Schizophrenia or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Posted: 12-05-07 02:52am
Help. I don't know what my diagnosis
should be.
I suffer from one single symptom: hearing
a voice. Not multiple voices, just one
voice. Although, to be honest, I don't
know if it's actually "hearing" a voice,
it's more like a song that is stuck in my
head that I can't stop replaying--only
it's a human voice instead of a song. The
voice is one that had actually been spoken
to me at one point in my life by a very
abusive person. It only says one thing and
does not continuously comment on my
actions or command me to do things. It
just replays, as it had originally been
spoken years ago, and I cannot stop it. It
has bothered me every single day now for a
whole year.
When I first complained about the issue, I
was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder as a result of the verbal abuse I
endured and now hear in my head. I went
through several talk-therapy treatments
but none of them stopped the voice. So, I
went to see a psychiatrist who put me on
Risperidone. I had a bad reaction to the
drug and checked into the hospital as a
result. Once in the hospital, I was put on
Geodon and diagnosed with schizophrenia.
However, the doctors at the hospital were
upbeat about my chances of recovery and
told me to stay on the medication for a
year, at which time they felt it was
possible that my single symptom would have
stopped.
I couldn't stand the side effects of the
Geodon, however, so I quit the medication
after being released from the hospital. I
then suffered bad withdrawal effects from
the medication and had to be
re-hospitalized at a different facility.
This time, they put me on Seroquel and
dumbed down the diagnosis from
schizophrenia to delusional disorder. I
stayed on the Seroquel at 400mg for 3
months. But the medication had utterly no
effect on the voice, so I changed to
Zyprexa. Zyprexa worked a little better
but did not completely get rid of the
voice. So, my outpatient psychiatrist told
me to come off all medications altogether
and just engage in talk therapy, hoping
the voice will go away with time.
I'm dazed, confused, frustrated, and
uncertain about what is happening to me or
what I should make of this voice. It seems
beyond my ability to control and it
intereferes with my life just enough to
make me regularly unhappy/depressed. The
question is, do I have schizophrenia? Or
just a major case of Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder?
|
Niagara07
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 6
Re: Schizophrenia Or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Posted: 12-05-07 13:24pm
If you're only hearing one voice, and it's
a voice that was actually spoken to you,
it's been programmed into your head by an
outside source -- not delusional disorder,
which entails hearing voices which were
not spoken to you out of the blue. Doesn't
sound like schizophrenia either -- not
enough symptoms. You seem to communicate
well and are in touch with reality. I've
heard stories about PTSD where symptoms
last YEARS. These symptoms can include
flashbacks/hallucinations of the event and
unfortunately do not respond well to
antipsychotic drugs. That might be a good
indicator that you don't have
schizophrenia because if you did, your
hallucinations would stop on the meds
you're taking. I don't think your
psychiatrist would have told you to quit
all your meds if he genuinely thought you
were schizophrenic.
|
JRF
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 6
Re: Schizophrenia Or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Posted: 12-05-07 13:42pm
Niagara07
wrote:
That might be a good
indicator that you don't have
schizophrenia because if you did, your
hallucinations would stop on the meds
you're taking. I don't think your
psychiatrist would have told you to quit
all your meds if he genuinely thought you
were schizophrenic.
Good points. My latest (and current)
psychiatrist has been in practice over 40
years (definitely seen the worst cases)
and he likes using the term 'neurosis' to
describe my condition.
What scares me, though, is the fact that I
have absolutely no peace during the day. I
sleep in until early afternoon to cut down
on the time I hear the voice and this has
been going on for months. I'm able to
focus on school work and get my term
papers done, but whenever I'm not actively
concentrating I'm constantly hearing the
voice and have no control over it. I can
see the possibility of it leading to
deeper depression (although I don't ever
want to end up in the Psych Ward again).
|
Georgia59
Moderator
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 5323 Location: Along the Mississippi, USA
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Posted: 12-05-07 14:19pm
Neurosis isn't really a term that's used
anymore.
Delusions can accompany many different
disorders, many of which can be brought on
by trauma. Schizophrenia can be brought on
by trauma if you are susceptible to it.
And not all medications will be successful
for you. This doesn't mean the diagnosis
was wrong, it just means the medication
was wrong.
I'd keep asking your doc and if you aren't
sure about your diagnosis see another doc
for a second opinion.
|
JRF
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 6
Posted: 12-05-07 15:22pm
Georgia,
I'm hesitant about seeing another doctor
at this point, because I've already seen
quite a few.
I've seen 4 psychologists and 4
psychiatrists in the last year. Of these,
all the psychologists diagnosed me with
PTSD. Two psychiatrists diagnosed me with
delusional disorder, one psychiatrist
diagnosed me with schizophrenia, and one
psychiatrist diagnosed me with neurosis --
a term he used to describe mental ailments
which do not impede rational thought. (I
haven't had any type of break with
reality: no real delusions, only
uncontrollable thoughts: neurosis seemed
to be the only term which described my
condition). After a lot of investigation
into the major symptoms of schizophrenia I
have serious doubts as to whether I
qualify...since I am no longer on
medication, I plan to get back involved in
school over the next year and hope the
issue goes away on its own. If it doesn't
then I suppose I will have to deal with
whatever happens.
|
Niagara07
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 6
Posted: 12-05-07 15:42pm
JRF,
You say this has been troubling you for a
year. Was the voice triggered by
something, or did you traumatic experience
directly precede the onset of the
hallucination?
|
JRF
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 6
Posted: 12-05-07 15:50pm
Niagara07
wrote:
JRF,
You say this has been troubling you for a
year. Was the voice triggered by
something, or did you traumatic experience
directly precede the onset of the
hallucination?
My traumatic experience occurred about
three years ago. I was 22 at the time. I
recently turned 25. Anyway, this
hallucination kicked up about a month
after my 24th birthday. And yes, I would
say that something triggered it -- my
coming in contact with the abuser. Since
then, his voice has been running like a
broken record in my head and refuses to be
shut off.
The best medication I tried was Zyprexa,
but even then, it didn't entirely quiet
the voice. So, if I eventually get back on
meds, I would either go back to Zyprexa or
try Clozaril. The problem with Clozaril,
of course, is that it poses a lot of major
health risks including a low white blood
cell count. I would definitely be risking
more hospitalizations if I started
Clozaril.
I'm basically trying to cope with the
problem within a religious framework,
viewing the voice as a voice of the devil
and using meditation/prayer techniques to
try to maintain mental calm. This seems to
be the best method for me given that I had
a rigorous religious upbringing. The
alternative--of accepting a diagnosis of
schizophrenia or committing to more
medications would leave me lonely and
scared.
|
Niagara07
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 6
Posted: 12-05-07 16:30pm
JRF,
I know I already responded to this subject
a few times, but you really do not sound
schizophrenic. I was looking around the
website here and came across a
"doctorquestion" page in which someone had
posted a question about symptoms more
serious than yours (including the belief
that he could read peoples' thoughts and
hear 3 separate voices) -- and the doctor
responded very similarly to your
psychiatrist, stating the problem was more
"neurotic" than psychotic. (See link: http://ehealthf
orum.com/health/topic77353.html),
because schizophrenic people aren't aware
of their condition and don't ask for help.
Additionally, the resident doctors on site
have specific criteria for
"hallucination", meaning that it has to be
believed as real -- you're simply
complaining about a memory issue of a
voice once spoken to you, but that you
know is not actually speaking to you now.
The fact that you have this mental cap of
rationale indicates you are not
schizophrenic. You have just been scared
by some medical pro throwing the term
schizophrenia around too loosely.
My hunch is that you're probably suffering
from some type of obsessive/compulsive
disorder along with PTSD. Go back to
school and get involved in stuff -- stay
positive and see if the problems
disappear.
|
Philo
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 12 Mar 2007 Posts: 331 Location: Montreal
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Posted: 12-05-07 19:09pm
If schizophrenics are totally berserk,
don't even know it, and never seek help,
then who is this page devoted to? We would
never see any schizophrenic on it.
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JRF
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 6
Posted: 12-05-07 20:10pm
Niagara07,
I must say that the doctors on staff here
are very comforting. It doesn't look like
I have schizophrenia in light of their
statements found here
(http://ehealthforum.com/health/doctor_que
stions_154.html). I'm also pleasantly
surprised that they use the same
terminology as my own psychiatrist
(neurotic disorder) to describe
alternatives to terms like psychotic and
schizophrenic. I would concur that I have
some type of obsessive thought pattern --
and even though I've experienced the voice
for one year, I had previously experienced
other obsessions, including a dominating
preoccupation with Body Dysmorphic
Disorder and paranoia. It's possible the
focus of my obsession has now simply
shifted.
I'm going back to school next week--will
be living in the area of my university
while working a job until January, when
classes actually begin. Hopefully I'll see
some positive developments with the change
in location and routine.
|
Georgia59
Moderator
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 5323 Location: Along the Mississippi, USA
Thanks: 64
Thanked:28
Posted: 12-05-07 22:39pm
Have you seen a doctor that specialized in
anxiety treatments or cognitive behavioral
therapy? It sounds like it really might
help you, especially given your history of
obsessive disorders.
|
Georgia59
Moderator
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 5323 Location: Along the Mississippi, USA
Thanks: 64
Thanked:28
Posted: 12-06-07 17:53pm
that was a good point philo!
It's true that people with schizophrenia
are often able to know that something is
not right. Not all the time, but a good
portion of the time. And certainly people
who are currently being treated for
schizophrenia still deal with delusions
some of the time.
Having a hard time finding the article
you're referring to: link is generic.
|
Niagara07
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 6
Posted: 12-09-07 23:55pm
Have you tried the drug Anafranil? It's
targeted toward OCD/intrusive thoughts.
Might give that a shot before commiting to
more higher-risk antipsychotics.
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