Mental Health Was I Wrongly Disgnosed With Schizophrenia? Were You?

[LookingForSelf]

Hello all. Heres another question.

So by looking at a medical website, it states that in order to be diagnosed with schizophrenia:

Although the above symptoms must be present for at least one (1) month, there also needs to be continuous signs of the disturbance that persist for at least six (6) months. During this period, the signs of the disorder may be present in a milder form, for instance as just odd beliefs or unusual perceptual experiences. During this 6 month period, at least two of the above criteria must be met, or only the criteria of Negative Symptoms must be present — if even just in milder form.


Heres my story. Around 2005 I smoked some marijuana and had little sleep that week, and started having delusions. Voice hearing was probably present but honestly if it was it was more of a sound of something like an animal trying to make sounds. There was no english or anything. Mostly it was delusions from what I was seeing on TV late at night that webt on to delusions wherever I was such as the hospital the following day or so. After that I was in a hospital for about 2 to 3 weeks in which about a week of it I had delusions. The rest of the time was spent woth high anxiety. After I wad released I was diagnosed eith schizophrenia. Thats a total of about 3 weeks.

This medical website says it has to persist for a month and then signs of it for 6 months. This was not the case.

But then a year and a half later I had delusions again from little sleep and I was trying to get off the medications which brings on withdrawal. Withdrawal is said to include the very symptoms of schizophrenia even though it doesnt mean you have schizophrenia.

Again I was in a hospital and had delusions for a week tops. Afterwards high anxiety again and then released.

In 2009 after trying to stop the drugs again I had withdrawal and ended up manic but not delusional and when I explained my life story they put me in a nicer hospital where most of the people were not experiencing psychosis but were manic or similar. I was there for about 2 weeks or less doing group therapy and what not.

So what I get from this is that each of those occurences wad stretched to about a year or more and in those time frames I had symptoms for only 3 weeks at most.

Doesnt this mean I was wrongly diagnosed? My mother was never on my side through these times so she never advocated for me and I was so upset by the way I was first treated and the stigma it put on me that I felt it was hopeless to try to get another opinion.

I now live in another state and have been to a psychiatrist who after I told my life story and had recoeved my records from the other state diagnosed me with schizoaffective disorder. I havent done anything to change that diagnosis. Im wondering if I should and if it would help with anything. For instance if I have withdrawal that causes delusions again could I be treated as someone who does not have schizophrenia and as a result be given medications that are not antipsychotics which I currently do not want to take becuase of the side effects and risks?

Does anyone here have a similar story and could give me suggestions?

Thank you.

 

[ZombieMode]

I was wrongly diagnosed with schizophrenia around April last year and have been forced to take antipsychotic injections at the max dose for a year.

I have always known my "voices" to be of a spiritual nature. Spoke to me in plain english, and it was as if i was communicating with someone or something. Was the greatest time of my life - never felt alone, was full of positivity and good health. I asked once "who are you"?, to which they responded "archangel Michael"...

I dont trust psychiatry or their poison. I feel there is no difference between a spiritual experience and a psychotic episode.

They have recently begun to lower my dose of the poison due to me losing my communication skills, memory, etc. But i also suppose they know they have done enough damage.

My diagnosis is in the process of changing (im working with two other psychiatrists who say it was drug induced psychosis). In my country they cant diagnose you with something if there is suspected drug use involved.

Wish you a speedy recovery from the poison, sorry i cant be of more help.

 

[LookingForSelf]

I was wrongly diagnosed with schizophrenia around April last year and have been forced to take antipsychotic injections at the max dose for a year.

I have always known my "voices" to be of a spiritual nature. Spoke to me in plain english, and it was as if i was communicating with someone or something. Was the greatest time of my life - never felt alone, was full of positivity and good health. I asked once "who are you"?, to which they responded "archangel Michael"...

I dont trust psychiatry or their poison. I feel there is no difference between a spiritual experience and a psychotic episode.

They have recently begun to lower my dose of the poison due to me losing my communication skills, memory, etc. But i also suppose they know they have done enough damage.

My diagnosis is in the process of changing (im working with two other psychiatrists who say it was drug induced psychosis). In my country they cant diagnose you with something if there is suspected drug use involved.

Wish you a speedy recovery from the poison, sorry i cant be of more help.

Thanks ZombieMode I know of your story from the invega thread. Just live it day by day till they get that damn sanction off. I hope you have a safe recovery, with or without meds. I just want it to be safe becuase there is little guidance on how to live with voices. Let alone how to prevent pr stop a delusion like I had. But then again my hope like yours seems to be that its because of drugs and withdrawal. But I think life experience teaches us how to deal with that to an extent. God knows how many times I tell myself that about coming off.

 

[SixBuckets]

You don't say what country you're in, but in Australia it's quite common for people to be given a "Medicare diagnosis" of schizophrenia, but otherwise treated and managed according to the criteria for other disorders - that is, their psychiatrist believes them to have something like bipolar with psychotic features, or drug induced psychosis, or schizoaffective disorder (etc) but records them "on the books" as having schizophrenia.

The reason is really simple: far more antipsychotics are subsidised on our Medicare program for schizophrenia than for any other psychotic illness. Bipolar and schizoaffective disorder only have one or two approved and subsidised antipsychotics, but schizophrenia has over a dozen. So being "on the books" as having schizophrenia means your psychiatrist has far more options to treat you. The subsidy can mean the difference between paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket every month and only having to pay a co payment of $38 (general public) or $6 (concession and pension card holders).

Unfortunately, a lot of psychiatrists don't bother telling their patients that this is the deal, so the person can get very confused when they try to research their condition and find they don't match the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia very well.

It might be worth finding out if there's a similar dealio in your region before getting upset about a potential misdiagnosis.

 

[LookingForSelf]

You don't say what country you're in, but in Australia it's quite common for people to be given a "Medicare diagnosis" of schizophrenia, but otherwise treated and managed according to the criteria for other disorders - that is, their psychiatrist believes them to have something like bipolar with psychotic features, or drug induced psychosis, or schizoaffective disorder (etc) but records them "on the books" as having schizophrenia.

The reason is really simple: far more antipsychotics are subsidised on our Medicare program for schizophrenia than for any other psychotic illness. Bipolar and schizoaffective disorder only have one or two approved and subsidised antipsychotics, but schizophrenia has over a dozen. So being "on the books" as having schizophrenia means your psychiatrist has far more options to treat you. The subsidy can mean the difference between paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket every month and only having to pay a co payment of $38 (general public) or $6 (concession and pension card holders).

Unfortunately, a lot of psychiatrists don't bother telling their patients that this is the deal, so the person can get very confused when they try to research their condition and find they don't match the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia very well.

It might be worth finding out if there's a similar dealio in your region before getting upset about a potential misdiagnosis.

Hey SixBuckets. Im in the US and Im pretty sure thats not the case here.

 

[Pretty_Diamonds]

How much weed did you smoke?

& why are you so desperate to change your diagnosis? Do you think you have NO mental health problems? Do you think you are perfectly healthy?

 

[treezy z]

I'm diagnosed with schizoaffective. I need to pay off a doctor to remove that diagnosis, people with psychotic disorders are being targeted.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

How much weed did you smoke?

& why are you so desperate to change your diagnosis? Do you think you have NO mental health problems? Do you think you are perfectly healthy?

Good questions. I personally don't know anyone who has had delusions even if they smoked a fuckton of herb even as a daily smoker for years, or who had to become hospitalized for smoking too much even if herb did give them anxiety or panic, or made them depressed.

 

[SixBuckets]

Good questions. I personally don't know anyone who has had delusions even if they smoked a fuckton of herb even as a daily smoker for years, or who had to become hospitalized for smoking too much even if herb did give them anxiety or panic, or made them depressed.

I know two people who've developed drug induced psychosis from smoking weed. One of them was my ex with whom I was living, so I'm completely certain of what his drug consumption was leading up to the psychotic break. He remains the only person who's ever threatened me with violence related to drug use, and I've known a lot of people who use a lot of different drugs.

 

[Ligaturd]

if you take a look at synthetic cannabinoids that are potent agonists at CB1 as opposed to weed whic has comparatively low affinity for the cannabinoid receptors, these rc's can and will cause psychosis in anyone at sufficient doses just the same as dopaminergic stimulants will cause psychosis at sufficient doses and after sleep deprivation. Most people will recover after they get some sleep but others wont. Some people can be ultra sensitive to cannabis and end up having the same result but this psychosis would only be temporary. There are also people who are predisposed to psychosis or schizotypal disorders who after smoking cannabis are thrown into a long lasting psychosis. If you experience the onset of psychosis from cannabis then it's a real possibility that it has awakened latent mental health issues.

 

[PetalToTheMetal]

I was diagnosed as schizophrenic when I was younger. I think psychosis would have been a much more accurate diagnosis, but my physicist didn't exactly have rave reviews. I was put on medications that actually made my mental health 10x worse for 2-3 years afterward

 

[lemmon]

I know it's hard for you, it's hard for me too. I used to choke myself (stop breathing) in front of others, and since they cringed I thought people wanted me to behave this way. I thought my friends were hiding the girl of my dream from me, but IDK there was this girl hiding outside the apartment... I went to the hospital for a sane certificate, but the opposite happened. Told the guy from the mental institute to go fuck himself, he said he had to call the police. So I went to my friend's crib, told me to get the fuck out. Ended up on the street for two weeks before I surrender. I guess that's the definition of schizophrenia although it's a very vague definition. I'm not stupid it's a sad story and the fact that it can't get any better only makes it worst. I no longer do that, I no longer want to know who the hiding girl was. Hey I'm schizophrenic, but I know you understand

 

[treezy z]

Psychiatry is a Talmudic method of pacifying the goyim. I caught one of those bastards trying to put me on 666mg of campral, I mentioned it was the number of the beast and he looked like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Now I get medical weed for my mental problems

 

[dopemaster]

Here is how I see it: The second you walk into a psychiatrist office you will be diagnosed mentally ill.

I do remember in the early 2000s shcizophrenia and bipolar type 2 were very popular diagnosises.

I have been diagnosed all sorts of shit while failing to mention I was off my gord on drugs cuz you know drugs in your record.....

If you feel wrongly diagnosed chances are you were, only way to know is to see a good shrink (if they exist) and get a diagnosis.

I can tell you from personal experience I got wrote stuff like antipyshoctics off label for anxiety and that shit made me a bit psychotic while I took it.

I really don't have anything good to say about the mental health industry. I studied psychology for years and my mother is a psychologist and she called me to tell me about all these new regulations and stupid laws basically to say the field is going down the shitter and it did.

Most places have to diagnose you in 15 minutes with something if they want to keep treating you and those doctors have lil boxes of samples piling up and are getting paid to guniea pig out their patients.