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Wednesday, September 07, 2011 Taztav asks

Q: My 18 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD and ocd and dyspraxia at an early age however after many years of upset he has now been diagnosed with psychotic episodes

and they want to start him on medication for this even thou the doctor feels my son has been wrongly diagnosed through the years, the doctor has not pacifically said Schizophrenia he did say i had given him all the answers he needed with my family medical history. As my brother does have Schizophrenia, my son lives daily with anxiety, he very rarely sleeps thinks people are talking about him,he can be very aggressive in speech, hit out at things, he self harms, lives in a world which makes him feel better he does not interact with people of his own age, does not go out, he wont even play people online on computer it agitates him, he constantly feels people are speaking about him or "out to get him", he started college yet again but he just cant seem to go he sits crying and that is so heart wrenching for a parent to have to deal with, what i wonder is what is the doctors term Psychotic episodes come under i don't like labels however my son did say he feels better knowing he isn't just crazy there is something making him feel like this, i know i maybe should have asked the doctor yesterday but we had a very grueling weekend with my son and just was so tired. any input and thoughts are appreciated and thank you in advance :)
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9/ 7/11 11:38am

Hi, there.  I'm sorry things aren't going very well for your son.  Before I say any more, Health Central has specific sites for ADHD and Schizophrenia which you might find helpful.  It's possible that your son has both, but it's also possible that there was a mis-diagnosis.  Psychotic episodes are basically breaks with reality, like your son feeling that people are out to get him.  I would forget about the word "crazy" because it isn't helpful.

 

I have a 33-year-old son with autism and developmental disabilities who also suffers from depression and psychotic-like characteristics.  He takes Abilify for the latter and when he isn't on it, he is very paranoid, thinks people are talking about him or are trying to trick him.  His autism keeps him from being very social, although he's willing to go along with others' suggestions.  He has a good job that he was fortunate to get and is high functioning enough to live in his own apartment, with minimal assistance from others.

 

I really do sympathize with what you are going through.  We had a lot of different experiences with our son; in fact, he wasn't diagnosed with autism until he was in his early teens so we were really in the dark about what was going on with him.  We knew he was developmentally delayed, but that's a big bucket.  Then, throw in depression with that and it was very frustrating because mental health professionals didn't know what to do with him.  We have since found people with experience in these areas, but it feels like we have to be on our toes for any changes we might see in him.

 

Please don't be afraid to call the doctor if you have questions.  Ask questions.  God knows we get precious little time with doctors nowadays and it's hard to remember to ask everything.  You may not get an answer the same day, but if he's any good, he'll get back to you.  I wish you and your son all the best.  It's important to take good care of yourself, too.  Hopefully, you're on the right track with this doctor.  Medications act differently on people, too, so if what he's taking now isn't doing the job, don't despair.  Sometimes it takes trying more than one to see what works best.

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By Taztav— Last Modified: 09/07/11, First Published: 09/07/11