I am Bipolar and Schizophrenic and was wondering if anyone else here has this same combo ???
I am paranoid schizophrenic with slight obsessive-compulsive disorder.
You are talking about trying to be normal
If anything, I do believe that I have both, mainly bipolar with some schizophrenia added to the mix.
I think that the schizoaffective label describes a condition where the person mainly is suffering from psychosis or schizophrenia with some mood instability - I am the opposite, where I suffer mainly with mood instability and some psychosis.
Many times the term schizoaffective is given when the label or diagnosis is not clear.
With me doctors agree that I clearly suffer from bipolar but also have enough schizophrenic symptoms but not enough to label me with schizoaffective, so I hold on to the bipolar diagnosis
2 Likes
SZA but NOR (Not otherwise specified) But have some symptoms of both depression and mania at times.
Schizoaffective disorder is Schizophrenia with a
mood disorder either classed as Depression or Bipolar type.
If you are having depressive and manic symptoms, this probably places you in the SZA bipolar type group
That is me too. Although, my present mental health clinic has given me just the diagnosis of bipolar undifferentiated. I had a previous diagnosis of schizo-affective disorder which got me my Social Security Disability. My present mental health clinic is waiting for the records from my former mental health clinic. They have been waiting for those for six months. However, in addition to Lithium; they have prescribed me Invega; an anti-psychotic and the prescriber says that the SSRI ant-depressants will do me no good; but that he is worried about the mood swings. I know that I have some awful mood swings and debiltitating depression, mixed moods, and rapid mood swings. I also know that when I read the schizophrenia books; I really resonate with the described symptoms. So, I really don’t totally care what is diagnosed, I diagnose myself as having both schizophrenia and bipolar. Maybe, someday, they will get it straight. It is all a form of brain damage anyway.
My dx changes often between sz and sza seen a number of pdocs and they all come up with the same dx all through my file. Current is SZA. . I’m starting to wonder by a few sza with depression type if there is still some form of mania in there. IDK I just hate the mood swings. Then again I’m starting to wonder if I’m not something else altogether… A hybrid.
I’m sure as soon as they find a pill for it there will be a name lol.
1 Like
Yeah my illness is not so clear cut either
1 Like
I used to be schizoaffective mixed type which is defined as " In this type, you have psychotic symptoms with both manic and depressive symptoms. However, The psychotic symptoms are independent and not necessarily related to the bipolar disorder symptoms. "
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/problemsdisorders/schizoaffectivedisorder.aspx
I tended to be more "out there " when younger and not beset with so many responsibilities. Over the years I have got more anxious and primarily depressive.
Personally I sometimes think they like to hedge their bets. Ie they moved me off the schizoaffective diagnosis suggesting I didn’t have bipolar and schiz symptoms but wouldn’t put me on a stand alone antidepressant because of the possible effects on my moods .
Instead they put me on an atypical antipsychotic (which are supposed to have anti depressant/anti manic/anti schizophrenia properties- go figure !)
I think in some cases with certain dxes being given the dx means that other dxes have to be excluded. Even though you may get people who satisfy both those dxes. It’s part of the artificial construct of the diagnostic systems.
My current diagnosis is paranoid PD but among my list of symptoms is anxiety/paranoid thinking/depression/ and mood swings and according to past notes delusions(which I reckon would fit many schizoaffective bipolar type/ bipolar with psychotic features/schizophrenia with mood symptom people) .
In terms of aligning medication to diagnosis the atypicals certainly cover a lot more bases.
Personally I think people like Wave and I are a strong reason why the diagnostic systems need to be either scrapped or radically modified.
1 Like
I think a lot of people who come under the psychiatric system are probably “hybrids”. The current system is ill equipped to acknowledge this and treat accordingly.
1 Like
You can’t be schizophrenic and bipolar. A psychiatrist diagnosed you with both. Maybe schizoaffective. But having mood swings is not a symptom of schizophrenia.
Something like PTSD wasn’t even a diagnosis until the 80’s. Despite the term shell shocked being used in war zones since the great wars. Before the 80’s they used to just treat the anxiety and depression.
We only have like a 115 years of study of mental illness. Not a great deal of time in the great scheme of things.
1 Like
Actually you can and this is common - its just that the DSM5 and the current crappy diagnostic system does not recognize this.
Many experts like scientists think that bipolar and schizophrenia run on a continuum or spectrum scale - so having both schizophrenia and bipolar is very possible.
Schizoaffective is a bull â– â– â– â– diagnosis - Having schizophrenia with mood symptoms like bipolar or having bipolar with some schizophrenia symptoms is more realistic - these are comorbid conditions
The way the DSM is written that is not likely possible. And I am not saying the DSM is right because honestly I think psychiatry is junk science but if it were a combo between the two I think a pdoc would go the other way. I saw a guy on the news the other day accused of murder and he claimed to be both schizophrenic and bipolar. I just find it hard to believe that a mental health professional would give someone both of those diagnosis. My pdoc says I am paranoid schizophrenic and according to the DSM5 that doesn’t even exist anymore. So we are certainly not dealing with a perfect document.
My psychiatrist is treating me as if I have 2 separate disorders Bipolar with some Schizophrenia symptoms.
I mainly have bipolar so she is diagnosing me with bipolar - a schizoaffective diagnosis in my case is not feasible or doesnt make sense for me because according to the current diagnostic system - schizoaffective belongs under the schizophrenia category - its basically schizophrenia with an added mood disorder.
Just like its possible to have bipolar with comorbid anxiety or OCD or Autism - its possible to have bipolar with comorbid schizophrenia symptoms - this makes the most sense.
You got that right - I totally agree
I have thought about this all afternoon. In all due respect to Tomcat, he slightly contradicts himself when he seems to trust the DSM and then calls psychiatry a “junk science.” I consider the DSM like Cliff Notes. They do not tell the whole story of the mental illness; though many in the mental health profession swear by them as they would on Bible in a court proceeding. I don’t care what the mental health professionals say; I do believe you can have both Bipolar and Schizophrenia. Tragically, many, maybe most who suffer from one form of cancer also have another form of cancer. My beloved late sister had Hodgkins disease and then came down with Lung Cancer. (She never smoked either; not even once!) So, I do not believe it is far from the realm of the mental illness spectrum. I believe that I have come down with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and at times one shows more prominently than another and at other times; they both share the “spotlight.” I believe that there are others out there who post on this forum who could be experiencing this type of diagnoses. I don’t believe anything should be considered out of the realm of possibility when it can mean a better life for those like us who tragically suffer so much. The mental health profession needs to wake up on this. For many of us, there is no either/or. There just is! And we need to be helped with this in consideration!
2 Likes
Mood is still a factor in schizophrenia.
2 Likes
Diagnosis is not usually stable over time. I started out with a diagnosis of depression, recurrent and severe. Then, it was changed to bipolar. Then, it was changed to schizoaffective, bipolar type, then to schizoaffective, depressed type, then, it changed to schizophrenia, residual type. I also had diagnoses of post traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder at different times. Later, I developed a diagnosis of mild generalized anxiety on top of it. All over a span of 28 years. And who knows what it will all metamorphose into next? I’m hoping normal is next on my agenda.
I think when it comes to what you describe and schizoaffective bipolar type it’s more a matter of how you choose to describe it.
The general consensus being the bipolar type is closer to bipolar and the depressive type closer to schizophrenia.
For me the difference between schizoaffective bipolar and bipolar with psychotic features is more cosmetic than actual. Both are treated with an atypical or an atypical and a mood stabiliser.
I like the idea of a psychosis spectrum dx covering things that involve brief periods of mild psychosis through to longer more severe periods of psychosis.
1 Like