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Default Jan 27, 2021 at 04:35 AM
  #1
I know self-tests don't substitute professional diagnostics, but just wondering. I have a doctors appointment next week, so I'll mention these thoughts.

I've had a few hallucinations in the past, and something I would call a hallucinatory memory (of a conversation that never happened and didn't quite adhere to the laws of physiscs) in 2019.

I have had panic attacks since christmas, but I think I might be getting over those, as right now, I am crashing in other ways, crying for no reason etc. I've also had one or at most two tiny fractions of visual hallucinations in the past few weeks, just for a second seeing someone standing somewhere.
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Default Jan 27, 2021 at 11:36 AM
  #2
I don't know of any self tests for schizoaffective. I think I have found some for schizophrenia. It took me a long time to be diagnosed with schizoaffective. More than 20 years. For years it was major depressive disorder. Then major depressive disorder with psychotic symptoms. Then finally schizoaffective disorder. I think we have finally reached the right diagnosis.

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Default Jan 27, 2021 at 12:28 PM
  #3
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Originally Posted by SlumberKitty View Post
I don't know of any self tests for schizoaffective. I think I have found some for schizophrenia. It took me a long time to be diagnosed with schizoaffective. More than 20 years. For years it was major depressive disorder. Then major depressive disorder with psychotic symptoms. Then finally schizoaffective disorder. I think we have finally reached the right diagnosis.
Hi SlumberKitty,

many thanks for your reply. I am not actually diagnosed, but to me this seems the obvious choice. Schizophrenia seems a bit much considering I only properly hallucinate every few years on average (not counting hallucinations that last for a second) and an affective disorder seems equally much considering I am generally very unemotional. Having panic attacks and then crying for 1.5 days streight (I feel fine now) came as a bit of a shock. This enhanced emotionality felt worse then any prior hallucination including the memory which came in waves over a period of 4 months or so.

Has your diagnosis helped you? I wonder how much they can do...
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Default Jan 27, 2021 at 01:18 PM
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Yes, my diagnosis helped me. It was like a sigh of relief. I had finally gotten the right diagnosis and it was like finally this is what is "wrong" with me. This is what I can work on. It gave the doctors the right diagnosis to get the meds right, which for me include two anti-depressants and two anti-psychotics, and ADHD med, and anti-anxiety medication, and a sleep medication. For me this helped me tremendously to get on the right meds. I hardly hallucinate now. And they are briefer episodes. I don't experience as much paranoia. I do have blunted affect which I think is because of the medicine but I'm not sure. Do you want medication? That seems what a diagnosis is useful for but also for me just for defining myself.

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Default Jan 27, 2021 at 02:15 PM
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Yes, my diagnosis helped me. It was like a sigh of relief. I had finally gotten the right diagnosis and it was like finally this is what is "wrong" with me. This is what I can work on. It gave the doctors the right diagnosis to get the meds right, which for me include two anti-depressants and two anti-psychotics, and ADHD med, and anti-anxiety medication, and a sleep medication. For me this helped me tremendously to get on the right meds. I hardly hallucinate now. And they are briefer episodes. I don't experience as much paranoia. I do have blunted affect which I think is because of the medicine but I'm not sure. Do you want medication? That seems what a diagnosis is useful for but also for me just for defining myself.
Honestly, I have a deep seated mistrust against medication and classification. My go-to argument against classification is that psychopaths have a statistically significantly higher suicide rate than the general population and that makes at best marginal sense if any at all considering their core classification criteria involve shallow affect and such.
About medication, I think we know so little about the brain that it seems scary to meddle with it. I've had this general opinion and then I read "Cracked - Why psychiatry is doing more harm than good", which bolstered my opinion.

On the other hand, if the panic attacks come back, I'm probably up for anything (and then, I agree, I need a diagnosis).

Last edited by AliceKate; Jan 27, 2021 at 02:37 PM..
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Default Jan 28, 2021 at 09:56 PM
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It took me 14 years to get the right Dx. If you don't want medication I'd be upfront and get a therapist that is willing to work with you. None of my T's have been willing to work with me unmedicated and pdocs want me in therapy.

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Default Jan 30, 2021 at 07:05 PM
  #7
I was first dxd bipolar at age 20 after being treated for major depression since I was 17....

Then it was bipolar with psychotic features.

Last year I was diagnosed with schizoaffective.seems to fit better than the others. Took 17 years.

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Default Jan 30, 2021 at 07:16 PM
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Took 17 years.
Lovely -_- Sorry it took that long guys.
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Default Jan 31, 2021 at 10:11 AM
  #9
I recently found the PANSS rating scale and I'm filling it out 1x a week to see if there's any changes for me.

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Default Feb 01, 2021 at 04:56 PM
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It took me 14 years to get the right Dx. If you don't want medication I'd be upfront and get a therapist that is willing to work with you. None of my T's have been willing to work with me unmedicated and pdocs want me in therapy.
Good post. I also do not want medication (due to very severe reactions to many meds I've tried)

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Default Feb 04, 2021 at 11:34 PM
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Fuzzybear there has to be someone that is willing to work with you even for a short time. To build skills.

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Default Feb 06, 2021 at 03:19 PM
  #12
Yeah, I've been kicked out of multiple groups and things for not taking my meds. I definitely learned the hard way that I need them. Anyway, not saying in any way that everyone needs meds. It can be a challenging thing to think about taking them or not taking them.

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Default Feb 27, 2021 at 02:48 AM
  #13
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I recently found the PANSS rating scale and I'm filling it out 1x a week to see if there's any changes for me.
@Miguel'smom Do you just rate yourself on the 30 items or do you have a proper self-test?
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Default Feb 27, 2021 at 02:09 PM
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I'm just rating myself. So I know wat to tell my T.

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Default Feb 27, 2021 at 03:22 PM
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I'm just rating myself. So I know wat to tell my T.
My I ask your score and how you interprete it? I rated myself, too, today, and I am currently estimating 72 points and for 2019, 104.
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Default Feb 28, 2021 at 02:33 AM
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update: I found the answer to my question:

"Being considered "mildly ill" according to the CGI approximately corresponded to a PANSS total score of 58, "moderately ill" to a PANSS of 75, "markedly ill" to a PANSS of 95 and severely ill to a PANSS of 116." Source: What does the PANSS mean? - PubMed
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Default Feb 28, 2021 at 07:59 PM
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I have never heard of the PANSS scale before, but I just quickly scanned through it. Really interesting! Definitely informative and enlightening.

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Default Mar 03, 2021 at 06:56 PM
  #18
Thank you. I just use it as a check off of what to tell my therapist.

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