misdiagnosis of schizophrewnia?

[GerryDaypray]

Help, my 15 year old daughter is suffering a personal hell at this time.
She was on Paxil for almost 2 years till last fall at which time the psychiatrist (due to strong Canadian government recomendations) took her off. She was weaned off paxil in 2 weeks from a dosage of 60 ml and since then her life and our world has become hell. She is once again in the hospital has been through suicidal behaviour and acting out, cutting, severely depressed etc. She went from Paxil to Zoloft and is now presently on Celexa 40 ml. In addition she is taking seroquel (anti psychotic drug) for hallucinations, voices etc. In defense of her psychiatrist, its been difficult pin pointing a diagnosis due to age and so many changes occuring etc. However until this past week the psychiatrist was of the opinion my daughter was not bi polar nor schizophrenic. However all of this has changed in the past week or so, my wife and I were shocked to hear the doctor say she now believes my daughter is more likely paranoid-schizophrenic this due to her behaviour in the past couple weeks with dilusional thinking etc. My question is this; Can all of this be as a result of (paxil, zoloft, celexa) being given to her over the 2 1/2 year period? Is there hope/chance that my daughter may have been driven to this point by medications? Or should we just accept the psychiatrists opinion as fact. (not on your life) If anyone has opinions or better yet examples of situations similar to ours please let us know.

***update***

I should clarrify the dilusional thinking. In the past couple weeks my daughter has been going on about the doctor being involved with cia activities and such. In large part for this reason the psychiatrist feels she is beginning to show clearer signs of schizophrenia. Also she told us this week that she's been hearing voices since being a small child but never said anything until now. However my wife doesnt buy it, she says our daughter used to tell her everything and this would have come out regardless and furthermore my daughter is in a very confused state at present and we feel that perhaps a lot of this she might have imagined.
Can this dilusional stuff be the result of all these meds?

[scotty]

Her poor brain doesn't even know that she's a human being!!! The symptoms you describe I have hear over and over again from misdiagnosed children who are actually IN WITHDRAWAL!!!!! First off she was weaned way to fast, then put on another SSRI, then another, then an antipsychotic!!! When my son was withdrawing(controlled, slow wean)he exhibited all these symptoms, hallucinations, anger, suicidal even with the slow wean. An unknown cold turkey attempt by him almost cost him his life.
In my opinion the only way to go is to get her off all the meds!! Then give her time to recover and see what she's really like. Right now your seeing side effect upon side effect upon side effect!!!

[MizzT]

I was told i was schitzophrenic during my withdrawal. I was 38 at the time.
i was hearing voices and seeing things for over a year after paxil.
the shrink scared me so bad that i never went back to her.

It was TOTALLY from the paxil withdrawal.

i dont know what you do at this point. maybe put her back on a low dose of paxil and come off really slowly.
Maybe just do it at this point from diet and meditation and CBT.
I use no pharmaceuticals at this point at all. I do it all with diet, and meditation and energy field therapy.

http://www.neuromodulationtechnique.com

that is the therapy i use now. It is extremely effective for me.

Best to you and your family
Beverly

[Scott]

Originally Posted by GerryDaypray

My question is this; Can all of this be as a result of (paxil, zoloft, celexa) being given to her over the 2 1/2 year period? Is there hope/chance that my daughter may have been driven to this point by medications?

yes

[safarigal]

WOW!! my heart goes out to you and your daughter. Its a crime that has been committed against her poor brain.

I'm no psychiatrist or doctor but I have been through withdrawal from Paxil. Its hell and yes I did have hallucinations, hear voices , had strange thoughts and all the other things that made me think I was going insane.

Knowing what I know now, if I were in your shoes I'd seek out another psychiatrist. I know Toronto is a long way but is there a psychiatrist there that specializes in children and SSRIs?

Or you could also consult a naturopath.

For sure I wouldn't change the meds or give more. That's only my opinion.

[elisa]

Originally Posted by GerryDaypray

Help, my 15 year old daughter is suffering a personal hell at this time. However all of this has changed in the past week or so, my wife and I were shocked to hear the doctor say she now believes my daughter is more likely paranoid-schizophrenic this due to her behaviour in the past couple weeks with dilusional thinking etc. My question is this; Can all of this be as a result of (paxil, zoloft, celexa) being given to her over the 2 1/2 year period? Is there hope/chance that my daughter may have been driven to this point by medications? Or should we just accept the psychiatrists opinion as fact. (not on your life) If anyone has opinions or better yet examples of situations similar to ours please let us know.

Hi,

I am really distressed to read your topic. Your daughter is only 15 and is going through with what I went trough as an old lady in switching all the meds (15+?) in the past 8 years.

Do NOT believe the doc.

I have experienced the side-effects from switching from one AD to another and also given some "booster" antipsychotics for a short period of time. I had side effects continuously for these years due to all that switching. The past 8 years have been hell, that's all I remember. The rest is all a big blurr/fog. I lost 8 years of my life thanks to these drugs. Please don't let your daughter be sucked into the never ending cycle of these drugs, switch, add another one and so on. The meds didn't even help me!! Your daughter is suffering from withdrawl from one AD and getting used to another one= double. On top of that is now Seroquel!!(antipsychotic)

To sum it up: if an old lady could not cope with this, how can a 16 year old child????? If the doc is a drug pusher, just try to find a pshychiatrist who practices talk therapy and doesn't push meds. These docs are also covered by OHIP.

A web site that gives you info on all "head" meds is: www.antidepressantsfacts.com

Give your daughter my love and I wish you strength.

[rdjanis]

Knowing what I know now, if I were in your shoes I'd seek out another psychiatrist. I know Toronto is a long way but is there a psychiatrist there that specializes in children and SSRIs?

There are few Programs in Toronto, there is such a lack of Child Psychiatrists that some kids have been waiting two years for treatment. From experience I have learned that they cannot find space for the children whose parents do not want to use medication along with therapy.

Their is a great Program for children twelve and older, they provide therapy without the use of medication, the Program is in Hamilton, and it is covered under OHIP. I know there is a waiting list, but I have been told it is not to long.

[scotty]

Could you clarify for me why your daughter was put on Paxil to begin with?? The delusional thinking was present in my sons withdrawal and during paxil use. At one point in withdrawal he was researching bomb making on the internet!! I feel horrible that your daughter is going through this and feel that her current thinking is due to the SSRI's. To give you a little hope, my son is now off paxil for 4 months and is back to his "normal" self. Nightmares, delusions, hallucinations, aggression are all gone.
Talk to her psychiatrist and express your concern with the SSRI use in your daughter. The warning that made him remove her from paxil is a category wide warning on SSRI's . To change her to another SSRI doesn't make any sense at all!!

[GerryDaypray]

in answer to your question my daughter was put on Paxil 2 1/2 years ago for anxiety. Things went from bad to worse so they increased her dossage and now we realize how that was the worse thing we could have done.

[paxilgirl]

Gerry my heart goes out to you and yoru family. I suspect from the readings I've done on the drug and from the many postings here of paxil and former paxil users that your daughter is going through withdrawal of major proportions....to wean from 60mgs of Paxil in two weeks in my opinion is very insane.

I've been weaning off from 30 mgs of paxil and it is taking over 5 months.

Your daughter is going through major withdrawl....she needs lots of love and TLC and please do not put any more drugs into her body if you can help it. Her paraniod dellusions are from the drug and from the withdrawal of the drug.

Keep in touch and informed of what happens to your family. We are here for you.

Paxilgirl

[scotty]

Gerry, my son Ryan was put on Paxil for exactly the same reason. His downward spiral was identical to her's except I found this board sooner and realized it was the paxil. It's a tough decision to make when you don't have the support of a psychiatrist. From what I hear about Canada, the mental health system isn't the greatest. All I can say is I ended up doing the weaning without a doctor(we did have a psychologist who knew less about paxil than me, but he agreed with what I was doing). I truly believe my decision and Ryan's bravery in doing it has kept him alive. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have a doc to bounce things off, but that just wasn't the case. You know your child best, you know what she was like prior to SSRI's and believe me that child is still there. Ryan is living proof!! By the way, Ryan's anxiety has not returned since he is completely withdrawn from Paxil.
Gerry we're here to listen and give you the benefit of what we've been through. This board and its members saved my son's life. Everyone has alot to offer. No one can describe it better that someone whose been through it. No doc can give that side of the story.
Keep posting, no matter how crazy it sounds. We've seen and read it all!!!