I chris,

i was really able to relate to what you said in that post. I am 18 and was only diagnosed with paranoid schiz about 1 year ago, but i really believe it is the correct diagnosis and just about all the doctors i have seen pretty much agree with the diagnosis once they hear of my symptoms.
But last march, when i was back in the hospital, i was assigned to a doctor who seemed very similar to the one who tried to diagnose you with bipolar. Well, first of all, this doctor only evaluated me for about 15 minutes and in that short period of time, i told him why i was in the hospital: because of extream paranoid delusions and hallucinations. I told him i wasn;t having any trouble with my mood, except for some anxiety and irritability, but no mania or depression or mood swings. I told him i had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia a year earlier and that i had been screened for bipolar disorder more than a couple times in the past and it was ruled out. Anyways, he kept 'suggesting' that i was "possibly bipolar" and i argued with that, explaining why i disagreed. So after a couple minutes, he dicided to "write me down" as schizoaffective: depressed type.
Not saying i completly disagree with his diagnosis. I have had a severe episode of depression in the past in which i was suicidal and what not, but the thing he said that bothered me was: "You can't be schizophrenic because schizophrenics don't get depressed" which, of coarse, is nonsense.
At this point, i am trying to figure out whether i have schizoaffective disorder, Paranoid schizophrenia, or undifferentiated schizophrenia. The schizophrenic symptoms seem to be much more dominant than the depression, so i am leaning more towards one of the two types of schizophrenia. And also, i am still not sure if the depression i;ve had is chemical or situational.

-Becka