Is my son suffering from schizophrenia?

The Psychiatrist he see’s does specialize in adolescence and treats many different conditions such as:
•Adjustment Disorder
•Alcohol-Induced Mental Disorders
•Alcoholism (Alcohol Dependence)
•Amphetamine and Other Psychostimulant Dependence
•Antisocial Personality Disorder
•Anxiety
•Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
•Bipolar Disorder
•Borderline Personality Disorder
•Bulimia
•Cocaine Addiction
•Drug and Alcohol Dependence
•Drug-Induced Mental Disorders
•Dysthymia and Cyclothymia (Mood Disorders)
•Eating Disorders
•Homicidal Ideation
•Impulse Control Disorders
•Major Depressive Disorder
•Marijuana Addiction
•Nondependent Alcohol Abuse
•Nondependent Amphetamine or Related Acting Sympathomimetic Abuse
•Nondependent Cocaine Abuse
•Nondependent Drug and Alcohol Abuse
•Nondependent Marijuana Abuse
•Nondependent Opioid Abuse
•Nondependent Sedative, Hypnotic, or Anxiolytic Abuse
•Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
•Opioid Dependence
•Personality Disorders
•Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
More
•Psychogenic Disorders (incl. Psychogenic Pain)
•Psychosis Due to Mental Illness
•Schizophrenia
•Schizophreniform and Schizoaffective Disorder
•Sedative, Hypnotic, or Anxiolytic Dependence
•Somatoform Disorders
•Suicidal Ideation
•Tobacco Use Disorder

Believe me when I say I have thought of almost everything you all have mentioned. When this first happened I did believe it may have been some sort of drug he had taken; acid, meth, heroin. I also thought he might have smoked some weed with someone who might of laced it. I am still not sure if that is what happened.

About a week and a half before this happened I did take him to get drug tested. He tested positive for marijuana only. I wasn’t looking for marijuana, I already knew that would be positive because I had caught him for that already. I had noticed the changes in his behavior about a month in a half before his melt down, which at that time he wasn’t wanting to eat, he was talking back, ditching school, lying. Yes, I do realize that most of that is what some typical teenagers do. However, my son had never been disrespectful or untruthful. What concerned me was the lack of respect and him not eating.

Now after he had that breakdown if that is what we call it, on some days it seems as if I am speaking to my 10 year old son not my 17 year old son. The first time he spoke with the psychiatrist he mentioned to her about hearing voices. He has never told me that or would even admit that if he was. Like I said before, he seems a little lost, he gets confused when your speaking to him, he will forget what you tell him right after you tell him, he stays up all night, he paces back and forth, he has a hard time making a decision for himself. He is not a threat, he is not violent. He does not like to talk about what is going on with him, that makes him a little upset.

All I want is for my son to open up to me and tell me exactly what is going on with him so I know how to help him, otherwise it is just a guessing game and he is way to important to me to have to play a guessing game. I just don’t want to make a wrong decision like the medication if it is in-fact due to drugs why he is having these symptoms or because something happened to him that was traumatizing for him.

I know he wasn’t being bullied at school, his brother who is 16 also goes to the same school. They both have a lot of friends, some are not ones I want them to hang with but unfortunately that’s another topic.

I am not the only one who has notice his change, his sisters and brothers have noticed as well. It’s just hard for me to see my son this way and I have no idea how to help him. He is not the same as he was 3 months ago, his ambition and personality has momentarily disappeared and that does make my heart hurt with worry for him. If I can take all this from him and put it on myself believe me I would.

**Welcome to the forum!
It certaintly sounds like your son is coming under some sort of psychosis. However it happened, or what the official diagnosis is, its so important to get him into the hospital before it gets any worse. He will be prescribed meds-and hopefully get the right ones. Sometimes it takes a while to get the right ones with the least amount of side effects. He sounds like a classic case to me. My son when through all the same things, but was able to hide it well for a long time. Right now, he is still not compliant with meds. For a time, he took injections which had side effects, but made a big difference for him. Dont be afraid to take him to the ER if you have to. Most people with a mental disease say they are fine.
I know your shock at the news. My son was diagnosed at 18 and I thought that was the end of everything.
@BarbieBF gave you some good resources that can help you through all this. I know this is hard and I wish you luck. **

It sounds like it …maybe bipolar or sz. My son had a meltdown at 17 right before he graduated. We had sm. tornados in this area in ca. which is unusual and he walked in the house panicking saying I need the car I have to pick up my friends and girlfriend .He was very aggressive and at the time we thought he was on drugs or just wanted the car because he just got his car ins. Well we sure didn’t want to let him use our car in that state and we thought he was on some kinda of drug . I don’t want to go into too much detail but he moved to grandparents was ok for awhile than got into trouble with law dui eventually he got very very depressed …paranoid about the government and got into more trouble driving with a suspended license and running from police and spent time in jail . After a few months after he got out of jail he just went down hill from there and laying on grass ,not sleeping, talking to himself, talking very fast , not talking at all, no eating , no showering and then had his first episode. I wish I would have been there to help him at the time but I was not well the month he got sick. It’s hard to even know what to do or how to figure out what is going on or how to get help . Please email me at trisheee68@aim.com

Daimon that is bullshit
The illness worsens without treatment

Hi @worriedmom35,

My own mother was diagnosed with sz when I was young. We knew she had been acting in bizarre ways / thinking strange things, etc., but my father (who was overworked anyways and didn’t want to believe anything was wrong) lost lots of time - years, literally - as my mother slowly deteriorated. A lot of the emotions you mention (don’t want to shove pills/treatment down your son’s throat, not really sure if it’s sz, etc.) sound similar to how my dad felt back when my mom was first going downhill.

Although I can’t be certain of your son’s case (every person is different), if you’ve ruled out hallucinogenic drugs then sz sounds like the most likely diagnosis. And if that’s the case, quick diagnosis and treatment will save lots of trouble down the road. I can’t help but wonder how things might have been different if my mom’s condition had been better understood when she first started acting oddly. As it was, however, she got to the point that she thought that my father was trying to kill her, she left in the middle of the night, and eventually divorced my dad and ended up in the hospital.

I hope better things for your son. I don’t think it’s fair that anyone should have to go through the waking nightmare that is mental illness, and no family should have to see their loved ones go through it. But it is what it is, and, if it is the case that your son has sz, the sooner you steel yourself to it, the better off everyone around you will be. Also, you’ll find support and friendship on these forums.

One last thing, I should mention that what CloudDog has been saying rings true for me, especially when he says things like “counselling doesn’t work on mental illness” (which is true mainly if they are too far gone already that their world no longer matches reality - in my experience, only medication and usually hospitalization are enough to bring them back), as well as “You gotta do whatever you can to prevent a full psychotic break. … Full breaks can take years to recover.” I’m very, very skeptical, on the whole, of what Daimon has been recommending.

But in the end, you have to do what you believe will be best for your loved ones, and I don’t think any advice can be given as a “one-size-fits-all” blanket recommendation.

Anyways, that was longer than I expected it to be, but I hope it helps.

If he does have psychosis, the quicker he gets on anti-psychotics and the less time you waste, the lower the dose he will need and the better the chances of recovery. Many of the so-called “side-effects of APs” happen to unmedicated people with sz too, so their cause is not clear. But he has to come off the weed. You have to tell him that he CAN recover. He is likely to go into denial if he doesn’t have hope. If he has hope, you can help him to deal with what he has, and lead a good life. It doesn’t sound like he has anosognosia - he’s clearly not finding his “voices” ok. So you are in with a chance. But give hime hope. He’s sixteen. His idea of people with sz is probably formed by the media - all scary people and no hope of recovery. Give him a more accurate picture and he may come out and ask for help.

I’m not a doctor, but that sounds a lot more like what I’ve seen with PTSD. The fear for his loved ones’ safety, refusal to talk, and inability to calm down from his panicked state might point to a traumatic incident. Don’t push him to talk about anything, or get visibly upset with him. Just make sure he knows he has the option to talk, and the option to take meds, if he wants it. And in the meantime really get on top of the doctor. Self-medicating with weed can actually benefit someone with PTSD for a while,but with SZ it can cause a lot of harm, so it would be good to know for sure which one you’re dealing with.

@trevdna thank you for sharing. My son is seeing a Psychologist, she has prescribed him 100mg of Seroquel. He did take for about 3 days last week, it made him sleep through the night which was good, since he stays up all night. He seemed to become a little more talkative with the family. However, on Friday he said he does not need the pills and that he is fine. He refuses to take them at this point.

I have noticed since the middle of last week he seems to be coming around more. He has been getting up for school and ready on time. He still seems like he can’t remember what you tell him right when you tell him, he still has a hard time making a decision but he is definitely trying to overcome whatever is happening. He hasn’t given us a situation where we need to have him committed. Unless he is a danger to himself or others they will not commit him.

We have expressed to our son that we are here for him whenever he feels the need to talk about anything that is on his mind or concerns. Ultimately at this point I have done everything I feel I could for him, until he is ready to admit that something is not quite right I am unable to force him to take the pills. He will still go see the Psychiatrist that is not up for discussion!

We are all keeping an eye on him! I just think he does not want to admit anything because he don’t want us or anyone else to think of him as a “freak” which we NEVER would!!! He is a teenager he has so much going on already with hormones and all that stuff and now to add this. I think we need him to come to us because the more we try and talk to him about his different behavior it does not go well.

@worriedmom35 - Please ignore Daimon, he is not giving realistic advice.
It sounds like your son is experiencing a traumatic mental Health episode/psychosis, it could be drug induced.
All you can do is to make sure he is seeing the appropriate doctors/ psychiatrists - meds are vital, and communicate with his doctors - keep monitoring his progress.
Medications are first line treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar - Educate yourself on what the doctors tell you and on the meds - Best of luck to you