D,o i have schizophrenia?

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#1

i’ll try to keep it short cuz nobody likes reading long ass paragraphs but

TW: sexual abuse/ abuse/ rape etc

my history: -child sexual abuse/child abuse-psychological/verbal/physical for years
-domestic violence
-alcoholic parent
-suicidal throughout middle school/high school
-was raped in 9th grade
-in a 2 year abusive relationship
-had very traumatic drug overdose
-raped 4 times in 2016 by different people

current diagnosis:

  • bipolar 1 disorder
  • panic disorder
  • generalized anxiety disorder
  • ADHD
  • social anxiety
  • depression
  • PTSD
  • OCD
  • and my one therapist thinks i have borderline personality disorder

symptoms: honestly i identify with all the symptoms in the above listed diagnosis

but i notice i also have delusions and paranoia , erotomania

idk if i have this or not i hope not maybe im just a hypochondriac but i do tend to have dissociation issues and psychotic breaks and lose touch with reality
like i dont hear voices or anything or have hallucinations but i feel flat effects

idk i probably don’t but i just seem so ■■■■■■ up i can’t believe i am diagnosed with all of these stuff

my sleep is messed up i can’t do well in college (im a psych major rn, im failing everything, i go from super productive to not @ all. inconsistent grades)

like it’s 7am right now i didn’t even sleep yet

my natural sleep times are like 3-8am and i wake up in the day

when im forced to go to school or something i usually get 1-3 hours of sleep and it’s been like this throughout middle school- college.

idk help

im seeing a psychiatrist/therapist rn and it doesnt seem to be helping

current meds im on:

lamictal
paxil
xanax (HELPFUL!!!, i never abuse it either)
adderall (i rarely use it, makes me anxious)
trazaodone (i dont use it either, and it barely works, for me now)

previous meds:
seroquel
lithium
effexor
prozac
zoloft
lexapro
buspar
concerta
ritalin
vyvanse
propranolol
vistril

idk i just want ur opinions

im so messed up and feel so doomed about my future

im 19 years old btw.

help

#2

Hey, welcome to the forums! I hope you’ll stick around here, because it sounds like you can find a lot of kindred spirits here.

The differences between bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder are so minute they might as well not exist. Many of our members jump back and forth between diagnoses every time they change doctors. The difference is that with bipolar disorder, psychotic symptoms only happen during mood swings, but in schhizoaffective disorder, the psychotic symptoms are constant. That’s it.

Have you told your doctor about your delusions and paranoia yet? If they are causing you problems, you might want to think about asking for an antipsychotic. Of all the meds you listed, seroquel is the only antipsychotic you have been on. But your doctor might be hesitant to try giving you another drug, because of possible interactions.

You can also try CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) to treat delusions and paranoia. It is a way of training your mind to think rationally and dismiss delusional beliefs. It also helps a lot with anxiety.

Neurofeedback is another nonmedical option, although it’s more expensive and not usually covered by insurance. It is another type of brain training exercise, that trains you to be able to activate and shut down different parts of your brain at will. I have been doing it for eleven years now, and I love it. It treats delusions, paranoia, OCD, anxiety, ADHD, and migraines.

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#3

I don’t know about schizophrenia, because you don’t have hallucinations or negative symptoms. You are active and attending school, so, the negative symptoms are not there. You cannot feel flat affect. Its objective. It’s something someone else witnesses in you. You don’t sleep very much, so that would point to a mania or a depression of some kind going on. You obviously need antipsychotics to treat the delusions and paranoia. Tell your Dr. about your delusions and paranoia so you can get treated.

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#4

Bipolar is classified as a mood disorder. Schizoaffective is classified as a thought disorder.

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