I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder 4 years ago, but have not been

responding to medication. For the last 4 months my mood has not been high or low, but I have been feeling emotionally flat and unresponsive to others. I have also been hearing voices, feeling paranoid and suspicious of others. I am now too scared to leave the house in case I am being followed. I saw a new psychiatrist and CPN last week who have diagnosed me with schizophrenia. I am really not sure what to think and don't even know if the diagnoses is correct. I have been started on 15mg of Ambilify. I know very little about this illness and wondered if there was anybody out there who has schizophrenia and knows if this sounds like a correct diagnoses.

In my experience bi-polar and schizophrenia can be very closely linked.. I'm also somewhere in the middle, I have very high and low mood swings, 'thought disorder' and also have experienced voices, paranoia and delusions.

A lot of doctors also see the overlap of experiences.

Don't worry about the diagnosis, its just a label.. What matters is that your receiving the help you need in response to your particular symptoms.

You might not know about schizophrenia- but your an expert on yourself.

Keep seeing your doctor and CPN, talk to them about what's going on and any changes. Give the medication time to work and If it doesn't work after they are supposed to kick in- ask for a change.. try and be patient- I know its hard.

Do you have a plan for crisis? If things get bad- try using that.. or if you don't- ring your GP or NHS direct and try to explain that you need help right now..