A Tricky Question

[malibu]

why are most of us diagnosed with bpd in our 20s and most of us female

and overweight?

[ladyluck28]

Hi Malibu: I was in my thirties when i was diagnosed with bpd two years ago..there are guys out there that have it too..but mostly it's women or girls..i don't know what to say about the overwieght issue..hope that answers your question..tc

[JTBadBug]

I heard someone mention Polycystic overies the other day...I wonder how many of us have those....I do. They can cause weight problems.

[Louiza]

JTBadBug,

I have PCOS too, one side affect is weight gain, however all the other affects of the condition seem to get a lot less with the correct diet and losing excess weight. Its sort of a catch 22.

Its all to do with our bodies producing too much insulin hense why we are seven times more likly to suffer from diabetes.

There are alot of helpful websites and books available on PCOS, and once I kinda understood the condition, it became alot easier to manage.

There does seem to be a link with PCOS and mental health issues, possibly because of the hormonal imbalance, and not forgetting the upset of having all the symptoms PCOS, which can have an dramatic effect on our wellbeing, and can trigger depression.

However although PCOS cannot be cured, we can make changes to manage the symptoms effectivly. I hope this helps :bigarmhug[1]:

[JenNotJenny]

I wasn't diagnosed with traits until recently and I'm 41! But, I do realise that the traits go waaaaaay back.

As for the weight issue, I've been thinking about that recently myself. I'm overweight and gain/lose quite easily. I put it down to my 'all or nothing' thinking. If I'm dieting I can do well and eat all the right things etc. But if I'm not then I eat everything I shouldn't. All or nothing! There's no in between for me, I can't seem to eat moderately/normally, it's either one or the other, no middle ground.

Luv Jen x

[samsung]

i was diagnosed with bpd

before i went on a certain medication called lagactil i was way way way thinner then i was now.

i gained i think if you convert it from kg.. *ok teacher use your head* 6 stones. 30 kg in a year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so yes...

dont know what to say.

but the meds make me feel better on the inside

but i gained a Backstreet Boy in a year!!

[MrsDerelictContent]

I'm 18 years old, and have been diagnosed since being 18 years old.

I have however had the traits for five years now - most significantly self-harm and suicide attempts.. but also crap relationships & inability to regulate my emotions - resulting in potentially lethal mood swings.

I am also "underweight" according to my doctor.

When I spent time on the psychiatric ward I lost a further stone, meaning I was even more underweight.

I have abused laxatives for months at a time in the past.

Weight has been an issue for me, it's not a big one at the moment.

I can say that I am female though . I think that BPD is a socially constructed phenomena... As BPD is a result of abuse/neglect etc, a person is not brought up properly, with women as more emotional.. they're bound to struggle more in becoming a "woman"... men are seen not to express emotion and to be more violent anyway, perhaps a lot of them get away undiagnosed but do have BPD, who knows?!

[Vorpalblade]

well, Malibu, you described me rather accurately.

and Jen, you described my eating habits.

Rach, you described my weight gain (i blame the anti psychotics for mine)

I don't know about the PCOS, i mean whether i have it.

Blade

[confusedsue]

Hi Malibu,

I have not long been diagnosed, but have always had issues with food, and used to be always very underweight, but in the last few years i have put on alot and stopped having the energy to care about it, i know this doesnt answer your question as such but it does seem like alot of us have issues with food or weight!! (maybe selfesteam) please forgive any bad spelling i am also dyslexic.

sue

[lucy]

I'm dyslexic aswell

But diagnosied with bpd when i was 32.

[Eva*]

malibu, you're right in my case. was diagnosed with traits when i was 25, i'm female and overweight.

my theory is that bpd is very often diagnosed in connection with sh and that is a lot more common with women in the form of cutting or something like that. I guess if guys just get into fights or do stupid stunts and continue to hurt themselves that way it's put down to other things than sh issues.

my second theory would be about the weight question. It's not really a theory just playing smartass actually. Sorry. It's the lack of impulse control that includes eating large amounts and comfort eating and all that. That can very easily lead to overweight. So overweight could be considered as a symptom of bpd in some way.

jen, you really described my eating habits as well. I was really fat until a few years ago. I lost more weight than I weigh now and i'm now size 14 still about a stone and a half overweight according to the bmi. just to give you an idea (can't be bothered to convert kg in st at the moment). I can eat very healthily and not too much for a while and then i just stuff myself with every grub i can find and have a real aversion to anything healthy. I'm very all or nothing.

Overall I think that bpd is a bit of an attempt to pack into a neat little box what they actually don't really understand. I always think the diagnosis of traits of bpd really strange as well. They have a syndrom that consists of at leat five out of nine symptoms according to the official source ICD 10. All of them seperately could be for different reasons. But then people just have 3 of them or 2 or 4, so what do they do, just say it's traits of bpd because they don't have any other means to describe it. I don't really get it because it just ignores their own definition of it.

I still feel quite right here by the way. Like there are people who feel in similar ways and understand me.

too much said

Hope you all have a good day

Sue