hi, i'm new - can I ask a question, please?

[vette]

Hi folks, I'm new here, have a number of dx's - both physical & psychiatric... OBVIOUSLY, BPD is one of them, also borderline personality disorder & Recurrent Depressive Disorder... Now, my question is, how are you guys medicated? I've only ever been prescribed (for the psych stuff) anti-depressants, altho', when I was pregnant, my obstetrician wanted me to do Lithium immediately following birth ('01)as I had had a puerperal psychosis after my daughters birth ('92).
OK, I better shut up, I'm rambling - just for a change!

So, just to reiterate, do any of you folks get prescribed anything other than anti-depressants for BPD?

Thanks for letting me waffle!
Be well,
'Vette

[Mari]

Hi, Vette,
Welcome.
Mari

[Bdix30]

Anti depressants are horrible for bipolar disorder if they are not prescribed along with a mood stablizer. (and sometimes even then.)

Welcome to the board! :)

[bizi]

vette,
Most folks that I know are taking a mood stabilizer...like lithium, depokote, lamictal as their first med...then add others to help even out every thing. Like using an antipsychotic class of med like seroquel or abilify or geodon to help with anxiety racing thoughts or sleep.
others do gete prescribed in cautiously SSRI anti depressants due to the risk of sending someone into mania...so that is watched very closely and some folks only take them certain times of the year...
some folks take provigil to help wake them up during the day and others take sleeping pills to help them to sleep.
Others use benzos to help with anxiety or sleep issues.....
I feel like I am ramblin....
does this even answer your question at all?

[vette]

Thanks loads for that, Bizi. It certainly gives me a lot to think about. I ask, because I feel sort of... I dunno, short-changed, almost. The anti-d's keep me mostly from feeling suicidal, but not a lot better. I put a MAJOR "front" on for people, pretending that all's fine, but in reality i just don't wanna be bothered with life... does THAT make any sense?
As I said, my old psych wanted me to do lithium, but I wanted to breastfeed... sometimes I wonder if that might have been a mistake... I didn't "go off" but then... I don't know how "un-off" i REALLY am!

Sorry, Bdix30, I didn't see your post, but it REALLY makes SO MUCH sense to me! Normally I feel really flat & down & cr*p so much of the time, then once in a blue moon, i'll have a "mad 5 minutes" session (usually 1 - 2 hours), as my mum calls it where i want to change the world. Last time i went seriously crazy about hair, & decided that it was awful & evil & should be removed from everywhere (my golden retriever was moulting) and spent 3 hours vacuuming and hand-picking every hair in the house then took the clippers to myself, removed every hair and tried to get my dog & 14yo daughter. Fortunately DS was in nursery & DD took the dog and ran for it!
Right, me that's rambling now!
Thanks for the reply. :-)
Be well,
'Vette

[Pamster]

Thanks loads for that, Bizi. It certainly gives me a lot to think about. I ask, because I feel sort of... I dunno, short-changed, almost. The anti-d's keep me mostly from feeling suicidal, but not a lot better. I put a MAJOR "front" on for people, pretending that all's fine, but in reality i just don't wanna be bothered with life... does THAT make any sense?
As I said, my old psych wanted me to do lithium, but I wanted to breastfeed... sometimes I wonder if that might have been a mistake... I didn't "go off" but then... I don't know how "un-off" i REALLY am!

Sorry, Bdix30, I didn't see your post, but it REALLY makes SO MUCH sense to me! Normally I feel really flat & down & cr*p so much of the time, then once in a blue moon, i'll have a "mad 5 minutes" session (usually 1 - 2 hours), as my mum calls it where i want to change the world. Last time i went seriously crazy about hair, & decided that it was awful & evil & should be removed from everywhere (my golden retriever was moulting) and spent 3 hours vacuuming and hand-picking every hair in the house then took the clippers to myself, removed every hair and tried to get my dog & 14yo daughter. Fortunately DS was in nursery & DD took the dog and ran for it!
Right, me that's rambling now!
Thanks for the reply. :-)
Be well,
'Vette

Hi Vette,

It does make sense, I know I used to feel that way and sometimes it still feels liek a false front I put up to show other people all is well when I feel like I just wish I could go through life and do without talking to anyone. I personally take a few things, like abilify, elavil and wellbutrin which all help me stay at an even keel. :)

Welcome to the group! :D

[martians8mybrian]

well... just to avoid confusion for people, we usually refer to bipolar as BP, and borderline as BPD. Being diagnosed as both complicates things. I guess you'd need to know which one your pdoc figures is your *primary* diagnosis. There is a site that has some pretty good info on both and the dual dx...
http://psycheducation.com/

a ad without a mood stabilizer is unusual for either dx. Personally I have been prescribed every type of AD on the market as far as I know, at least all the ones available in Canada. Same with stabilizers up until a couple of years ago..i haven't tried any of the newer ones.

i am a rapid cycler, and there are ultr-rapid cyclers, but statistically it's supposed to be fairly rare. The incident you described might very well be what is called "hypomanic response." Bper's sometimes exhibit hypomanic symptoms for brief periods in response to stress. My pdoc says I shouldn't exactly disregard them, but he says what should do at those times is keep track of them and see if there is a trend. DOes it continue?

one good thing to do is keep a mood journal. Note your mood on a scale of 1-10 about three times per day. Write down any activities or stresses. It helps to keep track of your diet intake as well. It will help pick up any common factors (ie rxns brought on by sugars, etc)

the big thing a lot of people either don't know or forget, and too many docs and pdocs seem to ignore is the factor of how much something affects your life. The DSM says that symptoms have to be a problem.

if you are unsure of what is happening with you, meds etc, get a second opinion. People with BPD often get a lot out of having a therapist. A lot of BPD can be overcome with a combination treatment approach.