The patient: A woman in her early 50s in Canada
The symptoms: The woman started occasionally hearing her name being called when she was alone, usually in quiet surroundings. Later, the sounds evolved into indistinct murmurs. These voices seemed to come from outside her head rather than from her own thoughts. They never spoke directly to her, commented on her actions or gave commands.
What happened next: In the next two years after she began hearing voices, the woman made several trips to emergency departments and had brief psychiatric admissions. Because hearing voices is commonly associated with psychosis — symptoms that occur when people experience a disconnect from reality — doctors diagnosed her with "unspecified psychosis" and attempted various treatments.
They first tried the antipsychotic risperidone, gradually increasing the dose, but the voices did not go away. Doctors then switched the patient to aripiprazole, but the hallucinations remained unchanged. Next, they tried haloperidol, and although the woman said the medicat...
English (US)