Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis

LegacyUser

Hi guys, I'm hoping for some advice from those who have any sort of experience with the treatment of BPD.

I was diagnosed with depression almost 10 years ago and have been on antidepressants almost constantly since. However the symptoms of BPD do seem to describe me pretty well and I can certainly relate to a lot of the members of BPD forums.

I have an appointment with my psychiatrist soon and would like to discuss this with him but am concerned about having the diagnosis in my medical records. My concern is that I could get the label and associated stigma but not be able to access appropriate treatment.

Do Irish psychiatrists tend to prescribe medication to help with the symptoms as they do in other countries?

Online searches for DBT or any of the recommended therapies for BPD don't show anything in my area. Luckily I have a job but this would make travelling great distances for treatment very difficult without revealing the diagnosis.

Any information about treatment in Ireland would be very welcome.

wild_cat

It's named emotionally unstable personality disorder here.

You might just have traits.. I'm not sure if that means you have the full blown thing or just just aspects of it I've heard traits described as the whole spectrum before.

Yeah that whole stigma thing annoys me, I'm not manipulative and the only time I lie is when I say I'm busy to get out of social functions that make me feel sick with anxiety about attending if I lied about anything else I'd be afraid of getting caught out and thus making peoples opinions of me even worse.

I went through schema therapy about two/three years ago... Was told DBT would be better but they didnt offer it near me. Didn't think the schema therapy helped much as I lost all interest after hearing things like "angry child mode" etc.

I might be the wrong person to ask though... As I only follow stuff up when it gets bad. A habit I'm going to get out of this time around I'm fed up with things being the way they are.


Also you could get the Dialectical behavioural therapy workbook and work at it yourself. This was said to me years ago and I did nothing about it until a week ago due to my schema therapy being "crap" experience as I presumed if that was crap it would all be crap or what ever my head wanted to concoct at the time.

Esoteric_

I was diagnosed as having BPD a few months ago, a diagnosis I COMPLETELY disagree with. I don't self-harm, I don't "love" people I date (I'd say I've been in love once, if asked), I don't lie, I don't manipulate, I don't loathe myself, I have pretty much none of the traits of it.

BUT anyway, yeah anti-depressants are a viable treatment option for it. My psychiatrist took me off bi-polar meds and put me on anti-depressants when he diagnosed me, and although I haven't seen much of an improvement, at least meds is an option. It's very difficult to find an anti-depressant that will work with borderline (emotional instability disorder is its name over here btw), but there are some that work.

If you can't find DBT in your area, try looking up CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). It's similar to DBT in some ways and can help if you can't access a DBT centre.

Lia_lia

I've been diagnosed with BPD/whatever they call it now since I was 16. Although they don't like to diagnose those under 18, I still was. By two different doctors :rolleyes: I was on lamictal for mood swings, I don't know did it work though. Still on anti-depressants. I always thought BPD was such a silly diagnoses that can't really be helped. I do fit the criteria though, whatever. I find it extremely difficult to hold relationships, romantic and otherwise. And have been self-harming for years. Hid it very well until I was about 16. Very few people know I still do it. Never saw anything wrong with it, which I guess isn't good!

There are not many treatments in the south of Ireland, so I don't know. Been seeing psychiatrists/counsellors for 7 years. But no alternative therapies or anything.

Wow, never talked about anything like this on here!

degausserxo

I was diagnosed in July of last year, and then received another diagnosis of a different condition last September. I haven't been told of or referred to anyone for non-chemical treatment of the disorder itself (be it DBT, CBT, etc), rather for treatment of the 'symptoms' - went to Pieta House for psychotherapy up until a month or so ago, which has really helped with the self harm aspect, and have been on different medications (antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and tranquilizers) to treat the other condition.

If you do self harm, I would really recommend Pieta House. I honestly don't know where I'd be now without them. www.pieta.ie

deadmau

Hi BPDiag - just wanted to respond to your post with a few facts which will hopefully help you.

In Ireland and indeed the EU Borderline personality disorder is treated with a combination of meds and therapy. The preferred therapy is DBT which differs greatly to CBT in that DBT is a multi faceted approach. BPD'S normally do not respond to medication compared to other psychiatric illnesses such as Bi polar or depression, however the use of Mood stabilisers and SSRI's can be of benefit to some.

As a fellow sufferer of BPD living in Ireland it is almost near impossible to get the correct treatment in this country compared to other psychiatric illnesses. As far as I know DBT is only offered by St Patricks Hospital and St Vincents in Fairview. There are two avenues to availing of this treatment, the first is admission to the hospital and accessing the DBT program as an inpatient, and secondly, going the private route as an outpatient and that will set you back in the region of 6,500 euros for the DBT program which lasts 6-8 weeks which is a horrendous price to pay for anyone.

I have also being on the BPD Central website in the US and I can tell you that in my own opinion BPD has been overly diagnosed in the US. The majority of the population would have some traits of BPD but in order to get a full diagnosis you must have at least 8 of the traits as per the DSM IV criteria used by mental health professionals.

My advice to you and to all my fellow sufferers out there is to find a good counsellor that you can work with and stick with them. This illness is difficult to treat but I live in the hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I recommend reading the following books which may give you more insight:

Get Me Out of Here: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder by Rachel Reiland
I Hate You--Don't Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personality by Jerold J. Kreisman
The Borderline Personality Disorder Survival Guide by Alex Chapman and Kim Gratz

fidget84

hi
the only place offering a full bonafide DBT programme is The Mercy hospital in Cork. This is the first full DBT programme to be run in ireland. It is subject to being screened by the DBT team (there is no such thing as a DBT centre). There is a waiting list... a lot of people have severe, life-threatening BPD and admission to the programme requires that you are permanently resident in the Cork 'North Lee' catchment area. As far as i know, when St Vincents did start a DBT programme, it was only available to those resident in the DUB 7/9 catchment area.

LegacyUser

I have nearly completed first pilot programme (one more session) and it has changed my life dramatically. Prior to programme, I was in and out of hospital for 12 years and on 4 families of psychotropic drugs. I had been misdiagnosed for the past 15 yrs and only rcd correct diagnosis 3 years ago, but there was no DBT available here in Ireland. I am now off all drugs, getting married, back to my art/graphic design, raising awareness for DBT (see facebook - Dialectic Behavoural Therapy); and starting a degree in Clinical Psychology (suggested to me by my ex psychiatrist). I have never felt so well and am a victim of many many years of abuse, abondonment & neglect.

If you feel you are borderline (emotional regulation disorder), do try and get on the programme, which has just received funding, and expanded. It will change your life. Also check out Dr Marsha Lineham (who created DBT and suffered terribly too) on internet.

Good luck.

Annabel Jessel

IrishEllie

Hey All Fellow BPDS sufferers! after being with a partner for a year whom i was deeply in love with as oppose to being obsessed with i sought help from a pyschotherapist in my area. Although I have not received a clinical diagnosis from a pyschiatrist I have 8 symptoms of the dysfunction. after seeing the psychotherapist for 6 weeks and being asked a series of questions, he gave me a label of BPD to help me understand that it all wasnt my fault. Now obviously with an objectivity i never had before, life is changing, slowly but surely! CBT is my therapy, In the past I have been on anti depressants when quite young 19, 2 suicide attempts in my teens 14 and 19 years old, self harm, etc etc.
I live in the North East of Ireland. I hate medication and took it 4 a very short space of time. In my case my BPD can be managed through serious mental thought, sometimes i feel like I have a split personality, half of me doesnt want to go off on one, and the other half is urging me to act out.
But I do have the power to control myself when I choose and thats more and more often these days. I would recommend my therapist to anyone, providing you want to change your behaviour, hes a straight talking no bulls**t kind of guy so its really tough going but so worth the pain and anguish

lilmissbadass

Hi guys I know this thread is fairly old. But seeing as there is not many Irish web pages online referirng to BPD I just wanted to let anyone who visits this thread know that there is now a new irish website open specifically for people who suffer with bpd as welll as other mental health issues. It has news, articles and information about BPD along with a great new forum and chat room where people with BPD and their loved ones can get involved. so if you or someone you know has BPD or any other mental illness and want somewhere to go to get support, vent or just to talk to other people who understand what you are going through, then check out this link http://www.bpdireland.org/# and hopefully if enough people join and get talking we can diminish the stigma attached with BPD:)

waynekrantz

I would appreciate your advice. I met a woman and fell in love 2 years ago. She travels a huge amount and was involved with someone during the first year so things were quite chaotic. We always kept in touch by email. We always remained kind and gentle with each other. But there was alot of hot and cold stuff as well. Finally a year ago she made the decision to move to my country and in with me. During this time I had no idea but I recently found out she has been diagnosed with PTSD. We lived together for year, introduced each other to family etc. Last February she had to go to India for 1 months work and decided to travel the country for the next 4 months. We made plans to be together during the whole summer. She also decided to move to my town and start college here in the fall. We kept on touch every day and suddenly inexplicably in March she went into a Vipassana meditation retreat, came out and “broke up with me” by email but also sent a raft of other emails with mixed messages. There were angry email exchanges which have now deescalated into more cordial warm messages. i finally went to a psychologist and told the whole story because to be honest I was feeling extremely bewildered and shell shocked by her behaviour. The psychologist suggested borderline personality disorder. In the last 4 years her father has died (who she adored), she suffered brain injury from a car accident, she completed 3 degrees but as of yet has not been in employment save for short term waitressing jobs. She has spent in total about 1 year and a half traveling around India on her own. She does not get on very well with her mother. Mother has new boyfriend who lives in the family home. I have come to the conclusion that she needs therapy of some kind. (Currently she takes no medication and follows no therapy). I have also come to the conclusion that If I try to pursue a relationship with her it is doomed to failure unless she acknowledges and pursues some therapy. My question is this. how do I communicate with her without making her feel like a “damaged” person and how do I bring up the subject of therapy? 90 percent of the time we are together it is blissfully peaceful and happy, 10 percent is a nighmare. She says and does incredibly hurtful things when there is a seperation. She feels a desperate need to travel yet isn’t taking cohesive steps to find some kind of stability job wise or lifewise. She does not know which job she wants and her ideas change frequently. And to put it further into perspective, last december we were close to having children. February she told me how much she loved me. March, April, I am “no longer in her future, never a couple”, May-”I’ll see you soon, I think about you alot, I miss you deeply”. I don’t think anybody could have a relationship like this, and I know I need to put some boundaries somewhere. Going to the psychologist was incredibly helpful as well. It was like a veil had been lifted from eyes. I had previously no experience of mental illness and for that reason her behaviour was really driving me close to insanity. Having lived a year with her I also realised that my behaviour could be quite detrimental to her. I was going through an extremely stressful period in college/ combined with work. I was drinking too much alchohol in order to cope. When I say too much I mean a bottle of wine a night. Not total drunkenness but not healthy either.
A number of factors give me slight hope. She said she we were drinking too much alcohol and it made her uncomfortable. She said she wasn’t doing enough exercise. When she was in India she started meditating heavily. She also said last year she believed she was emotionally damaged. There have been times when I have lashed out at her. I always immediately apologised but having read more on PTSD and BPD I understand that my behaviour was the opposite of what was required or healthy for someone like her. I believe she is trying to do what she can to lead a balanced healthy life. There has never been a shouting match between us, never verbal abuse. But I also think travelling around India on her own alot of the time and having huge excesses of time to think isn’t really a great idea for her and leads to alot of strange disassociated mixed messages. As i say I’m very close to staying on friendly terms and walking away. I can’t see my life working with someone who is so unstable in every way. But seeing what look like efforts on her part to work on herself I don’t want to drop her further down a dark well. Neither do I want to become a care giver for the rest of my life. I would like to find a way of getting her into the appropriate treatment because it seems like I am the only person in her life who thinks she needs it.

pinkaloha

Hi wajnekrantz

I'm glad you wrote on the site. Your message shows that you are trying your best to find a solution for a very difficult situation. I myself battle with Bpd and it is not easy to be with someone who has such outburst of emotions, rapid negative and positive.

I've been going to DBT for a about a year now and my symptoms have greatly improved, I'm much more able to control my emotions in public and I have not hurt myself or destroyed the house. Which shows that it works and encourages me to keep up with therapy and believe that my other symptoms will improve as well. I find mindfulness exercises very practical and beneficial. The girl you wrote about is into meditation she might find it easy to relate to it and practice it.

You mentioned in your message that you are the one person who thinks she needs therapy. That can put a lot of pressure on you and you are right in that you should not become a care giver. You can support her but the bottom line is that she has to take responsibility for her condition and seek help. It's a very hard first step but it's necessary in order to improve ones emotional and mental state.
If you want to bring up the subject of therapy try to be as gentle as you can be as we borderline people can twist words around so easily and think the other person is criticising us, perhaps if you offer to help her find or go with her to a therapist she hopefully will see that you are supporting her and that you are doing this for both of ye.

There are some helpful clips on you tube about how to be with a Bpd patient. What I can say is that if you decide to stay with her it's important that you take care of yourself, don't walk on eggshells. You can be gentle and understanding with her but your life should not evolve around this condition. You need to make sure that you have your own life as well as it is so easy to get wrapped up in the borderline emotional rollercoasters and that probably won't be a positive thing for you mental health. Boundaries are important for yourself and a therapist can help you with that.

Back From the Edge- Borderline personality disorder, documentary I think is very useful. It can be hard to watch but gives a very good insight into the way we borderline patients feel and see the world.

Whatever you decide to do in terms of the relationship I wish you all the best. If you both put in the hard work there is no reason why you couldn't be together.

pinkaloha