My therapist seems to think I have bipolar 1, but my pdoc officially changed my diagnosis to schizoaffective. I’m not sure if it’s a communication error or them disagreeing. This post is just meant to show how ridiculous diagnoses are.
Diagnosis can be weird but you need to find the one in order to have the most effective treatment. Hopefully you get to find yours 
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There are very few differences between Schizoaffective Disorder and Bipolar Type 1 with Psychosis.
The medication treatments are really identical for both disorders.
I would not worry about it too much.
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Diagnoses can most definitely be frustrating. My friend was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease after three or four different diagnoses. With psychiatric illnesses, there’s the added layer that they are biopsychosocial in nature, so they manifest so variably in people. Even still, I think you have a reason to be frustrated that your doctor and your therapist aren’t communicating (unless you don’t want them communicating, of course, but your post seems to suggest that you do). But I do think Bipolar I and Schizoaffective Disorder are treated with similar medications, right?
If you think of bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophrenia as a spectrum of highly similar conditions- with bipolar on one end, schizophrenia on the other, and schizoaffective in the middle- I guess it makes sense why diagnostics can get hairy.
Hang in there, HulGil. Things can be frustrating, overwhelming, infuriating even, but I have faith that it will turn out alright in the end. Hugs to you.
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Same here. Same with @Wave.
I don’t careeee anymooooooooreeeeee!!! It’s basically the same thiiiiinggg!!
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My private pdoc thinks I’m bp too after six years with being told I’m sz and then sza
People’s diagnoses don’t seem to provide any strict guidelines for prescribing med’s. They’re more a starting point where a pdoc can begin treatment of a patient. I don’t worry about it too much.
It’s more the doctor than the patient. Still, I am definitely SZ, no matter how you look at it. It works out that it is for prescribing purposes. Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.
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A lot of the docs round here don’t like to use the SZ word at all. They just say ‘psychosis’ cos they think it has better conatations (sp?).
This may be meaning well but using the term psychosis doesn’t give the patient much idea of prognosis. The docs don’t appreciate that.
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