I'm hoping to get some feedback on a matter that is concerning Jim and myself regarding Evie. I have been meaning to mention this for quite some time but as is usually the case, the busyness of our lives has gotten in the way!
Evie has quite florid hallucinations, both visual and auditory. We are learning more of them as she becomes more open with us and also more open in therapy. They are not flashbacks per se. They can sometimes be related to the trauma, when she is stressed or tired (she will see Eric, or hear his voice), but the majority of the time, she simply sees and hears a variety of things, both good and bad, that others don't. Animals, people, objects, and all sorts of sounds. It's pretty much on a daily basis, from what we understand and what she is now admitting to. She says it's one of the reasons she sometimes has trouble talking with us or on the telephone, she remarks that at times the voices are too loud or too many, and so it makes it difficult for her to concentrate on what others are saying. And that in turn makes her anxious or self-conscious.
What concerns us, her descriptions sound very similar to the visual hallucinations and voices described by our nephew David, who has schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is genetic and runs in our family. Additionally, Evie is approaching the age (25-30) when most women develop schizophrenia, and she has a neurological condition known as synesthesia, which is known to be common in schizophrenics.
Evie has been diagnosed with PTSD-SP, the SP standing for "secondary psychosis". Apparently this is a very severe form of PTSD, where the person has pronounced psychotic symptoms. When she had her MRI several months back, it showed hypocampic shrinkage that is thought to be indicative of PTSD, but it also displayed frontal lobe abnormalities, which can indicate a number of other conditions including latent psychosis. From everything we've read here and elsewhere, we have not really seen others with the same symptoms as she describes having. Perhaps others have them and are ashamed to admit it, that is partially what we are hoping to discover with this post.
Obviously we don't want to jump to any conclusions one way or another, we loathe labeling, and we may be overreacting. However we are extremely concerned for her welfare. So is her therapist, who is also undecided about her condition. He is certain she has PTSD, but suspects she may have something more, or at least something unusual, even for PTSD. However he feels unqualified and a bit helpless as he's not a diagnostician. One thing is certain to him, she is not inventing stories for attention (we did consider that at first). If she indeed has schizophrenia, from family experience we know it is crucial that she be treated early on in the disease, to avoid brain damage. Untreated schizophrenia results in permanent brain damage, which only becomes worse as time goes on. We currently do not have a psychiatrist whom we trust, so we are going it alone in many respects until we find a decent doctor for her.
Evie has quite florid hallucinations, both visual and auditory. We are learning more of them as she becomes more open with us and also more open in therapy. They are not flashbacks per se. They can sometimes be related to the trauma, when she is stressed or tired (she will see Eric, or hear his voice), but the majority of the time, she simply sees and hears a variety of things, both good and bad, that others don't. Animals, people, objects, and all sorts of sounds. It's pretty much on a daily basis, from what we understand and what she is now admitting to. She says it's one of the reasons she sometimes has trouble talking with us or on the telephone, she remarks that at times the voices are too loud or too many, and so it makes it difficult for her to concentrate on what others are saying. And that in turn makes her anxious or self-conscious.
What concerns us, her descriptions sound very similar to the visual hallucinations and voices described by our nephew David, who has schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is genetic and runs in our family. Additionally, Evie is approaching the age (25-30) when most women develop schizophrenia, and she has a neurological condition known as synesthesia, which is known to be common in schizophrenics.
Evie has been diagnosed with PTSD-SP, the SP standing for "secondary psychosis". Apparently this is a very severe form of PTSD, where the person has pronounced psychotic symptoms. When she had her MRI several months back, it showed hypocampic shrinkage that is thought to be indicative of PTSD, but it also displayed frontal lobe abnormalities, which can indicate a number of other conditions including latent psychosis. From everything we've read here and elsewhere, we have not really seen others with the same symptoms as she describes having. Perhaps others have them and are ashamed to admit it, that is partially what we are hoping to discover with this post.
Obviously we don't want to jump to any conclusions one way or another, we loathe labeling, and we may be overreacting. However we are extremely concerned for her welfare. So is her therapist, who is also undecided about her condition. He is certain she has PTSD, but suspects she may have something more, or at least something unusual, even for PTSD. However he feels unqualified and a bit helpless as he's not a diagnostician. One thing is certain to him, she is not inventing stories for attention (we did consider that at first). If she indeed has schizophrenia, from family experience we know it is crucial that she be treated early on in the disease, to avoid brain damage. Untreated schizophrenia results in permanent brain damage, which only becomes worse as time goes on. We currently do not have a psychiatrist whom we trust, so we are going it alone in many respects until we find a decent doctor for her.
