Do I suffer schizophrenia? what do you think?

I'm 27; I'm a psychiatric patient, I take Lamotrigine (100 mg daily in the morning), Sertraline (50 mg daily in the morning) and 3 drops of rivotril in the morning and 3 drops in the night. One of my psychiatrists recommended treating me with risperidone, but my other psychiatrist decided not for the moment.

When I was a kid, I used to have an IQ of 160, and nowadays is 112 (to read more about me and my achievements: http://arturoescorza.blogspot.com/2009/ ... raphy.html )
I've been diagnosed with the next issues (among others):

A brain injury in the left fronto-temporal lobe.
Epyleptic focus that generates paroxysms with consecuense of depressive events.
Loss of cerebral mass volume.

The origin of the brain damage can't be stated, nor the time when it was caused, but it's supposed to have been caused maybe in the very moment of birth.

I've been reading about schizophrenia, and I wanted to ask if you think that I'm a schizophrenic:

To be diagnosed with schizophrenia, three diagnostic criteria must be met:

1. Characteristic symptoms: Two or more of the following, each present for much of the time during a one-month period (or less, if symptoms remitted with treatment).
* Delusions --- NEVER
* Hallucinations ---- NEVER
* Disorganized speech, which is a manifestation of formal thought disorder --- YES (I can talk for hours, I speak about one subject, and I begin to talk 100 different subjects, I talk about the details of the details..., I have difficult to choose words, I forget words, and I can't pronunciate sometimes the words, as if my tongue was a knot)
* Grossly disorganized behavior (e.g. dressing inappropriately, crying frequently) or catatonic behavior --- I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS.
* Negative symptoms—affective flattening (lack or decline in emotional response) --- YES, I DON'T FEEL THAT I REALLY CAN LOVE ANY PERSON IN THIS WORLD, I DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE COULD BE, alogia (lack or decline in speech) -- YES, SOMETIMES I TRY TO SPEAK AND IT SEEMS AS IF I WERE VERY DOPED, BUT I'M NOT, or avolition (lack or decline in motivation) ---- YES, I'VE ABBANDONED ABSOLUTE ALL MY LIFE, AND I DON'T HAVE MORE NOTHING THAT I WANT TO DO... I ONLY WAIT THAT MY PARENTS DIE TO DIE WITH THEM.

2. Social/occupational dysfunction: For a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, one or more major areas of functioning such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care, are markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset. ---- I LEFT MY JOB, MY SCHOOL AND I DON'T GO OUT MY HOME, BECAUSE I CAN'T SPEAK WITH PEOPLE, I'M AFRAID OF ANY PERSON I SEE IN THE STREET, AND EVEN MY FATHER AND MY BROTHER, I'M AGRESSIVE, I HAVE THE IDEA THAT I'M THE KING LOUIS XIV, OR THE EXECUTOR OF GOD'S WILL IN THE WORLD, ETC; SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A LITTLE CHILD, AFRAID, THAT CAN NOT DO ANYTHING.
3. Duration: Continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least six months. This six-month period must include at least one month of symptoms (or less, if symptoms remitted with treatment).

Schizophrenia cannot be diagnosed if symptoms of mood disorder or pervasive developmental disorder are present, or the symptoms are the direct result of a general medical condition or a substance, such as abuse of a drug or medication.

I ALSO HAVE SUICIDAL/HOMICIDAL TENDENCIES, I LIKE TO RUN OVER BIRDS WHEN I DRIVE MY CAR... I CAN'T HAVE NORMAL LOVE RELATIONSHIPS, I PREFER TO HAVE ANIMALS (I HAVE 2 GUINEA PIGS, 1 RABBIT AND 1 GERBIL); I DON'T LIKE SEX (I THINK IT'S DIRTY, AND BORING, BUT I'M NOT GAY AT ALL; NEVERTHELESS, SOMETIMES I HAVE THE IDEA THAT THE WOMEN ARE INTRUDERS IN THIS WORLD, WITH STRANGE DIFFERENT BODIES, AND I'M NOT KIDDING). WHEN I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND, I TEND TO BELIEVE THAT THE GIRL IS ANOTHER GIRL (FOR EXAMPLE, I BEGAN TO LOVE A GIRL BECAUSE HE LOOKED ALIKE A BRAZILIAN SINGER CALLED: SANDY LEAH, AND FOR ME, THE WHOLE RELATION WAS WITH SANDY LEAH). I SUFFER A LOT WHEN I'M REJECTED, I WANT TO DIE... AND I DEPEND A LOT OF WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT ME.

SOMETIMES I WRITE AND WRITE NOTHING IN PARTICULAR, NONSENSE PHRASES, I FILL FULL BLANK SHEETS WITH WRITING IN RUSSIAN, ARABIC, OR STRANGE THINGS.

I CAN'T REMEMBER 95% OF MY CHILDHOOD AND MY ADOLESCENCE... AND ALMOST NOTHING OF MY ACTUAL LIFE...

I fear of asking my psychiatrist, because they preach me, they believe that I "want" to suffer a mental disease... course not... it's only curiosity, I can't live like this!

Maybe you should need know that I like very much minor girls from 12 to 17 years old... before those ages I find them disgusting... I've never harmed a girl, I only watch them from a prudent distance, and I don't see them with a sexual desire, but as if I were of their age... and I've already told you that I think that sex is disgusting.

Hi leroidanse,

There is a lot to discuss here. Firstly, running over birds while driving your car is illegal, and I am telling you to stop doing it (for your own benefit). Also, a relationship with a girl between the age of 12 and 17 is also wrong, and I therefore also am telling you not to pursue such a relationship. Animal cruelty and paedophilia are two of the most reviled things in modern society, and for your own benefit you should not even consider these things anymore.

I also wanted to say that it does sound like you have schizophrenia, but I am not a doctor, leroidanse. You should ask your own doctor what he/she thinks about it. Were you not diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder before?; or were you just told that your brain was damaged? If the damage happened during regnancy, then it could be something to do with you being starved of oxygen from your mother whilst you grew as a foetus inside her womb. Oxygen starvation during pregnancy can cause brain damage, or so I am lead to believe.

Where do you think you are going in your life, leroidanse? We all need a plan, or something to look forward to and fight for. What is yours? Im sure that you'd like to get off the medication some day and live a relatively normal life. Could this be your plan?

Take care,
kevin

Overall I agree with Chucky here. You say that you do not have delusions, but actually thinking that you're king Louis XIV or that you're the executor of God's will are delusions.

I have the disorganized speech also. I have to stop myself from talking in gibberish, but sometimes it flows out anyway.

I think you need to talk to your psychiatrist. Most psychiatrists have a "possible disgnosis" in their notes. You should just ask.

And BTW people, pointing out what is *wrong* and *right* in a posters life isnt necessary. That is attacking someone. Have a little bit of tact.

Duff wrote:And BTW people, pointing out what is *wrong* and *right* in a posters life isnt necessary. That is attacking someone. Have a little bit of tact.

Some people need exactly that kind of help. I bet it's not your birds that are being run over by the car or your young daughter that is being watched by a mentally ill person.

Duff wrote:I think you need to talk to your psychiatrist. Most psychiatrists have a "possible disgnosis" in their notes. You should just ask.

And BTW people, pointing out what is *wrong* and *right* in a posters life isnt necessary. That is attacking someone. Have a little bit of tact.

I know Duff; and you have been repeatedly giving good advice on this website lately (and correcting me a few times ) but my reason for clearly pointing out what is wrong/right here is for the original poster's own benefit. I mean, the things that he has urges to do are simply illegal, and there is no give-or-take on this. We can deal with whether they should be legal or not at a later time but for now I wanted to make it clear that he could be arrested and jailed if he proceeded to act on his urges.

In essence, I had his best intentions at heart.

Kevin