Misdiagnosis? What to do...

[WeiAnMeokEo]

Hi all,

I've been diagnosed bipolar 2 since a long time ago. On lamotrigine and reasonably stable, especially since a year of psychotherapy that finished a couple of weeks ago.

Thing is, I realised a lot of things over the course of therapy that match me exactly with the criteria for BPD. I know it's pretty common for BPD to be misdiagnosed as bipolar and I'm wondering if maybe this is true of my situation.

The question is, if my meds are working out and I'm on top of Other issues ( no self harm in the lady few months, no alcohol or substance abuse in years, much better now at recognising when my attachment fear is making me horrible) is it worth pursuing re-assessment? I do wonder about the worth of having a more accurate diagnosis if we have any more children as I had postnatal psychosis with my first, and if I needed intervention again perhaps that could help? But also I'm wary of labelling just for the sake of it...

Does anyone have similar experiences they'd be willing to share? Thank you in advance!

I’d not chase a BPD diagnosis as it won’t make any difference to your care In terms of medication, however, it could affect how you are supported because among some health professionals it comes with a terrible stigma attached.

I’ve seen first hand the difference between how people with BP2 and BPD are treated, so unless you were hoping to get DBT or some of the other BPD therapies, I’d not bother.

This is why I feel that psych diagnoses can be unhelpful - because we are all individuals, with individual difficulties, some helped by medications, most by therapy, and if they tick collections of boxes set by a group of psychiatrists (and changed continually!) then you have XYZ disorder..... unless it’s specifically going to allow you to access treatment you can’t otherwise get, I’m unconvinced many diagnoses are helpful - but especially women diagnoses with borderline get treated very poorly by mental health services on the whole, I’d avoid it if at all possible. It’s not like a yes/no blood test for a physical disorder, it’s just that persons (albeit qualified) opinion. They’re never going to know you as well as you know you.