthy to take antibiotics that are not prescribed to her and to take them that often. Eventually she could develope a serious bacterial infection that would be "immune" to antibiotics and so she would really feel bad then... it really is very important to not overuse or abuse antibiotics (that goes for anyone)

About the whole 2-hour cure thing... this is actually common among a lot of people... yes, it is mind over matter, but it is almost like people being "cured" just by taking a placebo pill... your mind is very powerful and does in fact control every aspect of your body... so if someone is completely convinced that they feel better since they took medicine, they may really feel better - However, medically, you are right, there is no 2-hour miracle cure

The main thing is - she is going to think what she wants to think no matter what - its just like any other stubborn person. So if I were you, I'd let her believe in her 2-hour cure, but I would keep her from taking antibiotics... you can get her regular cold medication or some herbal teas - let her take that and see what happens

Unfortunately, you may have to lie a little bit and monitor her to keep her from abusing the antibiotics, but it really is in her best interest. If you exhaust all of your options and nothing is working, you really need to seek medical attention (not necessarily physciatric)

Best of luck!

Enjoy your mom's quirks. My mom was a little weird too, but those are the things you laugh about later in life when they are no longer alive. A couple of pills here and there won't do her any real harm and if she claims to be better, let her beleive it. Someday, she will actually get sick and will really need serious medication. Hopefully, she hasn't cried wolf too much by then that no one listens. Put some vitamins in your empty pill containers :)

Wow! Have you ever heard the saying, "Mind Over Matter?"
The human mind can overcome Extraordinary feats by just will alone. In your mom's case, She has a phobia about Germs in her body. She believes that within moments of taking a pill, the chemicals inside that one tablet would have spread over her entire body killing what ever virus is in her.

Placebo : a substance having no pharmacological effect but administered as a control in testing experimentally or clinically the efficacy of a biologically active preparation.

Basically, if you switched those pills with Flinston Vitamins, you'd get the same response.
Let your mom know that it is not wise to take Expired Medication. The side affects of Medication could be hazardous.

ALSO taking Antibiotics can cause here to gain weight and or possibly cause more harm to herself, by killing off helpful bacteria in her intestines that keep her yeast in check.