Misdiagnosed with Schizophrenia...?

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HELP!

I'm currently receiving treatment for hebephrenic schizophrenia, which was diagnosed last year. Previously to that, I was diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia (it was a pretty bad time), but I refused to take the drugs they offered me (because I was paranoid about them). I've always had depression, problems with anxiety, nervousness and agoraphobia.

My point is, I was always different from other 'normal' children at my school. It used to take so long for them to learn stuff, and they were so noisy and, well, CHILDISH! My school reports would say that I was ahead of the others in language ability, etc., but that I would take forever to finish a drawing or painting! Things didn't change that much when I was a teenager, and now as a young adult. I've suffered so much harassment from other local young people, and from students at my University (I've dropped out now), being called 'queer' and 'posh', amongst other things. I just can't seem to get on with other young people.

My fear is that I've been misdiagnosed, and being prescribed medication that could be doing more harm than good. If I stop taking the medication, I get horrible withdrawal symptoms. I've managed to stay away from illegal drugs all my life, but I feel that the drugs that the Mental Health Services are giving me, are messing me up. I don't know who I can speak to about a re-evaluation. If I tell my Social Worker or GP that I think I may have had AS all along, they'll think I'm a hypochondriac, and that I'm contradicting their professional opinions.

I would like to know if anyone else has had similar experiences with doctors and/or a possible misdiagnosis...?

The key point about schizophrenia is: are you having hallucinations? Anyway, the diagnosis criteria say that you can't have AS if you're schizophrenic, but I still don't fully agree with that.

You do sound like a typical aspie because you have higher learning and language skills than average. Not all "gifted" children are aspies, but they are more likely to be.

It's indeed hard to be taken seriously when you have the schizophrenia label on you. Perhaps you could try to ask someone else (a parent or someone you trust) to discuss the possibility that you have AS with your social worker or your doctors. Don't tell them it was your idea.

I mention that because my psychiatrist has repeatedly tried to find symptoms of schizophrenia on me, and two psychologists have mentioned schizophrenia as a possible diagnosis for me, in addition to schizoid personality and schizotypal personality. I came to him because of my sensitivity to sound (which is a typical autistic trait, I don't know why he still doesn't realize that).

I dont know you well enough to say if you are AS or Schizophrenic but there have been many situations of miss DX for people with AS.I think that it may happen even more then reported because years of institutionalization and taking the "wrong" meds may make someone with AS much "crazier" after a life time of mis DX.I think our home page has an artical about this from a mother whose son was put on "psych meds".

I think some of the traits of AS,with no understanding of what is causing the persons "difference", can lead to someone to have some pretty unussual beliefs/theories about reality.I believed that I was an alian because I was so confused by humans and never felt like I "fit in".My hyper-sensitive hearing and ability to perceive patterns where others did not notice any...led me to "hear" what I thought sounded like music in water pipes or other "white noise".Other sensory sensitivities can lead to similiar
reality misunderstanding,like some people with very good periferal vission,seeing "something" fleeting by when it is really just a lock of hair blowing over their field of vission.

Questioning the "status quo" can make others view us as "crazy".

I think you need to over come your hesitation to get a DX from someone who specializes in adult AS.Be as pushy as you need to because this could be a matter of life or death and effect your future quality of life.Someone who is not diabetic and is given insuline will have a life threatening reaction....Someone who is not schizophrenic and is taking anti-psychotic meds can have similiar negative reactions over time.Dont settle for "NO",it is your right to question the ability of someone not trained in AS in ruling it out as a posible alternative to your issues/traits.Someone trained in fixing American cars might have problems working on "forgien" models.....they are made differently.You can not "fix" "brain wiring" with chemicals...they will actually cause a chemical inbalance.

I wish you luck.

Thank you very much for your advice, Stelian and Krex. I did mention my suspicions to a friend of mine, a few years ago after seeing a documentary, before I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. His behaviour towards me subsequently changed for the worse. Maybe it's better to talk to a specialist. Yes, I will try and contact a local specialist organisation. Maybe they'll help. Thank you!

Strange, I've been diagnosed with both schizoprenia and Asperger's, and nobody's said anything contradictory to it.

Laura, go to your doctor and ask for Amisulpride (Solian) it's non addictive and pretty effective for mild schizophrenia, that way it won't mess you up and the doctor is still helping you for what he's diagnosed you with.

i was diagnosed emotionally handicapped with several learning disabilities but i know how frustraiting it is to have something and be misdiagnosed. goodluck

My situation during my early 20s was similar to what yours sounds like. One psychiatrist unfairly labeled me as paranoid schizophrenic, then others just went along with it. I knew that the diagnosis was bogus, because I had studied schizophrenia previous to that and knew that I didn't experience the mental problems that a schizophrenic experiences, but of course nobody trusted my opinion and reasoning after I had gotten such a label. What got me out of this viscious cycle was to stop taking the psychotropic drugs, stop leaving my fate in psychiatrist's hands, - and I can't stress this enough - start putting my faith in a good psychologist. The psychologist was able to determine during the first meeting that I was not schizophrenic. It was still probably about 10 more years before I found a psychologist that introduced me to AS. I then read the wikipedia info on AS and it all came together for me.

I can't say whether this would work as a plan for your personal situation or not. Since you already suspect that you have AS, it would go differently for you. I guess I would have to suggest finding a psychologist who is qualified to diagnose AS. Somewhere on the WWW there is a search engine for finding these particular professionals in the US. If you live in the DC area, I can PM the contact info for the one that I see.

I think you've been misdiagnosed.

Just the fact that you can write a long string of coherent writing that stays on topic and makes sense is enough for me.

Schizophrenic people can go through some rational moments when they make sense. It fluctuates, just like many other disorders.

The fact that the person can write a coherent paragraph that makes sense with no intense shift in topic or nonsense means to me, that they do not need to be poisoned with antipsychotic treatment that will eventually decay the brain and cause brain damage.

Schizophrenia seems more like a social condition, not an actual disease, but a condition that is shaped and formed and can easily be unshaped. Check out this book on amazon called How To Become Schizophrenic.

According to DSM a schizophrenic suffers from severe delusions. Well, who doesn't? Half of the people in America think Bush is doing something great for the country and believe that God is real and has an impact on how their lives play out. How is that not delusional?

If you follow the painstakingly vague medical definitions; society is schizophrenic. From an existential/humanistic perspective (opposes biological psychiatry), the underpinning of schizophrenia is a division of the self (personal beliefs, needs, wants become supressed in order to compensate and meet the needs of another, like parents or a significant other or society) I think this is a huge factor in the 20-26 age range as many young people are trying to figure out where they fit in society as well as determine their own needs and individuality. It is inevitable that some may supress themselves and act for others in the process (for conformity sake).

Well if surpress your individual needs and self what happens to them, they fester in the mind remaining unfulfilled. I think its quite possible to understand how one's conception and perception of reality can easily become shattered in this scenario (how can you know whats what, who's who, where's where, if you have two conflicting interpretations constructed inside (yours and the split version that acts for others). How does a person function, what guides their actions and thoughts? THEMSELVES. How does a person function if they surpress this in order to meet the standards of society/parents/friends? In the end they are left, in the worst case scenario, disintegrated and unable to function.

Although its all really abstract and I cannot find the right words to elucidate my thinking I can see how schizophrenia isn't "real" like cancer is. I don't think it's genetic, but a social phenomenon.

True, religion is sometimes a severe delusion. Some people give their life to God, attribute all events to God, and explain everything by saying "it's God's plan". Many of those say that God has talked to them. God is supposedly watching them all the time, isn't that a paranoid symptom? Religious fanatism is no less pathological than believing in an alien invasion.

Personally I don't know any Bush supporters, though.

I like your application of schizophrenia to the entire society. It has made me realize that some symptoms, like delusions and thought disorder, are very common. The only problem would be that schizophrenics are supposed to be much lower functioning than "most people".

Indeed, most definitions of schizophrenia look like a mix of what could be very different disorders. What do hallucinations have to do with flat affect or thought disorder, for example? Too many different people fit in there. That doesn't make it very practical as a diagnosis. So I agree that it's not too "real" as it is.

But the splitting of the self into an individual and a collective attitude has always been considered in psychology as a normal behaviour. Schizophrenia is more about splitting the different areas of thought, not the identity. Like perception working independently from rationalization, for example.

I was diagnosed (wrongly) of being a paranoid schizophrenic. My diagnosis was overuled by being shown my stress was caused by dyslexia, but that alone did not explain me. I have now come to believe I'm also AS. I took the medication initially, but it was changed from antipsychotics to antideppressants.

Have you taken an EQ or AQ test online to check?

AQ test here
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

just test yourself, if you score highly try and get a diagnosis privately, then take that to your psychartrist? My personal experience is all this feels like it can take forever.

In my experience everyone I knew became a psychartrist and they all claimed to know more than me as I was "mental". Its so difficult to break out of this. My new diagnosis didn't really mean anyone understood anymore, it just got me out of being classed as "mental", which was a weight off my mind, relieved my stress, and helped me get "better".

That happened to me. I was diagnosed with "childhood schizophrenia" when I was 13. Between that age and just shy of 16 I was in a deep dark hole. They didn't change the diagnosis until I was in my early 20s.

I had been diagnosed with autism as a toddler, but then when I was 21 the psychiatrist told me that I now had "Asperger's Syndrome." And I was like, "what's that!?"

I went to college and university with a guy who is autistic. I didn't know it at the time, he was just "different". When my son was diagnosed autistic about 12 years later, I knew exactly what was so "different" about my former classmate.
The remarkable thing is he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia that whole time, until recently. Misdiagnosed. Luckily, his mom was very active in providing everything to make him successful and he is.

I agree with everything Krex has said in her post.

I think stims, tics and sensory issues are misinterpreted as evidence of hallucinations. An autistic person has difficulty explaining stimming, or tactile, aural, and visual hypersensitivity. The guy I knew in college used to hum or sing to classical music, sometimes getting loud and moving his head to the beat. He didn't have a walkman on at the time. My then-boyfriend said he could memorize music quickly and transpose sheet music in his head. (change the key of a song)

I was given a possible diagnosis of schizophrenia aged 15 by a less than knowledgeable psychiatrist. I was put on anti-psychotics, the side-effects of which caused me to become paranoid and psychotic... If you truly believe that you aren't schizophrenic then make sure someone listens.