I was diagnosed as bi-polar ten years ago, but in the past two years I have been getting worse. I started isolating about two years ago. In the past year I have become more isolated because I don't like going outside, I think people are staring at me, or they are part of a conspiracy against me. I sometimes think I'm being targeted. I am starting to not understand what people are saying to me and I'm starting a lot of fights with people because I'm thinking they are saying something bad about me when maybe they aren't. I can't tell anymore what their intentions are. I am also starting to have memory issues with math. I used to be able to memorize phone numbers easily. I can't picture a person's face in my mind once they are not around, actually I've been doing that for years. I am frequently tired to the point I can't keep awake. I am getting really paranoid of people around me. I kind of lost my appetite too. I used to crave chocolate and salty things, but I don't eat much now. I am noticing that when someone tells me to look somewhere it takes me a little to long to process what they are saying and look. Sometimes I can't keep still. I also keep hearing this liquid noise in my neck joint, it only releases when I lay down because the muscles are so tight from stress, but could it be something bad? It's at the base of my skull. Other then that, I see occasional light flashes that are small. I've been seeing those for ten years. One time I did see an entire paragraph written on the wall with blood, but I knew it wasn't real and ignored it. That was the only time I hallucinated and that was six years ago. Oh, I forgot to mention that I do sometimes hear something say my name, but that is rare. It is just a whisper. I'm 32 and I'm getting worried that if it's schizophrenia my brain is going to shrink because I know that it starts with brain loss at the center of the brain. There's no history of schizophrenia in my family but my great grandma had dementia. I am also getting frustrated because people aren't understanding what I'm saying. I can only get things across in writing lately.
2013-06-15T21:07:26Z
My hygiene is good in case anyone was wondering. I am aware if I haven't bathed. But I only clean up when I go out with a friend, but most of the time I'm home alone and when I go to the store I don't bother to wash. I believe most schizophrenics are unaware of their hygiene, so that doesn't fit me. I forgot to mention the time that I thought God was communicating to me through photos on the wall. I didn't hear voices but I thought God influenced the way my Dad put the pictures on the wall to tell me something. He said he didn't see and took me to the hospital. I thought that they were going to keep me there forever because they were in on a conspiracy, but I still had enough sanity to know it may not be true but I was still scared that it may be. Now I know they weren't, but it seems like their medication doesn't work except for Invega. Invega was really helping me but it made me lactate so they took me off of it. All they give me is mood stab
2013-06-15T21:14:06Z
stabalizers and seroquel, but i don't take them. I used to do well with the seroquel but I don't like it anymore.
Soleil2013-06-15T21:03:38Z
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Response: You are going to have to get on some type of antipsychotic, if you don't want to tell your psychiatrist why you can claim mood stabilization issues. It will take care of most of the psychotic symptoms you are experiencing. Invega is what I am on, but if it isn't working on you many options exist. Abilify is a great activating antipsychotic and can help with depressive symptoms. Geodon is another one to look at if weight is an issue. You mentioned Seroquel and it is great at helping with sleep. Which ever you want to choose or accept from a doctor you need to ask to go back on an antipsychotic, it is usually used in Bipolar Disorder for mood stabilization, but in your case it will reduce psychotic symptoms you may be experiencing which are not uncommon in Bipolar Disorder. You aren't hallucinating which a great sign you aren't developing Schizophrenia, and you have no loss of contact with reality. You have slight delusions and paranoia, which I will stress again will be lessened when you add an antipsychotic. Risperdal is in the same family as Invega, and you may want to ask for that by name if Invega worked so well for you. All your symptoms will most likely go away, and you can go back on your sane way. I have Bipolar Disorder, and I will tell you it isn't uncommon for people suffering from Bipolar Disorder to be wrongly diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Your bipolar disorder just features psychosis which isn't unheard of or even all that rare. In-fact what you described that God was leading you is quite common and not at all rare. So to sum this all up all you need is an antipsychotic and will nip this psychos in the bud, and control it before it gets worse (which it most likely will if you decide not to seek treatment) and like I said if you are too embarrassed to explain your psychotic symtoms just ask for antipsychotics and explain they helped keep your "mood" stable much better when used in conjunction with a mood stabilizer.
Are you still being treated for Bipolar Disorder? Are you on an antipsychotic medication, such as Geodon, Invega, Zyprexa, Risperdal, Seroquel? Tell me what you are on medication wise and I'll update my answer, but while I wait for that here is some information, I can share with you. Bipolar disorder is another condition that can include symptoms of manic psychosis. I know you know this but person living with bipolar finds him or herself shifting between happiness and excitability, and excessive or exaggerated depression. Individuals with extreme and severe forms of the condition might also experience psychosis, and a sudden loss of touch with reality is often the first sign of bipolar disorder. The mood swings of bipolar can be mildly disruptive or drastic and unrelenting, depending on the severity of the disease. As with psychosis, there are medications available to help stabilize and prevent the manic and depressive episodes characteristic of bipolar disorder.
Manic psychosis can be caused by different things. The mental illnesses associated with mood disturbances and psychotic episodes can be evoked by genetics. A person who has one or more closely related individuals with bipolar or schizophrenia is more likely to also suffer from similar disorders. People suffering from mania and psychosis often display hormone irregularity, biological differences in their brains, or chemical imbalances. Psychotic episodes can also be artificially induced by the use and abuse of alcohol and recreational drugs.
People may call that type of experience paranoia, but medically, the definition of paranoia is more precise. Psychiatrists use the term paranoia to describe a disordered way of thinking or an anxious state that attains the level of a delusion. For example, a person who believes the FBI is tracking her every move through the fillings in her teeth is exhibiting paranoid behavior. On the other hand, a criminal who believes the FBI is listening in on his telephone calls is not likely paranoid, because it may well be true.
The key to true paranoia is that the person exhibits an unreasonable and/or exaggerated mistrust and suspicion of others. This suspicion is not based on fact and often grows into delusions. Thus, paranoia is a symptom that can be part of several syndromes, including delusional disorder, paranoid personality disorder, psychotic and mood disorders (including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia), as well as other conditions (such as brain toxicity that may be caused by drug or alcohol abuse, mineral poisoning, etc).
You might just need an antidepressant, and an antipsychotic for your symptoms.
Well two things come to mind here. I don't know what kind of treatment you're get, so I'm stabbing in the dark a bit, but I'll give it a go.
Potential side effects of medication (especially long term use) OR issues caused by your low calorie intake: - starting to not understand what people are saying to me - starting to have memory issues - frequently tired - Sometimes I can't keep still - people aren't understanding what I'm saying. I can only get things across in writing
Potential signs of psychosis: - people are staring at me - part of a conspiracy against me - I'm being targeted - I'm thinking they are saying something bad about me - one of visual hallucination, possible minor auditory ones. - people aren't understanding what I'm saying. I can only get things across in writing
What this says to me is that a significant bit of this, including your neck thing is probably stress/anxiety, mixed in with your bipolar. There are some small indications of psychosis there - mainly paranoia - so it could be you're having bipolar with psychotic features. There isn't really anything that says schizophrenia to me in there so don't worry about that. It would be worth having a little chat with your doctor, if only to see if your meds are a problem. I think you'll find that you're not doing half as badly as you're thinking.
If you are bipolar, some of these problems may be indicative of depression, which is a symptom. Manic-depressives also experience psychosis and paranoia, like that you have mentioned (though this usually occurs during mood episodes and if you're taking medicine for bipolar, the mood episodes should be mitigated (plus a lot of what is prescribed for BP is also prescribed for schizophrenia, schizophrenia should likewise be mitigated by the use of these drugs). See a doctor about your concerns.
I don't think it's schizophrenia because you seem to be In touch with reality. It may be something physical. Like a damaged nerve or neuron. Or maybe a taratoma or tumor