You might note that the actual diagnosis is not to "brand" you but to be able for doctors to target the most effective treatment(s.)  Many with sz were first diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  I was.  Then it was sz, and then schizoaffective.  And sometimes I am still convinced I am Bipolar II.  If you are more comfortable, personally, with one diagnosis or the other, that is okay.  I tell people who are bipolar that I, too, am bipolar because I know they will understand what I am going through.  Same with schizophrenics.  And of course, schizoaffective is when you have symptoms of both.  These diagnoses are not rock-solid, just convenient classifications that psychiatrists use in order to more easily consult with one another -- if one pdoc tells another that you have schizophrenia, then that doctor will know what symptoms she should look for and what treatment(s) might work...I think.  At least, that's the way I figure it.

Carolyn