Anyone else with Borderline Personality Disorder?

[ThatHippyDippyShit]

I got diagnosed two years ago now. I also have depression & general anxiety. I've learnt to be more in control of my illnesses but it is still a struggle to stay on top of things some days.

How is everyone else coping?

[Comps83]

I think I do but I haven't been diagnosed
Im being treated for depression but I know there's more to it

[loveisasecondhandemotion]

Hi op, I was diagnosed last November,
I'm 39.

Was a bit surprised as originally they were looking at bi polar. I'm doing ok.

[SuzukiLi]

I do

[ssd]

I think I might. Can you explain how you feel op?

[ThatHippyDippyShit]

Comps That's how I felt pre- diagnosis. I always knew there was something more to it but no health professional picked up on it until I was admitted as an inpatient at a mental health unit.

I would recommend printing out a copy of the diagnosis criteria from the NHS website and taking it to your GP, explaining how they apply to you and requesting a referral for an assessment. I've found most GPs to have little to no knowledge of the condition so you may have to be insistent regarding what you want.

loveisa That's good to hear. What treatments have you found work for you? I've tried Sertraline and Pregabalin but they made me feel so much worse. Diazepam helps with sudden intense bouts of anger/anxiety but everyone is reluctant to prescribe it on a regular basis. I haven't tried therapy yet, it's just not the right time in my life.

SuzukiLi Any coping strategies you could recommend?

[ThatHippyDippyShit]

ssd I struggle with all nine symptoms of BPD.

Sensation seeking (substance abuse, binge eating, sexual acting out, uncontrolled spending sprees)
Self harm
Roller coaster emotions
Explosiveness
Worries about abandonment
Unclear and unstable self-concept
Emptiness
Up and down relationships
Dissociation: feeling out of touch with reality

I would really recommend reading Borderline Personality Disorder For Dummies, I found it invaluable when trying to understand the condition.

[SuzukiLi]

No I dont cope very well I'm afraid 😂 Just here to nose and maybe make some BPD friends!

[ThatHippyDippyShit]

suzukiLi I've only recently since having DD managed to pull it together, I was out of control for years. How old are you? I'd love some BPD friends... Or any friends for that matter really.

[SuzukiLi]

I'm 23, lone parent to a toddler, studying a full time degree and trying not to go off the rails every day 😂

[ThatHippyDippyShit]

SuzukiLi Its great that you're doing your degree, my education plans have gone to shit unfortunately. What are you studying? I'm 23 too, my DD is 3 months. Do you have any family support? I'm NC with mine.

[RandomMess]

Yeah me, still very upset with the diagnosis. Don't take drugs as they don't help.

[ThatHippyDippyShit]

RandomMess I find the diagnosis upsetting also. I've found that most people are empathetic towards more common types of mental illness e.g depression but whenever I mention the words personality disorder people recoil in horror.

[RandomMess]

What's really rubbish is that it was diagnosed 20 years ago but it wasn't the fashion then to tell patients. So when I became very ill due to a traumatic event that coloured their view of me and I had no clue.

I have recently been diagnosed as having PTSD triggered in my childhood.

[RandomMess]

I guess that's why people prefer the newer term Emotional Unstable Disorder" however it still implies that the sufferer just needs to "get a grip" and can somehow control their feelings rather than the reality of us being able to experience feelings much more intensely than most.

[SuzukiLi]

I'm studying robotics.
I have my mum and some friends so it's not the end of the world!

[ThatHippyDippyShit]

RandomMess Not telling patients about their diagnosis is terrible. My diagnosis two years ago was not much better, was told I had BPD but was not explained what is was, how it applied to me or what could be done to help. I was just sent home and it was never mentioned again unless I brought it up myself, and then I was just told to not worry about it.

I'm sure I have PTSD due to events in childhood also, but not sure if there is any point in pursuing that diagnosis too. I just feel like I want to get off the mental health radar now.

[ThatHippyDippyShit]

SuzukiLi I hope they're a good support network for you, things can be so tough and isolating.

[Schmoozer]

Hi I know a little bit about BPD
As mentioned above, it's been reclassified as Emotionally Unstable PD
Dialectic Behavioural Therapy - DBT considered a good treatment if u can access it

[eyeswideshit]

Another with BPD here. Been diagnosed 2 1/2 years now. Also got MDD and GAD.

Quite recently been put on quetiapine which has really helped but I still struggle daily.

I try my best to live in ignorance really. Every once in a while I'll look up the symptoms and it gets me down just how much is 'wrong' with me

[Houseof5boys]

Hi, I was diagnosed about 4 years ago but didn’t want to accept it until about a year ago. I’m gradually learning more about it and how to cope.
Thanks for starting this thread op, it’s good to know I’m not alone with this.

[RandomMess]

I have GAD too. Little change of any NHS treatment for me where I live. My therapist is having to take medical retirement he was the last offering long term therapy. Only option is waiting 2 months asking to be referred back (he HAS to discharge me) when I will be offered 6 weeks... if I'm lucky it may get extended to their maximum of 20 weeks....

I know if I ever get very unwell again there is just nothing, no support, no real help. So frightening I just don't think about it, really not sure I would survive that kind of event again.

[eyeswideshit]

It's 6 months to the day tomorrow that I was in hospital for overdosing; 3 times in two weeks. When I was released I was told I needed an urgent appointment with my psychiatrist.
I've yet to see one. It was supposed to be tomorrow but I got a letter this week postponing it. What can you do?

[loveisasecondhandemotion]

Hi again, like I said in my previous post I was rather surprised with my diagnosis but it is what it is.
I actually got the "emotionally unstable personality disorder" label and OCD diagnosis on the same day! The latter was no surprise at all.

I have never had attachment issues,
Never self harmed or though about suicide
No anger issues or thoughts of emptiness but I suppose they know best...

I was taking fluoxetine and diazepam ( 15mg daily at my worst with anxiety ) but the psychiatrist switched me to Venlafaxine which has been much better for me and I've managed to get my diazepam down slowly but surely to just a 2mg tablet daily which I'm really proud of

Problem with me is I also have fibromyalgia which wipes me out and I'm in constant pain which can be massively triggered by stress and vice versa so it's a battle every day.
I take a total of 34 tablets daily for pain, OCD and the BPD issues.
I hate having a label but it's weird, since the diagnosis Ive developed a sense of calm about it. There's a reason why I'm the way I am. I won't make excuses for my behaviour but it explains a lot about my past and my terrible attitude to money for example. Taking sexual risks, shoplifting ( something I am not proud of and it was very low level )

I'm here to talk to anyone who is looking to offload, it's quite a private condition I think. Not the type of thing you tell people when you meet them
I've watched programmes on TV about BPD and I suppose I felt so far removed from the people on it but that just shows how it affects us all differently.

My own personal thought is that I have Aspergers. My ds has it and we are like two peas in a pod.

I love MN as i can totally be myself without fear of judgement, seeing as this isn't AIBU? haha.
Anyway, enough about me, lovely to meet you all, where are we all from? I'm in the North West and services here are pretty good.

[ThatHippyDippyShit]

Hi everyone.

RandomMess eyeswideshit Its sad to hear that the help your receiving hasn't been up to scratch, I'm in Essex and the care I've received here has been atrocious. My local MHU has been under investigation due to patient deaths and staff falling asleep at their desks. When I was an inpatient I was almost attacked and narrowly missed having boiling hot water from a kettle thrown at me by another patient. The crisis team who visited me at home after would either bring me the wrong medication or forget it all together. Absolute nightmare.



You're right loveisa it can be quite a private illness. I hope this thread can be a safe place for us all to offload, ask questions, share experiences etc

How is everyone this evening?

[Tedster77]

Hi everyone!

All my life I've been very up or very down - when I'm up I engage in risky behaviour, spend money etc. Lots of people have said I must be bipolar but when I got referred to secondary mental health services due to self harming they said, as I suffered abuse as a child, it's Emotionally Unstable PD.

I'm low at the moment and after a huge meltdown at work signed off sick.

I feel like I've failed everyone and myself and feel too scared to ever go back.

I work in a very stressful emotional job and in the past it's caused me to drink heavily, binge and purge, self harm, overdose etc. I've never taken time off before (I went back to work the morning after the overdose ) but I can't help thinking it's time to find a simpler job