Suspected schizophrenic; questioning former AS diagnosis

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After having a pretty intense psychotic episode almost two months ago, I was voluntarily hospitalised and started on some medication (antipsychotic and antidepressant).
I underwent a lot of evaluation and at one point I was asked by a doctor if I knew what my diagnosis was. I replied that I wasn't sure and he told me, "well, sir, it seems that you have schizophrenia".

I wasn't surprised at all. I actually have a bit of a history of paranoid delusions, hearing voices, and other stuff going back a few years, but nothing that had bothered me enough to tell anyone up until I started having visual hallucinations that freaked me out. I find it odd in retrospect that I never realised before that the things I was experiencing were abnormal.

I'm now undergoing treatment on an outpatient basis, but still am not 100% sure about my diagnosis yet. I think I should find out next visit.

It's made me wonder if I really have Asperger's Syndrome, or if I was misdiagnosed.
I've been considering whether or not to mention it to my current care providers
For whatever reason I'd thought before that it wasn't possible to have both conditions.

Best wishes on getting treatment that helps. Yes, it is possible to be diagnosed both autistic and schizophrenic, but there is a requirement in the DSM about the order in which the symptoms appeared. My brother was schizophrenic and I am autistic and schizotypal. I have the pervasive social fears and paranoia, but not the hallucinations. I've known about my autism since I was tiny, but got the schizotypal diagnosis just this year. It can suck to have to deal with the symptoms and with the way people sometimes treat me. But better to know i have this mental condition so i can do something to compensate. I'm trying to let go of some of the paranoia and invite people into my life. I started inviting friends over for board games. The schizophrenic spectrum disorders definitely have some overlapping symptoms with autism. And having both ASD and being schizotypal the agitation and fears are near non-stop. Having an adult autism support group here helps.

There are almost always autistic symptoms in shizophrenia. They can be a part of the phase before the disord. They can be too a part of the disord, in negative symptoms (contrary of positive symptoms whitch are hallucinations, delirium and disorganization).

EyeDash say : "Yes, it is possible to be diagnosed both autistic and schizophrenic"
Do you no where you had got this information ? I belived it's not possible because schizophrenia include autistic symptoms.

The authoritative source of psych diagnostic definitions is the DSM, which is where the symptom precedence requirement for a comorbid diagnosis is described. There's a lot of popular articles too - you can google "autism+schizophrenia+comorbid". Here's one: http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/autism/ ... izophrenia

Trust me, you can definitely have both. At what point was your ASD diagnosed? Although they share many negative symptoms, ASD is always manifest from childhood while schizophrenia comes along usually in your late teens for males and twenties for females. Although it is possible to develop schizophrenia in childhood, such poor souls are almost always institutionalized since they never get the chance to develop halfway normally. I myself had my first psychotic break at 17, but I was classic Asperger's all my life.

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Imagine my therapist's embarrassment when it turned out they really were after me.

Sorry I was gone for a while.

I was just diagnosed with ASD just last year, but the signs had been there since I was a kid.
It was reaffirmed by my current psychiatrist after my dad told her my history as a child.

The psychotic symptoms first started in my late teens and gradually grew worse over the years.


I'm not sure why I didn't think it was possible to have both.
I guess I was just hoping I couldn't be "unlucky" enough to have a psychotic disorder in addition to ASD major depressive disorder, anxiety, and a connective tissue disorder (which causes me all sorts of physical issues).

Just wanted to give an update.

My official diagnosis now is schizoaffective disorder.
My psychiatrist has noted I have many autistic traits but has said she's not sure if I have enough to qualify for an ASD diagnosis.

Hi aj,

I suspect I have schizoaffective also... Many events since I was 20ish which are in hindsight, like remembering nightmares. I think my behaviors of attracting bad people to mess with my mental health are a part of my disorder. I am always attracting someone who is nefariously trying to ruin my life. sigh. I become fixated on said person, like an autistic delusion. A fixation of hate. Recently an SSI attorney told me I had depression with psychotic features which makes sense as I don't fully hallucinate, especially as I live a stress free lifestyle now and I plan on doing so.

Strange the doctors wouldn't tell me what I have. They seem so secretive about it.
I also took a test that measured my functioning a few years apart it showed I declined quite a lot in functioning so, I resign to a once again sheltered life.