I’m feeling confused about my sza again. Yes I have sz symptoms and yes I have mood swings. But the problem is my high moods (hypomania) does not meet the criteria for bipolar as they are too short. Usually only a few hours and longest about two days or so. I was originally diagnosed bipolar but later sza then sz. The one pdoc I remember he was a bipolar expert and said I’m not bipolar. So it seems that as I said my highs don’t correspond to criteria.
My depression does though - I’ve had some pretty lengthy low moods as well as shorter ones.
So here’s my confusion - do I have sza depressed type? - but then what about high moods? That’s why they never put me on antidepressants.
Or sz (incl. short highs and labile moods) with depression?
How do I tell if it’s sz with depression - or sza if I’m not meeting criteria for bipolar?
Got to ask my pdoc on this one - but I thought I’d ask you guys too…
@EarthChild, You don’t have to meet criteria for bipolar to be sza. You just have to have prominent labile moods along with psychosis for so many weeks.
Describe your positive symptoms. Do you experience any positive like hallucinations, delusions, paranoia etc? If no then its likely bipolar depression type two or rapid cycling bipolar depression or unipolar depression. Depression can also give high moods too.
sz, sza both have positive symptoms along with negatives.
I do have positive symptoms yes. Two spirits in my head that talk to me and each other (Alien and Sarah) and I have paranoia about my mother in law poisoning me and people reading my mind via eye contact etc.
And negative symptoms like chronic avolition and empty dead feelings. And labile mood swings and depressions. Sometimes I just get the voices without moods and sometimes together.
Sza doesn’t have all SZ symptoms because if it was, it would be diagnosed as SZ. I personally find SZ worse because of negative and cognitive symptoms.
“…does not meet the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia or a mood disorder individually.”
@anon67051439, I have sza and I have cognitive impairment that my pdoc said was from sz. And I also suffer from some rather severe negative symptoms as well: social withdrawal and isolation, apathy and flat affect.
Besides, we really shouldn’t be arguing about who’s diagnosis is worse. They are all bad.
My pdoc said that I have sza because I need mood stabilizers and antidepressants to treat my schizophrenia symptoms even though I have no mood symptoms. My mom said I did but I guess he clarified to her as they both explained it to me. He said that I have schizophrenia that doesn’t respond to antipsychotics alone and that something in the mood stabilizers and antidepressants boosts the antipsychotic? I don’t remember perfectly, but it was something like that.