General Hallucinations - PTSD or Schizophrenia?

[allgirlusa]

My prayers are with you

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.

Kathy,

My youngest brother Andrew was schizophrenic. From my experience and understanding it is a specific type of psychotic disorder. Specifically, symptoms will include auditory and/or visual hallucinations. There are other types of psychotic disorders that do not include hallucinations.

I am not a professional, but I would assume from what you've posted that the 'secondary psychosis' associated with the PTSD could be any type of psychotic disorder. Because the symptoms do include hallucinations, the psychotic disorder would typically be referred to as schizophrenia.

My husband Dave who suffers from PTSD and my brother Andrew were very close. I think the disorders are similar on some levels. I know that generally if a person has one disorder such as a type of anxiety or depression, it is highly likely that they suffer from more than one disorder. It makes it really hard to diagnose and treat what's really going on.

My brother was also diagnosed and being treated for a severe anxiety disorder. Unfortunately, in February of this year he took his life. I really pray for you Kathy. My family is so riddled with psychological and emotional problems- I have been dealing with them my whole life. I myself suffer from an anxiety disorder. My thoughts are with you.

 

[Kathy]

Thank you for the prayers Andrea, they are most appreciated. I am deeply sorry to hear of the suicide of your brother; unfortunately that is all too common in people with schizophrenia. My brother-in-law took his own life as well, though he had PTSD. A suicide in the family is most dreadful, there is never any true closure.

Currently the schizophrenia question with Evie is a bit on the back burner, as she has a serious physical illness as well, and we are now concentrating on that aspect. We do hope eventually to have her properly evaluated. However, we have been doing quite a bit of research on our own. From our research we are somewhat convinced that Evie's psychosis is actually part of her PTSD rather than schizophrenia. There is something called "PTSD psychosis" which can be an aspect of very severe PTSD; in fact this is what she has been diagnosed with; the secondary psychosis refers to PTSD psychosis, upon clarification from the psychiatrist. Evie was diagnosed on the severest end of the scale in every category regarding PTSD symptoms. We have observed that her hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms worsen when the PTSD is also worse. Obviously we are hoping it is part of the PTSD and not schizophrenia, however we still do not know for certain.

It indeed is a puzzle to sort through it all! I suppose however, either way we are here for her and will do everything we can to help her have a fulfilling life. Thank you again for your kind words and prayers.