Schizophrenia or just Paranoia - Schizophrenia Message Board

randee02 · 12-01-2008, 10:51 AM

I went to a psychiatrist last week. Leaving with, well, not too much information. Of course he did random tests on me, diagnosing me with panic disorder with agoraphobia. He prescribed xanax for that. However, he also prescribed me risperidone. I tend to have a problem with people, in some form or another, wanting to harm me. Either by poisoning my food, following me, talking about me. ect.. He never really said what he diagnosed me as having. I don't hear voices or have any hallucinations. Could I just have Paranoid Personality Disorder?

dreams in neon · 12-01-2008, 10:53 AM

I'm not a doctor, but you could have paranoia or paranoid schizophrenia.

By the way, not all schizophrenics hear voices, so even if you don't hear them, it's still possible to have the illness.

I've had paranoia for the past 11 years and suffer from fears that people are poisoning my food, watching me through video cameras in my apartment and following me everywhere I go.

Fortunately, the Risperdal I take does an excellent job of keeping my paranoia at bay.

If you'd like to know what your diagnosis is, I would go back to your doctor to ask for further information or I would ask for a second opinion altogether.

Good luck.

MSD607 · 12-01-2008, 10:54 AM

A lot of people have paranoid ideas and don't actually have schizophrenia. If you don't have any other symptoms I would say you're right about paranoid personality disorder. Keep going to you doctor, though.

randee02 · 12-01-2008, 11:11 AM

I have a follow up in a week (to see how the meds are doing). I would have been more upfront with him, asking more questions and all, but it was the first visit and I was shaken up enough as it was.

Thanks for taking the time to read the thread!

hoboclown · 12-28-2008, 07:13 AM

I went for my first psych visit (well, first in 20 years) about 3 weeks ago. They did a fairly thorough interview and I even briefly got to meet the psychiatrist himself - its the nurse practitioner who you actually deal with directly. I'm sure that's how its commonly done. But even so there are a bunch of things that have surfaced from my past in thinking about things since the visit. There are instances of a few delusions and frequent paranoia, suspiciousness of others (sometimes proven true), all my life. My family history includes 3 second-degree relatives with paranoid schizophrenia, so the genetics apparently got passed on. So when I go back for the 30 day visit soon I'll have to make sure to have a list of things. I want to have the correct diagnosis.
When i was in 5th grade I remember believing that I had been abducted by greys and experimented on, and once as a teen I smoked pot and had a very strong hallucination thats hard to describe - blanket turning into thousands of creatures - and tv pixels melting. And the handful of times I tried pot I had a very strong paranoia phase. Never tried it past high school, too scary of an experience.
But I am not sure if my paranoia wasn't justified as a teen because I was often beaten by bullies. Nowadays the paranoia just is that I am being talked about, made fun of or laughed at when it turns out not to be the case. Or that someone does something to my food or desk etc. when I'm not there.
Will ask for stronger antipsychotic dose at next appt. I think they just started low dose to make sure there's no bad side effects. So far none and I have more energy and am sleeping better on Symbyax 3/25.