Do you think the difference between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder is huge? Do you sometimes feel that the people with just schizophrenia don’t understand the mood aspect of your disorder? How often does the mood aspect of your disorder cause problems compared to the schizophrenia part of your disorder? Do you think the mood aspect of your disorder is treated like an after thought by your psychiatrist? Is your mood well controlled by your medications? What medications do you take to help control the mood aspect of your disorder?
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I think doctors diagnose schizoaffective over schizophrenia more commonly.
Just my view
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More schizoaffective I meet in real life “sound” closer to normal. They have hobbies like sports or art and talk in a way that you might not immediately recognize them as having a mental illness. One cannot get her depression under control after being fine for most of her life. But I think who functions better, etc, really depends… The big difference I think is who is or is not med resistant. Those who can’t be treated have it way worse. The rest of us can keep chugging on and subsist in some form.
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I’m diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder but I have strong bipolar tendencies.
I have to be on a mood stabilizer or I’m cycling everywhere.
I’m currently on Depakote ER for my moods.
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I also need to be on a mood stabilizer (lithium).
I haven’t met anyone with sza in real life (well, outside of a hospital), so I don’t know if it’s better/worse.
All I know is that I’m treatment-resistant and I need Clozaril to function.
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My dx is actually schizoaffective, although my pdoc is leaning towards the bipolar dx … I think there is a difference… I sometimes feel out of place here because I can have weird moods and no one here gets my weirddddddddddddddddddddd moods… 
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I think they are closely related. I was diagnosed schizophrenic first, then later schizoaffective when it became apparent I was having pretty severe mood swings as well as psychosis. I take lithium to keep my mood stable plus an antidepressant and antipsychotic. My current psychiatrist is really good, she looks at all aspects of my illness, I have had psychiatrists in the past ignore my mood problems, which was obviously no use to me. The current med combo is the best I’ve found so far, but I still struggle although I’m doing better than I have in the past.
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I was diagnosed SZA but think I was misdiagnosed. I might be schizophrenic. I have been and will always be depressed but have no real mania. I have flat affect for sure. When I went off my antipsychotic, I may have been manic, only because I was hallucinating so badly, tortured by voices, and scared.
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Same here. I was only manic when I was psychotic. It made me super alert. as I was being so attentive to these voices and delusions.
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I’m sza and i think the mood aspect of my diagnosis is harder to deal with. It’s damn near impossible to pull myself out of my lows at times.
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As someone over time who has been diagnosed schizophrenia ,schizoaffective mixed type/bipolar and currently paranoid PD IMO it’s a diagnostic crap shoot anyway . The gap between someone having enough mood symptoms with the sz to get a schizoaffective diagnosis and someone not can be quite small anyway. Deciding whether someone has enough mood symptoms for a schizoaffective diagnosis is rather subjective .
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I have Sza and I didn’t believe I was really bipolar at all until I cut my Zyprexa in half and took Remeron for sleep. I was quite obviously hypomanic.
I’m not super depressed all day but I have some fairly dark thoughts. The depression doesn’t stop me from exercising or pursuing hobbies when I’m otherwise physically able.
However, I feel my hallucinations have not responded well to meds. I think tukey hit the nail on the head with that one. I want to try to work in the next 6 months to a year, but my hallucinations tricking me into thinking my boss or co workers said things they didn’t has been a concern. Although this hasn’t happened much, in just daily life, recently.
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Oh, I take Lithium for mood, but the Trazadone I take for sleep is also an antidepressant.
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I take saphris for my paranoia and hallucations, diazepam and buspirone for anxiety, and lamotrigine as a mood stabilizer. I have just stopped lithium due to an undesirable side effect, and I am in the process of getting off the saphris and switching to clozapine.
I don’t think the mood aspect is ignored by my pdoc. She pretty much lets me lead our office visits and discuss what I am having the most trouble with, only adding a few questions here and there about things that I mentioned in our previous sessions or how I’m doing on medication. If I bring up problems with mood, she tries to adjust my meds accordingly.
Lately, I can’t tell if my mood is causing problems (depression) or if it’s the schizophrenia aspect of things (lack of motivation). I just know that I stay in my room, don’t shower or get dressed, and don’t want to do anything. I’ve been crying a lot. I don’t know…
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There is a fine line between the lack of motivation and depression isn’t there? I’m sorry your not doing well. I really like you and wish better times for you. Do you mind if I ask why you are stopping the saphris?
I am stopping Saphris because of tardive dyskinesia.
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My diagnosis was changed to SZA because I went manic once when psychosis hit.
But I only take APs and Antidepressants, so who knows.
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I have an R.N. that comes to my apartment every other week and evaluates me and gives me my injectable depot. She always asks about my mood. She rarely asks me about anything else. Sometimes she will ask me about how I am sleeping. That is all. So, evidently, they are very concerned about the mood aspects of my sza and nothing else. Even though I have not been depressed, sad or suicidal in over six years. I think they are so concerned about suicide and low mood in me because of the genetics factor. My son committed suicide six and a half years ago. So, they are very wary with me.
I am on no mood stabilizers except AP’s.
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Maybe I should try some lithium
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