Daughter misdiagnosed?

[nightfire]

Hi,

I'm a 54 year father of a 29 year old daughter who has been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder but her symptoms are so typical of borderline personality disorder. She's either all over me with kisses and hugs one minute or is seemingly hating my guts the next for no apparent reason. There are no "grey" areas and I have felt like I am "treading on eggshells" I can't handle her, I find her mood swings too much and I need help!

Thanks for reading

[FaerieFires]

Hi,

If you feel like your daughter has been given an incorrect diagnosis, raise this with her and her doctor/psychiatrist. You can't intervene in her care unless you have been granted responsibility over her, however you can suggest to her that she asks for a second opinion. Many conditions are misdiagnosed and if you present a reasonable argument to her doctors, they will at least be able to explain why they did not choose that diagnosis.

Good luck!

FF

[nightfire]

We are not communicating atm and although I have written my concerns to her psych, I have not had a reply so I don't know what's happening!

[Kara.]

She is 29 and I suppose mentally ok to deal with it herself? I am just wondering if a psychiatrist would answer to an adult's parent if the person was mentally capable of making decisions, etc. I think that discussing it with you would be a confidentiality breach.

Also, symptoms do overlap across diagnosis and people may have more than one diagnosis. Maybe you could research a bit about both conditions and even googl 'differences between schizoaffective and bpd'. I found some concise information.

I'm really sorry that your daughter is not very well. And I'm sorry that you  too have to go through that with her.

All the best.

[Saharah Blue]

When I first approached my sister, about thinking I have BPD she said no, that is just throw away comment professionals might use for a particularly difficult patient (to them). She didn't believe I had BPD because she saw me front up a particular way. When we went through the criteria together she was genuinely surprised I had such experiences, she thought if you do have BPD you hide it well. This is also true when she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, I couldn't see despite having grown up together.

My point in this is to say, it is often true that people only disclose some of their most troubling symptoms in confidence and go to good length to keeps these feelings and symptoms as under wraps as they can manage. It really could run both ways, and both perspectives are worth considering. Unless, she is disclosing all symptoms to you I would try and take on board her dx as it stands.

MH issues run pretty deep on both sides of my family line, so given all that fact, I am watching my young niece not feel right in herself and struggling a great deal. I want to think she may have BPD because I do, but it is looking like she does not to her P-doc. So, having been biting my tongue with that one by just accepting her struggles are real and in many ways it really does not matter what the label is, because it is the individual symptoms that are in need of being addressed.

I don't fully know my nieces dx aside from being a mood disorder of a sort. But I do know that if I can continue to find ways to love and support her, this is where the healing will reside. Acceptance and love, open so many doors.