Doctor thinks Dd has schizophrenia

[MHIssues]

I’m a little bit freaked out. She’s 20yo and this has pretty much come out the blue. I’ve known she’s been a bit depressed and had anxiety for years. We paid for her to have counselling last year which she said helped.

She’s been back to the doctor today as she is hearing voices and seeing things round the house. She says it’s been going on since she was 14yo, she’ll be fine for a few months and then it starts again and she says it’s been bad for the last week. She’s not told me about this before.

Dr has asked Dd to ask if anyone in our family has a history of psychosis. I always thought there was something seriously not right with my mother mentally though she thought she was fine and refused to see a doctor. Me and my dad thought she had bi polar as she was so up and down (violently so at times). One time she did tell me she’d heard God talking to her while she was cleaning!

Dd is going back to the doctors next week and has been told they probably want to start her on medication.

She should be fine with meds. One of my relatives had it and was regimental about taking her meds - you couldn’t tell there was an issue and she did the same things and had the same experiences the rest of us did. So it doesn’t have to impact her negatively.

Thank you, that’s good to hear. I don’t know anyone with it.

I don’t understand why if she’s currently having hallucinations they are leaving her a week?

I would expect the Gp to refer her to a psychiatrist if they thought she had schizophrenia. Early treatment would be important but a Gp would be unlikely to start antipsychotic medication.
A diagnosis couldn’t be made on the basis of what’s in this post - there’s much more to it. People can hear voices and see things for other reasons.
Would she let you go with her to the next appt. it sounds as though she needs a full mental health assessment

I’ll certainly ask if I’m allowed, god knows with covid rules. I think Dd would be happy.

By Dr do you mean GP? She should see a psychiatrist for a proper assessment. Can you make sure this happens? But try not to worry too much, if is often very controllable.

Early treatment will make the world of difference. I have a friend who was diagnosed in her early 20s after a couple of years of mild symptoms. Her father had it quite severely so it wasn't out of the blue. She's been on medication for it ever since. The first year or two there were some ongoing symptoms while they tried to figure out the best combination. Since then, she's been symptom free and while continuing to take her medication, has had a healthy DS (now 9yo). She was worried about post partum depression or psychosis but was fine. She can get blue or have anxious moments but the more worrying symptoms are under control.

She needs input from a psychiatrist with training in managing early psychosis - if indeed that is what it is.
There are lots causes of seeing things and hearing voices - in young adults drug use is important consideration.

If a diagnosis of schizophrenia is suspected, the GP should refer you to your local community mental health team (CMHT).

That's from this NHS webpage. So the GP shouldn't be making the diagnosis alone. Perhaps that's the reason for the week's delay? To organize with the specialist.

Could you and your daughter call the GP together tomorrow to go over the next steps / the next appt so you both understand. I imagine it was hard for your daughter to hear the dr's opinion when she was there on her own and she may not have taken in what he said about the next appt.

www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/schizophrenia/diagnosis/

There are a few MH issues that have psychosis as a symptom. It could be any number of things.. and they all take some time to properly diagnose x

@MHIssues

I don’t understand why if she’s currently having hallucinations they are leaving her a week?

NHS mental health services can be severely lacking at times. As long as she is not a risk to herself or others she will not be seen as an emergency.

It might be worth her looking up the Hearing Voices Network for some coping skills.

Well hopefully they’ve made a referral to a psychiatrist then. Yes it’s only a GP she’s seen so far. But she’s going back to see the GP next week I think….so still not a psychiatrist. Maybe the gp is getting advice from other GPs…..he’s a fairly recently qualified gp but does seem very thorough.

I’m crossing my fingers it’s something else now.

I do hope this is going to be diagnosed by a psychiatrist not your GP.
I had similar symptoms and certainly did not have schizophrenia, I had complex trauma.
GPs should be referring for this type of diagnosis.

Insist on it.

Hi OP, this is an excellent book about mental illness that you may find it useful to read.

www.amazon.co.uk/Heartland-finding-losing-schizophrenia/dp/0571345956?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I agree with pp that your DD needs to see a specialist.

This is a diagnosis your GP can suspect but should not make themselves.

Your DD needs a full assessment by a psychiatry team.

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

I do hope this is going to be diagnosed by a psychiatrist not your GP. I had similar symptoms and certainly did not have schizophrenia, I had complex trauma. GPs should be referring for this type of diagnosis.

That gives me hope. Dd has diagnosed ptsd.

Dd also has a bit of a history for exaggerating and being a bit of a drama llama. Now whether this is due to a mental health condition or not I don’t know. She also has a tendency to google medical stuff for symptoms and then decide she might have them. Now she does have some chronic 100% genuine auto immune illnesses which make her feel physically poorly. She’s also convinced she has lupus after reading up on lupus but her rheumatologist says she doesn’t. But I guess if I was genuinely physically poorly I’d be reading up on stuff as well. 🤷‍♀️

She reckons she has no memories at all from before the age of about 14yo. Which I’m not sure can be true. And she says that but then a few weeks later will say about something which demonstrates she can remember stuff before the age of 14yo.

She’s very mentally volatile as in she will fly off the handle about nothing, accuse me/dh of having said/done something, etc. Which we haven’t….or it’s something very innocent which she takes offence at and blows out of all proportion.

A GP can only prescribe meds if instructed by a mental health professional once treatment is established so they should be referring her on for diagnosis. Schizophrenia is actually quite a broad condition, and not just like the films or on TV. I can't remember the website, but there is a young adult who has a blog and posts her thoughts and paintings, sounds weird but it's really interesting for those supporting someone.

I know nothing about it and I guess just have this image of it being a condition where you have to keep the household knives locked up….which I’m sure isn’t true. The only stuff I’ve read about it is in the media where someone who is schizophrenic goes on a rampage and kills people!

It's actually a lot more common than you would imagine. Schizophrenia is not a risk in itself unless the voices are telling you to do something to harm yourself or others (command hallucinations) or distracting you to the point that you can't focus. You could always contact your local Early Intervention team to see what they suggest.

@MHIssues

Dd also has a bit of a history for exaggerating and being a bit of a drama llama. Now whether this is due to a mental health condition or not I don’t know. She also has a tendency to google medical stuff for symptoms and then decide she might have them. Now she does have some chronic 100% genuine auto immune illnesses which make her feel physically poorly. She’s also convinced she has lupus after reading up on lupus but her rheumatologist says she doesn’t. But I guess if I was genuinely physically poorly I’d be reading up on stuff as well. 🤷‍♀️

She reckons she has no memories at all from before the age of about 14yo. Which I’m not sure can be true. And she says that but then a few weeks later will say about something which demonstrates she can remember stuff before the age of 14yo.

She’s very mentally volatile as in she will fly off the handle about nothing, accuse me/dh of having said/done something, etc. Which we haven’t….or it’s something very innocent which she takes offence at and blows out of all proportion.

Well if she's diagnosed with complex ptsd, describing her as a drama llama is incredibly unpleasant. You don't sound very sympathetic

I’m incredibly sympathetic towards her and seem to spend my whole life supporting her. I’m aware that any “drama llama” tendencies could be due to her mental health and ptsd. I’m maybe not explaining myself very well but I think I’m hoping for her sake that maybe her tendency to exaggerate stuff may be leading her GP down a false road??! 🤷‍♀️

Sorry ptsd not complex ptsd