Is it wrong that I want a diagnosis?
 

I know doctors don't like to diagnose you young and that you could be stuck with a label for the rest of your life yadda yadda yadda

but I really *really* want a diagnosis

At the moment my pych has point blank refused to give me a diagnosis
because apparantly the EIP don't give them, thats not what they do or something.

So far they just talk about my pychosis and the fact that I'm having pychotic symptoms

They don't say if it's pychotic depression, or schitzophrenia or w/e

At the moment I just don't feel that my problems are real
I don't know, it just feels like cos I don't have a name to put to whats wrong with me , then I don't have anything wrong with me.
If that makes any sense?

It would just be so much easier for when people ask to say;
oh, I've got schitzophrenia or w/e

At the moment I just say, I suffer from pychosis, which just sounds dumb

I don't know, I'm being pretty petty I suppose.
I'd just like a name to put to whats wrong with me. :sad:

i don't think that's dumb, although i do understand people's worries around giving diagnoses. i often feel the same way and though i never made a fuss about it, 'm pleased now that a diagnosis is on my care plan's official to-do list. are you under CAMHS or the CMHT (or just EIT)? camhs never wanted to even suggest there was anything wrong with me at all but now with the cmht they seem as keen on it as i am, so maybe that has soemthing to do with it.

Doctors and medical officals have to be very careful about giving diagnosises and tend to avoid it if at all possible. Even when you go n with a dicky tummy they say it might be a viral infection it sounds like a one. To rule out when you find out its something more serious or different, like meningitus.

With the EIP they are the first point of call when experiencing psychosis, I think they want to focus on understanding triggers for the psychosis if possible and what nature it manifests itself. If they wont give you a diagnosis it may be that they are not qualified to make a diagnosis .

Psychosis is what you have , maybe if you treat that as a diagnosis . It doesn't sound dumb to say so . It is what it is.

I just wanted to say that you shouldn't feel that you need a diagnosis for you problems to be real, the very fact that you see a mental health team signifies that you have problems. I understand though that it can be frustrating. When people ask me what's wrong I'm not always sure what to say as my consultant won't tell me, I only know from other people. I also see the EIP and they say to me lets talk about the symptoms too, so you're not alone.

Hun if you want you have right to see your medical notes and the diagnoses might be on there.
I understand about needing to know what you've got putting a name to it can help a lot, it might help you understand whats wrong with you better.

Amy x

Hey,

I can understand why you want a diagnosis. However pyschosis is a diagnosis. I know many people whom have this diagnosis and it isnt usually till they expereince multiple episodes of psychosis that it leads to a schizophrenia or pychosis with depression diagnosis. How long have you been seeing this dr for? It might be that they are unsure themselves so dont want to label you until they know.

I guess I just need to give it more time *humph*
I've been with the EIP for about 6 months and experiencing pychosis for about a year.
I spoke to my CPN and she said that because its my first episode of pychosis I mightn't have another so they wouldn't diagnose you with something like Schizophrenia because for all they know I might have one episode of pychosis, recover and then never have another ever again

I know pychosis can be seen as a diagnosis but I see it more as a symptom.I just don't get it when I read about other people experiencing pychosis who get diagnosed with schizophrenia straight away?

AmyShmamy I'd love to read my notes but I heard that they can refuse you your notes if they think that its not in your best interests to read them(off topic but) is this true?

Hi

You are able to read your notes and have someone there in case of interpretation.

If you want copies there may be a charge. (around £50.00)

They will probably have to write to third parties eg social services before releasing these notes or may just not give you access to these depending on how busy they are.

Where I am in the UK if you are a service user then you can get free copies of your notes and have happily accessed them twice already.

They will need permission from your current psy though obviously.

Anything likely to cause harm will not be given access.

It took over 5 psychotic episodes before I got diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Good points: I know what's wrong with me now, I can read up about it and tackle the problem. It also makes things less fuzzy and I don't have to say "I might have" or "it could be" etc.

Bad points: whenever I have to fill in a form for university/gym membership/insurance etc, I have to write "paranoid schizophrenia" on the "health conditions" section. That makes me feel like a monster raving loony or something. Paranoid schizophrenia holds a huge huge stigma and I hate having to admit it to people.

So there are good and bad points. I would ask your GP what she thinks because they normally have records and diagnoses on their systems.

Hi Steel Maiden

I once asked an occupational health doctor about what or how deeply I should go into my diagnosis when filling in forms.

His reply was just put "mental health problems" or something vague.

He said is not their business to know the exact ins and outs of your personal life etc especially insurance people.

If they need clarification they can ask their own experts but even then they will have a duty of confidentiality towards you and will not normally disclose to youe employer your exact diagnosis.

When you apply for car insurance as long as you have informed DVLA the insurance salesperson even said on the phone to me that it was none of his business to know my diagnosis and it does not make a difference or shouldn't to your insurance premuim

HTH

This might sound like a dumb question
but, how can you tell the difference between one pychotic episode and another?

Since last January I've been hearing the same 4 voices and having the same deluded ideas and hallucinations, does this mean that I'm having one on going pychotic episode?

do you hear the voices and have these ideas all the time?

The voices and everything was all the time (every single day) up until recently when I had my meds changed and they've made the pychosis stop

Well my doctor thought my illness was acute and that I would recover and never get Voices/paranoia/etc again, but when I kept relapsing and not recovering fully in between relapses, she realised that my illness is chronic and diagnosed me with paranoid schiz.

It's not wrong. I want a diagnosis. There are positives, and there are negatives. All mental health illness's are awful to have, but knowing what you have can help you treat it better.

I am going to try and find out what I have after Xmas, I already know a bit but I'm not 100% sure and would like some clear answers.

Don't let this define you though. You are not your diagnosis. You are you. Your illness is another part of you, yes, but it isn't YOU.

x

How are you doing with finding out about the diagnosis now?