Schizophrenia Forum - Schizophrenia or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

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?

Replies(14)

Niagara07

replied on December 5th, 2007

New User

Re: Schizophrenia Or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

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

replied on December 5th, 2007

New User

Re: Schizophrenia Or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

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

replied on December 5th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

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

replied on December 5th, 2007

New User

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

replied on December 5th, 2007

New User

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

replied on December 5th, 2007

New User

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

replied on December 5th, 2007

New User

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://ehealthforum.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

replied on December 5th, 2007

Experienced User

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.

JRF

replied on December 5th, 2007

New User

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

replied on December 5th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

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

replied on December 6th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

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.

Niagara07

replied on December 6th, 2007

New User

Here's a link that might help -- talks about controlling intrusive thoughts. http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-eliminate -Intrusive-thoughts&id=231502

JRF

replied on December 8th, 2007

New User

Having a hard time finding the article you're referring to: link is generic.

Niagara07

replied on December 9th, 2007

New User

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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