Other Disorders At The Same Time

[MornHyland]

How often is that other disorders are present at the same time as BPD?

I'm curious about things like bipolar, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

And how does it complicate treatement.

I've really struggled with DBT, and I think part of it is the other issues playing into the BPD.

Thanks,

Morn

[pip]

Dunno Morn,

I think alot of us have co-existing disorders

- even if they aren't diagnosed.

I know I have an eating disorder,

that has never been addressed.

I think they treat us according to our synptoms

and what we tell them.

Basically I am aiming for stability and piece of mind

Wish me luck!!!!!!!

Pip

x

[MornHyland]

Wish me luck!!!!!!!

Pip

x

I do wish you luck.

This issue though is worrying me.

Where does one draw the line between BPD mood swings and bipolar mood swings?

And then if it is schizoaffective (schizophrenic type symptoms along with a mood disorder, like bipolar), it seems difficult to know where one thing ends and another starts. Or if they are so interconnected as to not be able to disentangle them.

[pip]

PDocs disentangle them.

There are criteria for personality disorders and the like.

Many people have a few Dx

Many people have BiPolar and BPD

The end result is aiming for stability

and many of the meds help in different conditions.

It is a case of finding the correct meds for

each individual.

Don't worry about it.

If you have more than one Dx

it will all be treated.

You will be treated according to how you present.

Please don't worry

explain your concerns to your doc

They should allay your fears.

Pip

x

[jai]

hi, i am a mix of bipolar rapid cycling, bpd and others ...drrr, so, the anti ds dont suit, cos i end up in a mixed state..and other drugs wont work cos i have parts of me that wont take them...and so on...but Pip is right, take your lead from your docs...and find a comfortable place for you in all that....

errrrrm if its possible, i struggle still and am not doing so well just now but since therapy am containing my extremes more and have less of an explosive side to me...although anger and irritability still rate high on my symptoms as does paranoia and social anxiety..

so not sure this has helped...

its tough being in the middle of it though and not feeling like you know which switch is being flicked so i hear you on that and wish i had some good advice beyond ask the expert...

sorry

take care

jai

[Eva*]

Hi Morn,

I think it's not easy to find the right diagnosis. In general the line between bpd mood swings and bipolar mood swings is drawn by how long the moods last.

Bipolar moods usually last weeks, maybe even months or maybe just a few days, while bpd moodswings are said to happen a lot quicker, the moods only lasting hours and usually occuring as a direct reaction to something that happened.

Bipolar mood swings don't neccessarily have any outward trigger, they can just happen. They can be triggered as well of course.

It's very difficult about rapid cycling, because then the changes of a bipolar disorder are very fast as well. But a rapid cycling phase shouldn't last forever, there should be 'normal', purely depressive or (hypo)manic phases as well to make a dx of bipolar seem correct. I'm no doctor of course. I was just very interested in it.

The thing is that being bipolar is very 'physical' compared to other mental illnesses. Being bipolar there's hardly a chance of living without meds ever because whenever an episode occurs it heightens the chance and intensity of further episodes. It's really a lot about brain chemistry.

BPD on the other hand could be gotten under control eventually and a life without pills is possible.

I've read that personality disorders often occur with other personality disorders. I meet all the criteria for avoidant pd but no one ever diagnosed me with it. It's not really necessary though, it wouldn't change my treatment.

I hope this didn't confuse you even more. I meant to answer your question as good as I can and say that diagnoses can be important and they can make no difference in other cases. It's hard to say and I think you should talk about your thoughts with a mh professional who's treating you.

[mrs tree]

My husband was refused psychology based on the fact if he did CBT it would help his OCD but exacerbate his BPD...fucking cop out useless T...that was about 18 mnths ago so now he has to just manage on his own and thats more helpful

mrs Tree

[Eva*]

Strange world! They just use every excuse not to treat someone if they can help it!

[Miko]

Thank you all for your perceptive comments, as I am about to be put under the community MHT they are of great interest.

Morn, I wonder if the therapy you have been having attempts to bring too many issues into it? Any human being needs to prioritise their issues that they are going to plan action in relation to. Max. two main short term ones (6 months). At least one of those is going to be an action area for the medium or longer term as well, allowing for a quite slow turnover of areas for attention. From what I have heard of therapists I suspect they want to blitz us with all the issues at once. No wonder it won't work well.

[pip]

A good therapist will start at the beginning and go from there.

They aren't all bad.

I saw one for two years

and we worked through one thing at a time

You will be fine.

They will treat you for you not a written diagnosis

Don't worry

Just take it as it comes

Pip

x

[Miko]

A good therapist will start at the beginning and go from there.

I saw one for two years

and we worked through one thing at a time

They will treat you for you

What you have put makes it sound hopeful for me as well, thank you

[MornHyland]

Morn, I wonder if the therapy you have been having attempts to bring too many issues into it?

I fear issues with therapy rest mostly on my shoulders. Though my current therapist tells me that the other therapists should have been better prepared.

About 3 years ago I re-entered therapy and it took them 9 months to decide on the Borderline diagnosis again (no records were available to them and I wasn't helping). I spent huge amounts of time during those sessions staring into space, or going over wave theory using the the puddle outside the window as a model. I've been told that when I 'leave the room' you can almost see me physically leave, even as I depart in mind. Then there was the tension between my therapist and meds doc about EMDR (did I get those letters right?), the doctor thought it was all smoke and mirrors. That tension made life difficult for me. Then I started DBT, it was the one thing the two of them could agree on. Then I dropped out of DBT, and went back to staring into space.

About 6 months ago I started with a new therapist. She knows ASL which has helped. She also won't let me get away with staring into space. She will ask me things like "Why the sadness all of a sudden?" We set short term goals with long term ones kind of embedded into the fabric. It's a new experience for me.

[Miko]

The style of therapy you've been having the last six months, do you find that suits you better? What's your feeling about what Pip was saying?

Perhaps the new therapist is right in her opinion about the old ones?

I'm so glad the organisers were thoughtful enough to let you have one who has ASL.

[MornHyland]

The style of therapy you've been having the last six months, do you find that suits you better? What's your feeling about what Pip was saying?

Perhaps the new therapist is right in her opinion about the old ones?

I'm so glad the organisers were thoughtful enough to let you have one who has ASL.

She starts each session with "Any self harm or thoughts of self harm? Therapy interfering behavior? Quality of life?"

We are working on reducing the self harm.

I am pretty sure she is right about the previous therapists, the question is why is it different with her? Why am I willing to take chances with her that I didn't with others? I told her about my partner telling me I was delusional... I told her when I wasn't safe... These are things I've not told theapists before. What makes this time different?

I'm doing the best I can to just try and make it through the day. All I can imagine is this time I have more to lose than before, or perhaps I really have lost my mind this time.

[Barebones]

when i went for psycho therapyand had assesment with them he came out with a diffrent personality disorder than the one i was given years ago.. he said i had paranoid personality disorder and he think im autistic.

havent a clue where he got that from lol.. it got my therapist worried that he was dealig with a dangerous person. but really it didnt stop me getting into psycho therapy. i have eating disorder aswell which they wont deal with yet . they are however dealing with my depression and bpd.

but anyway i never lasted long going to the first lot of meetings. maybe ill try it in a couple of years when im more settled.

[Miko]

Barebones is that a plane tree in your photograph! Is it in Scotland? They are my favourites, they offer something special at every time of year!!!!!

They are going to alter everything I tell them into something negative e.g taking an intelligent interest will be paranoia.

I am very sorry for those many of you who think the sun shines out of their a**es but collectively as a body they have organised to concretely do what objectively supports the evaluation of them that has been made. It wasn't my doing. If they can't talk to me about medicine at 11 p.m or at weekends there is not any actual reason I should pay them any interest.

They will claim never to have had any 'mental illness' of their own as if that was an asset but it makes them valueless. I have only ever been helped by people who have got what I have got.

I want to treat them in a 'don't call me I'll call you' way and they make that difficult for me by proposing the meeting on their premises.

As a class they have utterly no training in one of my main conditions and always harm us, that is proven by official survey.