You know it's strange but I kept thinking that all along. That the first psychiatrist, for whatever reason, made a quick diagnosis and that the diagnosis just stuck over the years. But that he used it to his advantage and chose to disregard it when appropriate as well. It helped him with that fraud charge. And it was a source of income for a while.
He kept telling them symptoms of schizophrenia, or at least how he perceived them, instead of just telling them exactly what he was experiencing and letting them decide if it was a symptom. Except for the two incidents when "Manny" turned up. To take the blame for his illegal and immoral behaviour. There is nothing in any of his records, prior to the letter to the lawyer, that indicates that the "voices" are telling him to do anything bad. Nothing. And then he got to Dr. Barth. And he laid it on really thick.
I personally don't believe most of what he's been selling over the years. Nor do I believe that someone in his line of work and hanging with the people that he would have been hanging with has not done drugs. And I definitely don't believe what he's selling at this trial. He knew what he was doing and had planned it for months.
MOO
Let me see... it was his grandmother who first took him to a psychiatrist when he was 18. And in 2001 he went to a walk-in clinic for a sore throat and mentioned that he was hearing voices. Then in March 2002 his psychiatric notes say that he was hearing male and female voices, and thought the police and FBI were after him. He thought people could hear his thoughts, and his grandmother wanted him to go back into the group home because she couldn't cope. This is where the crisis worker's notes said "Bizarre, interesting presentation (in what way?? i wish we had more info about this!) and the doctor suspected LM was seeking secondary gain, but he didn't know what the gain might be. But they still put him on antipsychotics, which they wouldn't have done if they just thought he was faking.
His psychiatric notes through the years are pretty consistent in saying that he was hearing voices, but they don't mention what the voices were saying.
And as for that note applying for disability money, Chamberland was suspicious because LM describes the symptoms of schizophrenia so well. LM had a lot of support at the time, and someone probably told him he was eligible for help and helped him to fill in the forms - a social worker or psychiatric nurse probably sat down with him and told him what to write. That's part of their job, to make sure that mentally ill people get the support that they are entitled to.
Remember that Chamberland is being PAID to testify, just like Allard and Watts were. He's just going through the years of medical records and cherry-picking anything that supports the conclusion he wants to come to.
Also, MANY people with schizophrenia do also abuse drugs (in an attempt to self-medicate) and many do also have co-morbid personality disorders. These things don't show that LM was faking schizophrenia.
Chamberland thinks LM was faking his symptoms at first, but then when he was hospitalised he thinks he really was psychotic, but it was caused by cocaine? I don't know how common cocaine psychosis is in someone who doesn't already have an underlying problem such as schizophrenia... Most people who take cocaine don't develop hallucinations and delusions and need to be hospitalised.
March 2003 LM's dad takes him to the doctor because he is psychotic. LM is hospitalised for 12 days and treated with antipsychotic injections. Would psychosis induced by cocaine necessitate someone being hospitalised for 12 days, or would they recover quickly from the psychosis once the effect of the cocaine wore off? :thinking: March 25th rehosptalised, thinks his roomates are stealing his thoughts and have installed cameras to watch him. April 7th released from hospital, but still suffering from paranoia.
It was in March 2003 that LM first started being treated with injections of antipsychotic meds. But by March 2005 he is missing appointments. Does this mean that he WAS having regular injections up until then? :shrug: We just don't get the full pictures from the tweets.
