Is there a difference between drug induced schizophrenia and regular schizophrenia? Difference in treatment?

Answer 1

Drug induced schizophrenia is just that - schizophrenia brought on by using drugs. Drug induced schizophrenias I've heard of were brought on by using certain plants that have mind altering qualities. Chances are, people with drug induced schizophrenia had a predisposition to some form of mental illness prior to using the drugs. Regular schizophrenia is generally genetic. As for treatment, they both require the use of anti-psychotics. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

There's no such thing as drug induced schizophrenia. However, people can have psychotic symptoms (hallucinations or delusions) due to certain drugs. It can last a short time and stop as soon as the effect of the drug wears out, it might last a long time because the individual repeatedly the drug(s), or it might be permanent if the drug actually caused damage to the brain (like LSD flashbacks). Sometimes withdrawal from an addictive drug can cause psychotic symptoms--I've heard that heroin withdrawal or even alcohol withdrawal can cause hallucinations (DTs or demetria tremens). This kind of psychosis stops once the person is off the drug, unless there was permanent damage.

True schizophrenia is a disorder where people may experience symptoms such as hallucinations (hearing voices, etc), delusions (such as paranoia), disorganized thinking, social withdrawal and blunted emotions. Some people with schizophrenia eventually stop having symptoms, but most of the time it seems to last for life. Nobody knows for sure what causes schizophrenia but it's thought to be problems with the 'wiring of the brain." There is evidence that it is genetic, because people with schizophrenia often have relatives who have the same disorder.

It gets complicated and confusing because a lot of people with schizophrenia or other mental disorders also abuse drugs, so it can be hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. Some people seem to have the potential for schizophrenia, but they don't started having symptoms until after they start using drugs--it can be a tough call for a psychiatrist to decide which is the real underlying problem, and it's not unusual for psychiatrists to disagree with each other. Somebody might come to the hospital and get a diagnosis of Psychotic Disorder due to Cocaine Abuse, get discharged, and then be readmitted with a diagnosis of Paranoid Schizophrenia--it's not unusual in the mental health setting.

I had a friend who did a lot of drugs, he was acting weird and saying really weird stuff--most people assumed it was the drugs, but then he got put in the hospital and eventually was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder with Psychotic Features. I don't know, but he did look depressed a lot and he said some really bizarre things. He said he killed a man once, and that he had a big recording studio in France. I doubt if he killed anybody and I know for sure he didn't own a recording studio in France--probably delusions.

I worked for mental health agencies for about 20 years--I'm not a doctor but I have pretty good basic knowledge about mental illness. Part of my job is to classify people's diagnoses and enter them in a computer, so I have to understand what the doctors are talking about.

Answer 3

Regular schizophrenia could be related to a genetic component. In many situations, there are multiple persons within a family who experience similar symptoms. Several studies indicate that if a set of twins is present in the family, and one of the siblings has schizophrenia, the likelihood of the other twin developing schizophrenia during their lifetime is more than 50%.

Answer 4

drug induced schizophrenia is the type that is caused by illegal drug use, i assume. the treatment involves getting off the illegal substance in a drug treatment center.

non drug induced schizphrenia can be treated using a variety of methods. you would need to contact a phychiatrist.