Bipolar Disorder Support Group

Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.

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question about hallucinations

alwayshoping1
alwayshoping1
I took my youngest son to the doc Thursday. when I told him that my youngest had told me that he had been hearing and seeing things most of his life and had been afraid to tell anyone, he asked if they were constant or come and go. my youngest had said they were constant. the doc said this is not true of bipolar that the hallucinations would not be constant but come and go. when I heard voices, most of my life until recently, they were constant not the come and go. the doc said that since they were constant this pointed more towards schizoaffective or schizophrenia, not the bipolar. so my question is, am I just weird and others hallucinations come and go or does this doc not know what he is talking about?
worldofblah4
worldofblah4
At first I had hallucinations that came and went but then they switched to constant and my diagnosis changed from bipolar to schizoaffective. But my pdoc always says to treat the symptoms not the disorder. The meds for constant voices and come and going voices are the same so it doesn't really matter that much. It is just the difference in labels they give you. Hope this helps! Good luck.
spacekat
spacekat
I had a similar experience - mostly with delusions but also some visual and auditory hallucinations. My doc also diagnosed me as schizoaffective, with bipolar hypomania. I hope you have a good doc and receive the care that you need. Good luck and peace to you.
alwayshoping1
alwayshoping1
thank you guys. this does help a lot.
Community Leaderacuriousfish
acuriousfish
Some adult schizophrenics or schizoaffectives have voices alot of the time.

However, if we are talking about a child not an adult then the answer might be different.. Apparently schizophrenia does exist in children as young as 7-8 yo but it is extremely rare.

What people don't get is that it's a wonder we are not permanently hallucinating becauase our brain does a bunch of filtering and attenuation tricks and if it is slightly off we see things that are not there.

Many physical things can trigger hallucinations, plus chemical stuff. I suggest the answer will lie somewhere outside of schizophrenia or bipolar for someone so young.
alwayshoping1
alwayshoping1
right there with ya fish. sometimes I wonder if "real" life is the hallucination and the "hallucinations" are the real life. although I sometimes really really miss the voices. I haven't heard them in a while and it gets rather lonely... I find it rather odd that I would rather hear them than not. I also find myself grieving for the loss. which makes it even sadder in my opinion... ce la vie I guess....
Banshee67
Banshee67
I heard voices had "visions" and had horrific night terrors. That all stemmed from my abuse. I also learned I seemed to disassociate. There are many things the mind does to either help us or trick us whether it is from anxiety, stress and in my case abuse.

Hope you can find the help your son needs and when in doubt go for second and third opinions. Good luck.
Banshee67
Banshee67
Not trying to be a smart ass when I say maybe he is what some call a sensitive?
alwayshoping1
alwayshoping1
banshee I don't understand what you mean by a sensitive? could you please explain a little further?
blastwithpiss
blastwithpiss
My official diagnosis is Bipolar 2 with psychotic features. (and panic disorder without agoraphobia).
My experiences with hallucinations come and go with my swings. If I'm in a very manic state, I get delusional and I hear things (even with earplugs in. Thats how I test if I'm really hearing things). I also have hallucinations, both visual and auditory, if I'm in a very low swing for a prolonged amount of time.
Honestly, this sounds more like your son may have schizoaffective disorder. But this is very rare and I'm no doctor, so take this with a grain of salt.
Banshee67
Banshee67
Sent you a PM
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