dang that’s harsh lol, but ill try and take your advice. Idk if I completely agree with your theory though, since I think schizophrenia is a progressive illness, and some are just unluckier than others. But early treatment might improve the prognosis of this illness. idk though, cause my brain already feels pretty darn broken.
Well, I’ll never say something behind your back that I wouldn’t also say to your face.
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Welcome to the forums @Gecko
Schizophrenia is officially defined in a manual used by psychiatrists called the DSM, currently version 5.
Here is a link to the criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia, check it out and see how you measure up… Ignore the criteria for DSM-IV, it’s outdated now, read the right hand column (DSM-5), if you meet the criteria there is a chance you have schizophrenia and should talk to a psychiatrist.
yeah, and I know simple schizophrenia is pretty rare, but idk what else could explain what im going through. Especially the cognitive impairments I have. And most of my cognitive impairment affects my social skills (can’t read body language or facial expressions etc anymore)
yeah, I have 3,4, and 5. I think I might fit into the residual type. Idk, I’m not a psychiatrist. But also, psychiatrists are only good at spotting this illness if you have the classic symptoms (paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations). They should just rename this illness to dementia praecox
The 5 subtypes of schizophrenia on the left (DSM-IV), including residual are all outdated. I was diagnosed with paranoid sub-type back in 2004.
Now it is just “schizophrenia”. They changed a lot between the DSM-IV and DSM-5
But if you identify with residual, even though it is no longer “official” then maybe you should talk to a psychiatrist about it.
You can re-learn this:
The big problem is you’ll learn to see too much and it’s not a skill that can be turned off. Inconvenient when you’re married or a parent. It’s also not cheap.
There are many people who during their 20s and 30s experience some kind of mental illness, although they never really get diagnosed with anything major, that seem to have something similar to negative symptoms and cognitive decline, and are no longer able to work and have social interaction difficulties.
interesting… i’ll check it out
Go see a qualified psychiatrist
You can’t diagnose yourself
blah blah blah… jk I know, you’re right
There, that’s more like it
I don’t believe in that at all. There are lots of people with schizophrenia who are very smart and who’s faculties are fully intact. Whether or not it is a degenerative disease is a question mark.
Yeah, I have a touch of this. I don’t like driving at night anymore, but honestly, this could have to do with age.
If I was forced to guess, I would bet that you do not have schizophrenia. Delusions and/or hallucinations are a hallmark of it. Schizophrenia itself is fairly rare and schizophrenia without these symptoms is even rarer. Your symptoms could easily be explained by other things. Of course, that’s up to a psychiatrist to ultimately diagnose.
Poverty of thought is my main complaint. I see it as a part of the apathy. Actually, I do have thoughts pretty much all the time, they’re just not of the same quality as the thoughts I have when I’m not apathetic.
Note that I’m not sure I have schizophrenia.
I also want to point out that having a medical degree is not a magic bullet that makes you a wizard of diagnostics. But I concede that the odds are better for a psychiatrist than an Internet stranger to be able to diagnose schizophrenia.
Simple schizophrenia is rare, but I do believe it exists, and it typically has a poor prognosis, so I hope that’s not what you have. As you say, you may still be in a prodromal phase, and it may turn out you get hallucinations and delusions further down the road; there’s no way to know in advance.
Alas, there are no really effective treatments for the negative symptoms, but I’ve personally found that dopaminergic agents can be helpful. If you are in a prodromal phase, however, trying such drugs could precipitate the full syndrome, with hallucinations and delusions, so beware of that risk. Have you tried any such drugs in the past? Eg. cocaine or methamphetamine? Or Ritalin?
-Albert.
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Having no thoughts sounds like the opposite of psychosis. You might have depression, schizoid personality disorder, or some sort of neurological dementia (especially since youre feeling numbness and vision difficulties).
How is your coordination? Are your hands moving ok?
It’s just so hard for me to accept I have this disease. I feel like I can’t trust my own brain or mind.
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Are your hands ok? If theyre shaking or not working properly then it could be that you have parkinson’s disease, which has very similar symptoms to schizophrenia.
Im actually currently sort of perscribed an Maoi, Nardil. It’s supposed to increase dopamine (in a very slow manner though) in the brain. I’ve been weary of taking it because of the risk, but idk. So far it hasn’t caused any hallucinations, but if I keep taking it for extended periods of time, I do start to feel real weird. (I haven’t exactly been consistent taking it though (there was a word i was looking for, but can’t think of it right now). Anyways, I think you’re right in dopamine agonists being the best bet for negative symptoms despite their risk. But I haven’t tried anything straight forward like ritalin etc.
Idk, I’ve thought about it being parkinson’s. Also, my symptoms do get worse at night, especially the mental confusion and lack of coordination. But I don’t seem to have a tremor. Recently though my muscle movements have been off. Also, weakness in the arms. Also, my tongue always feels apraxic. I guess speech apraxia is what it’s called. I think it’s obvious that what I have is something neurological related, but in my city it’s impossible to get an appointment with a neurologist. But you guy’s might be giving me motivation to keep looking. Part of the problem is probably me mentioning to everyone that I might have schizophrenia on first basis, so then they look at all my issues through that lens. It’s fricking complicated. My bad for talking to strangers online looking for a diagnosis.
Welcome to the forum community 