Hi Ami,
Curiously my diagnosis has recently been changed from paranoid schizophrenia to schizoaffective disorder! Although I still haven't figured out where the affective bit came from....
The thing is, nowadays doctors tend to change diagnoses quite a lot because of the fundamental pitfall in the categorical diagnostic system (black and white, you either have the disorder or you don't) and take on a dimensional approach (I am personally a strong supporter of the dimensional approach although it is still controversial)- that we are on a psychosis spectrum or continuum, and one can 'sway' between one end (affective psychosis) and the other end (schizophrenia), with schizoaffective disorder in the middle. However, there is a lot of overlap between symptoms so it can be very hard to 'locate' where an individual is on the spectrum.
Sorry I am not sure if this helps? By all means, get another independent opinion but I think you will find that they will never be able to come to a clear and certain conclusion...unless we have a biological marker, psychiatry will always be more of an art than a science (Fortunately? Unfortunately? Discuss :P)!
Take care,
Laurie
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