DU schizophrenics check in.

[Droopy]

I know you all are out there. Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the world's population and that is consistent throughout the population of each nation. Wherever you go 1% of the people will be schizophrenic. That means that if DU is representative of the general population then we have about 700 registered users who are schizophrenic.

My name is Tobin. Class of 1993. I was 20 years old.

I can understand why some people would not want to come forward with information like that, but I am of a mind that the more we talk about this sort of stuff the better off we will be. I've run across a lot stereotypes about people with brain diseases, even right here on DU. The only way that we can change that is by speaking up. I hope that you all feel the same way.

I was listening to a doctor do a presentation about schizophrenia last week and he related this story to us:

The doctor was walking through a hall at a psychiatric hospital when he noticed one of his patients having a conversation with someone who wasn't there. So the doctor is concerned and asks the patient if the medication is not working. The patient tells the doctor that the medication works fine and then pulls out a pocket full of pills. The doctor asks the patient why he's not taking the meds and doesn't he want to be rid of all those voices. The patient says, "The damned voices are the only ones who make any sense around here."

Your psychiatrist may be a professional, but she/he doesn't know what you are going through unless you communicate well with her/him. That works both ways. Just imagine the misconceptions that someone not familiar with the field of mental health might have if they haven't been able to talk to people who are diagnosed with mental illness about mental illness.

[Kire]

1. also class of 1993

well, that's when I graduated High School

but, I was diagnosed Schizo Affective at 21 in 1997

'A Beautiful Mind' is such a great story. The "voices" were still there at the end, he just learned how to accept them.

[elshiva]

2. I am schizoaffective class of 2000 I went to High School

at Forbush High on the grounds of Sheppard Pratt, a famous Baltimore mental hospital, ever hear of it?

[Droopy]

3. The only thing I didn't like about

"A Beautiful Mind" was the idea that you could go off meds and learn to control your symptoms. That doesn't work for most people. Then again most people aren't geniuses. I tried going off meds 2 years ago with disasterous results. I almost didn't live to tell the story. There is no accepting my voices. My voices tear me down and say the most cruel things. They are impossible to live with. Then throw in the idea that they are actually telepathic thoughts from other people who can read your mind and you have a recipe for a life of hell.

Thanks for checking in.

[shrike]

8. The book gives a better explanation

While Nash apparently did learn to accept his voices, his doctors and others who knew him well believed he also experienced a remission, which sometimes happens when schizophrenics age.

[NMMNG]

4. Hey all

I don't have Schizophrenia although I do work with a number of people who do. (I'm bipolar myself) It might interest you to know that Sheppard Pratt is involved in clinical research trials to test the efficacy of Valtrex in the treatment of Schizophrenia and Scizoaffective disorder. There is more information at the link below.




http://www.sheppardpratt.org/sp_htmlcode/sp_clinres/sp_clintrials.aspx?ProgType=2

[Droopy]

5. Thanks for the link

It looks like to participate in the study that you described yopu also have to participate in a schizophrenia screeing study. You also have to be seropositive, whatever that means. Where is Sheppard Pratt located?

[NMMNG]

6. Sheppard Pratt has multiple locations in MD and VA

Seropositive means "When the suspected substance being searched for, such as hepatitis C virus, does show up in a blood test." In this case I'm assuming it would mean that people must be seropositive for Cytomegalovirus, which is what they are theorizing may be responsible for the disorders. (And accordingly why they are testing Valtrex as a treatment).

[Tallison]

7. Interesting

Even though CMV probably doesn't cause schizophrenia, it may well (along with other infectious agents) play an exacerbating role in its symptom expression.

[LizMoonstar]

9. Hi! They don't know if I am or not.

But I did have a fun adventure with invisible monsters coming to get me; freepers after me which got me on their weekly dumb DU list and also earned me an actual sarcastic death threat; and when I wanted to throw all my possessions out the window to see what it looked like when they smashed open. I also tend towards the John Nash pattern thing - makes me a good copy editor though :).

By some standards, I don't 'count' as I know my delusions aren't real/realistic and always have, but they're still uncomfortable. I think there's so many bits of various problems in there that they don't know which one to call it - I could qualify for the diagnostics on schizoaffective, bipolar, anxiety/panic attacks, OCD, ADHD, and depression, though with effort I am still fully functional, just uncomfortable - so we're basically trying out various medical treatments and having me hang out with an LCSW on a regular basis. She's a nice lady, and I so love people who get paid to listen to me talk!

Just found this group, so sorry if I'm resuscitating dead threads.


oh, and I'm hs class of 2000, college class of 2004, started getting medical eval in 2005.

[Deja Q]

10. It could be misdiagnosis too.

If you have a history, dating back to early childhood, revolving around social cues, mannerisms, learning problems, you could have a PDD.

I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, schizo-typal, and schizo-affective disorder until somebody took my childhood into play and asked me more, in-depth questions. The previous diagnoses were fully retracted and I was branded an Aspie.

Indeed, Asperger's was first official in 1994 and MANY with Asperger's get wrongfully diagnosed as schizophrenia, schizo-____, et al. I didn't even know about it until 2004, and that was by another DUer who suggested it may have been a possibility. And then it was a matter of finding somebody who used their brain along with their book... a painful, tedious chore in of itself!

[EFerrari]

11. I'll be your witness. I'm nearly certain Doug is an Aspie

but, he's never been tested.

In a way, though, the same kinds of remedies that work for his current DX are usefull for AS.

Our biggest challenge right now is that while anti-psychotic meds give him back his brain, they eat up half his life w/ side effects.

Oh Lord. Well, today is still light years from yesterday.

cheers,
Beth