So I have been diagnosed Chronic SZ Paranoid SZ Undifferentiated SZ. Isn’t there some discrepancy there? Any of you stuck with several different diagnoses of the same disease. Who is right? I would prefer Paranoid SZ simply because it leaves me with only voices and paranoia and a lot of creativity! If I were to diagnose myself I would call it NUTS.
2 Likes
Although my current psychiatrist has been labeling me with bipolar type 1, I dont think she has completely abandoned the diagnosis of Schizoaffective disorder for me.
She once said to me that they could be the same thing with certain individuals - this kind of perplexed me ??
Here’s what I wrote about diagnosis elsewhere .
This why I think treatment of specific symptoms and a pen picture of the problems like ” has primary anxiety with secondary mood and thought symptoms and learning difficulties” would be preferable to diagnoses like schizophrenia .
A lot of the times diagnosis can change dependent on the subjective bias of your pdoc or even to some degree (think personality disorders!) or how much your pdoc thinks of you.
It is interesting to note that my being relabelled personality disordered came at a point when relations with the pdoc etc were at rock bottom (hence reading years later descriptions that I was “awkward,demanding, and troublesome”
I have no doubt there are people who fit the criteria as described for one or more “personality disorders” but those could surely be described by better terms than ” X personality disorder ”
Once you get a diagnosis of psychosis or a schizophrenia spectrum disorder there’s a tendency for them to focus heavily on the ” psychotic” part to the relative exclusion of anxiety for example. Even though anxiety can really affect someone prone to psychosis.
There certainly needs to be more intelligent thinking when it comes to treating people.
Over time (as often happens with severe mental illness) my problems have gone from acute to more chronic. My symptoms though have been fairly consistent throughout 40 plus years ie paranoia/anxiety-general and social/mood swings/depression/ social interaction difficulties/problems with organising ,planning and perception, weird thoughts(this has been called delusions in the past) . The agoraphobia is a more recent development and what has reduced over time is the impulsivity.
Basically with a few minor changes I am the same person when it comes to my illness but over time different pdocs have decided to change diagnoses from schizophrenia to schizoaffective mixed to personality disorder NOS to paranoid personality disorder.
This could have been avoided if they had used the kind of descriptors I mentioned and avoided diagnostic labels.
1 Like
How did you came to receive that? ie was it a off hand comment by your pdoc.
Like you " So what is my diagnosis?"
Doctor" eh Chronic SZ? Paranoid SZ? Undifferentiated SZ?"
Then goes off on a tangent about how the dx doesn’t matter.
Do you have that written down on paper? Read your file and those three come up or what?.
Prominent symptoms can change over time or it’s whatever symptoms the psychiatrist is most aware of. Probably why the DSM removed these sub-types. They could easily all be right at some point in time.
1 Like
The first one (Chronic SZ)came in hospital in 1980 in NYC. I don’t know who gave it or if it was a group of doctors. The second one (paranoid SZ) came in 2004) from a female psychiatrist in Philadelphia. The third one (Undifferentiated SZ) is my present DX.
One thing to look at is has taken many like 20 years to just get a correct dx of Bipolar from Depression.
You’re still in the range of sz and if the meds are helping that’s all that really matters.
1 Like
Having trouble with my pdoc about something I said. He’s worried I might harm someone. Something I said. I’m having trouble with his having trouble with my trouble. The word “psychosis” comes to mind although neither of us have used it.
Even worse trouble here with my move to MD. I AM having trouble now with my thinking about others and about my behavior. Paranoid thinking I haven’t had for years is coming to the fore. “They” are going to arrest me. “They” are noticing my behavior. My new GP thinks I’m not taking my medication. My thinking in my Buddhist group is highly defensive. I can’t go to the stores because of my behavior. Worried about talking to myself, laughing at my thoughts.
Yes indeed. No diagnosis until about 20 years into the illness.
You seem to know your illness well enough to look like the prescribing doctor or doctors themselves.