Still wondering if this could be schizophrenia?

Family
1

Continuing the discussion from Is my son suffering from schizophrenia?:

It has been 6 months now, my son will not go back to the Dr. he tries to hide what he is feeling to make us (parents) think he is o.k. However, we still see the odd behavior.

He is still isolating himself, I had to take him out of school and enroll him into online classes for the remainder of the year because he sleeps all day and stays up all night. His siblings brought to our attention a few days ago that our son is afraid of something in his closet.

He will periodically check his closet to make sure nothing is in there. When playing video games with the siblings he will stop without warning and go to the closet to check for something and when they ask him what he’s doing he will say just looking at my clothes, or he will also stop playing and turn to the corner of the closet and sits straight up with his hands on his legs and just stares for minutes at a time.

They also witnessed him getting up out of a dead sleep and walking over to the corner by the closet and just stand there. When they ask him what he is doing he will not give response right away and when he finally does he looks puzzled and says nothing. They also witnessed him shaking when he checks the closet and when confronted he will say he is cold but it is in fact not cold in the house. I need advice I don’t know what to do or go about getting him to see someone.

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This is a huge block of text. Please separate it into paragraphs, as some people including myself have a problem reading it.

I am on here a lot, so my eyes get tired easily.

Thanks,

Neighborhood Watch

3

So you are here for advice because you consider your son’s behavior psychotic?

4

I did not read everything. But he is still a child. He is grown but legally a child. You have responsibility for him and somehow need to get him help. Can a psychosis team come home to you? In Sweden we have a team that makes home visits if the patient refuses to leave the house or doesn’t manage to leave the house or if it is very acute.

They drove me to ER once. I was completely lost in my head.

5

I’ve read the entire text you’ve posted - and yes, this sounds like classic schizophrenia. The bizarre behavior, the paranoia (looking in the closet, looking behind him), the delusions (believing he’s a professional athlete), the social isolation.

Yes - all these are classic schizophrenia.

Here is a list of early treatment centers - I would recommend them as your first line of defense. If none are close to you - then ask them to recommend a center close to you or that has psychiatrists that are available:

http://forum.schizophrenia.com/t/early-psychosis-treatment-centers-how-to-get-great-help-for-free/12743

6

being nocturnal is a classic sign that he has something going on.

I think that it’s a subconscious fear of the dark, as soon as the sun starts rising I get sleepy.

7

How on earth could one test for this without dragging someone off to see a doctor. Or in my case, if I might have it? My mom went undiagnosed for years. I don’t want that to be me.

8

you are absolutely right if you are sz you should get professional assistance.

I don’t know if there is a formal test for it,you just go see a nut cracker and they’d be able to diagnose you.

9

Thank you, I will definitely look into this!

10

Well, I definitely consider my son’s behavior abnormal for him. I would like to know what other parents witnessed with their teenagers who have SZ/Psychosis. We have been to a Psychiatrist who specializes in Adolescents, we just did not feel like she was helping us!

11

I think someone on this site said that they consider you schizophrenic if you have been psychotic over six months. You might ask the doctor about that.

12

Then move on to another doc and until you find on that works for you.

You gotta appreciate that those people with a formal education in psychiatry are still just people.

What differentiates them is a piece of paper with a signature on it that they mount on their office wall.

Some docs advocate synthetic meds for everything right from the git go and will have the person taking the meds zombified and say that that’s good therapy.

Some will take a less agressive approach.

I believe it’s all a matter of personal preference for the doc.

13

If he hasn’t been already, he needs to be properly assessed by a competent MD who specializes in psychosis of all types. I say this because there are plenty of people wandering around who are psychotic but grievously mis-diagnosed, and, as a result on the wrong meds.

See http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Schizophrenia-6th-Edition-Family/dp/0062268856, but make sure it’s sz, tho I tend to agree with SzAdmin that this does sound like sz for a number of reasons.

14

Hello worried mom: agree with other response that your son needs a proper assessment by doctors. Symptoms of mental illnesses overlap and sometimes it may take some time before the professionals can determine exactly what the diagnosis is. A change in personality is definitely an indication that your son is likely ill and needs proper treatment. if he refuses to see a doctor and threatens to harm himself or others you can have police take him to a hospital under the Mental Health Act. (I don’t know where you live but in Ontario, this is how we admitted our son against his will to be evaluated). It is a difficult thing to do but the reason behind doing it this way is to help the person and often they do believe that they need any help. You need to be his advocate all the time. Hope this helps.

15

I do agree my son needs a proper assessment by a Dr. However, my son will not let me take him to a Dr. again since he feels he is fine. He has not threatened to harm himself or anyone else which makes it difficult for me to be able to call and have him evaluated under the Mental Health Act. This is why I am not sure how to get him the help he needs if he will not allow it? Even thought he is 17, without him having threatened himself or another I can’t force him to seek treatment.

16

Here are some ideas from other family members:

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and here:

18

That is difficult, but is there something that he really loves to do or that he could obtain afterwards if he goes with you? This is a bribery idea of course but it might work. It may be difficult to speak to him if he has psychosis,and it may feel as though you are talking in circles. Maybe ask him that if he felt there was something wrong with his mother or father, sibling, would he be concerned and try to find out how to help that person? Or, maybe there is a Community Outreach type of program through the hospital - will someone come to your house - a psychiatric nurse ? There is a team of help here that I have relied on in the past and a crisis line. Don’t give up, your son is ill and he needs this done no matter how you can achieve it. Good luck

19

in the US before this economic collapse most homeless people that aren’t drug addicts or drunks were/are mentally afflicted that don’t have family looking out for them.