Schizophrenia - General Discussion

James Allen6 said:evening 🙂

I don't know much about schizophrenia, so I am reaching out to those of you who might be more experienced. My grandmother is 87 years old and currently living in a senior living community. After we were away for two months and couldn't visit as often, she seems to have lost her way. It isn't that she's confused or incoherent—she actually sounds quite lucid and sharp—but she is constantly telling these unrealistic stories that seem very typical of paranoid schizophrenia. She believes the nurses at the facility are enemies holding secret meetings and plotting conspiracies to mock the elderly residents. I should mention this is a high-end facility, likely one of the most expensive in the entire state. She also claims to hear men in the adjacent room discussing trading and politics late at night, and she can't figure out what they want from her. She has stopped eating because she fears something is being slipped into her food; she looks like a skeleton right now :/ And yes, she constantly brings up some TV series and certain roles, as if she has convinced herself she is actually a character in a show or something :/ She keeps insisting that everyone thinks she is crazy, but she insists she is NOT!

The staff at the facility aren't really doing anything about it. I'm not sure if they even realize what is going on in her head, especially since she tells me she just stays quiet in front of them so they won't hurt her :/

She has had psychological episodes like this before and was prescribed antipsychotics, but once she seemed to stabilize, they took her off them.

So, I suppose I am wondering if I should alert her doctor and get her back on medication, or if I should just let things play out and see if any major issues arise.
How does this usually work? To what extent can a patient (if she is indeed ill) be left without therapy? And what kind of impact would potential therapy actually have?

thanks 🙂

Given she is nearly 90 years old, I doubt this is schizophrenia; it is more likely geriatric paranoia.
While she certainly needs medication, her age and any underlying physical health issues significantly limit the available options. A doctor would probably start with a low dose of Haldol.
You need to speak with the physician responsible for the residents at the assisted living facility. Usually, they work as outside consultants. Present the medical records to them, and they will either prescribe the medication themselves or refer her to a psychiatrist.

driftinggull21 said:Given she is nearly 90 years old, I doubt this is schizophrenia; it is more likely geriatric paranoia.
While she certainly needs medication, her age and any underlying physical health issues significantly limit the available options. A doctor would probably start with a low dose of Haldol.
You need to speak with the physician responsible for the residents at the assisted living facility. Usually, they work as outside consultants. Present the medical records to them, and they will either prescribe the medication themselves or refer her to a psychiatrist.

Thank you! I think the last time she had an episode, she was on Haldol. She is generally healthy and doesn't have any major illnesses. Yes, we will talk to their doctor. Thanks again. 😉

Schizophrenia is just one of those heavy, lifelong battles that doesn't really have an easy exit strategy. If you look at any medical textbook, they’ll tell you straight up that there isn't a "cure" in the traditional sense, and honestly, things can take a turn for the worse if you aren't careful. It takes an incredible amount of patience and a whole lot of time to manage any serious health issue, but when you're dealing with schizophrenia, that clock seems to tick differently. Even when the medications are dialed in and working correctly, those sudden, jarring episodes can still hit you out of nowhere, regardless of how much work you've put in.

I was wondering about the genetics behind this condition—specifically, how exactly are the genes passed down from mother to child? I've read somewhere that there might be some differences depending on whether it's a boy or a girl being born.

Quick question for anyone who’s actually dealt with F20...
Can someone walk me through what it was really like when things first started going south?
People talk about this sudden shift—like you wake up and just feel *off*—but what does that actually mean? How long did it take from that first weird feeling until you finally got a diagnosis? Did it click immediately, or were you totally clueless?

Best, 🙂

I find all of these posts quite compelling, in a way.
My diagnosis is currently F23, though I suppose that’s subject to change. I have some history with hallucinations; they tend to creep up on you quite stealthily at first, almost like someone shadowing you from behind. Even back when I was just finishing middle school, I experienced certain hallucinations, though they felt fundamentally different from what I deal with now. Since I am under medical treatment, they stay at bay, appearing only occasionally when I slip into an episode.
In those early stages—though my memory of them is a bit hazy now—concentration becomes an impossible task. You might pick up a book, only to realize it would have been better left untouched, because you'll find yourself convinced that the letters are physically drifting off the page, along with your own thoughts.
Then, everything begins to lose its color, fading into these dull, gray tones. For no discernible reason, you start spiraling into these paranoid narratives, convinced that the person sitting next to you might actually be a plant, hired specifically to cause you harm.
But generally speaking, everything is a mess once the dust settles, leaving you to deal with the aftermath of a total catastrophe.

Austin Ross30 said:I was wondering about the genetics behind this condition—specifically, how exactly are the genes passed down from mother to child? I've read somewhere that there might be some differences depending on whether it's a boy or a girl being born.

I'm wondering the exact same thing.👍

I didn't go through medical school, so I can't claim any expertise here, but there is definitely a genetic component at play—though I'm struggling to find the right clinical terminology to describe it properly.

feralowl said:I'm wondering the exact same thing.👍

Schizophrenia does have some genetic components—it's multifactorial—but it isn't a direct inheritance like hemophilia. It’s more complex than that; just because the genes are there doesn't mean they'll definitely be passed down.

I believe there’s some statistical data floating around somewhere, though if I recall correctly, the probability for a cousin being diagnosed with schizophrenia is roughly 3%
whereas for a twin it jumps to 50%, and for a parent it sits around 10%, or something to that effect.

I'm asking about genetics because my kid's dad has schizophrenia—something I didn't realize right away. I read somewhere that the father can't actually pass it on, and that if the mother has it, she's the carrier.😕 I'm assuming that's total nonsense, right?

It hardly matters whether it’s passed down from the father or the mother, though it is quite unfortunate that the trait remains so stubbornly hereditary.

granitefalcon9 said:It hardly matters whether it’s passed down from the father or the mother, though it is quite unfortunate that the trait remains so stubbornly hereditary.

😢,yeah, unfortunately. I can only hope they dodge it. Does anyone know if this thing is strictly genetic? People my ex used to hang out with used to claim he was using drugs back in the day and that's why he got sick. Sadly, I can't verify any of that because he and his whole family just straight up deny there's even an illness. I don't know much else. He spent three years at a hospital in Seattle under that diagnosis...

If a father has schizophrenia, his children naturally face an increased risk of developing the condition as well. However, this is by no means a certainty.

In my experience, a distant cousin of mine once came down with shingles, and naturally, I ended up catching it too. My mother is just a bit overly paranoid about these things, so she didn't think it was wise to 🙂

Look, the moment someone falls ill, it implies there was some underlying predisposition at play, regardless of what the immediate trigger might have been.

granitefalcon9 said:Look, the moment someone falls ill, it implies there was some underlying predisposition at play, regardless of what the immediate trigger might have been.

Oh, I get it now. So the disease might not even show up in someone carrying the gene, unless some "switch" gets flipped to activate it? Is that how we're playing this?

feralowl said:Oh, I get it now. So the disease might not even show up in someone carrying the gene, unless some "switch" gets flipped to activate it? Is that how we're playing this?

A trigger.😉

Carrying the gene certainly means you have a higher predisposition, but it doesn't mean you're destined to actually fall ill.

If there happens to be a schizophrenic out there who isn't currently confined to some psychiatric ward and actually feels like talking, I would genuinely welcome your perspective