[Fluke]

I have the latest thoughts in my mind. I don't have bipolar, I have borderline personality disorder. They have thrown every medication known to mankind at me and it hasn't helped. In fact in 3 years I have gotten much worse. My depression is the darkest of the dark (suicidal thoughts and attempts). I have not experienced much of the mania other than I get very very agitated and anxious. Has anyone every experienced this? I see my pdoc this thursday and he is very new with me so perhaps we can research this further. Anyone else experience a misdiagnosise?

[cocoabeans]

No, however, from what I've read on the subject is that medication typically doesn't help someone with borderline personality much, though it does a world of difference for those with bipolar and with borderline personality therapy is much more important.

[AniManiac]

Lots of people here have had misdiagnoses. Most of the time, it's MDD being diagnosed before bipolar, but the BP/BPD thing seems to happen with quite a bit of frequency too.

I've read the same thing as cocoabeans. That would be the difference between an organic (physical) illness and a "personality disorder" that is based more in the way people learned to adapt to difficult situations.

[dragonfly2]

Originally Posted by Fluke

I have the latest thoughts in my mind. I don't have bipolar, I have borderline personality disorder. They have thrown every medication known to mankind at me and it hasn't helped. In fact in 3 years I have gotten much worse. My depression is the darkest of the dark (suicidal thoughts and attempts). I have not experienced much of the mania other than I get very very agitated and anxious. Has anyone every experienced this? I see my pdoc this thursday and he is very new with me so perhaps we can research this further. Anyone else experience a misdiagnosise?

My husband is going through a similar reexamination of his symptoms. Up until now, he's been diagnosed with recurrent major depression, but like you, has periods of agitation and anger. His angry periods are primarily in the spring, and after a moderate winter depression. His depressions take on a more "atypical" pattern (sleeps more, eats more, more lethargy) and he has tried numerous antidepressants that either haven't worked or have "pooped out" on him. He's 43 and this has been happening for years. We now think he may be more on the "soft bipolar" spectrum.

Someone in another thread had mentioned the work of a psychiatrist named James Phelps. He has done a lot of work with other prominent pdocs in developing a model of bipolar disorder that is more "spectrum" based rather than the discrete, clear-cut types found in the DSM-IV. His work seems to resonate with us and makes sense in the context of my husband's symptoms. Definitely bring it up with your new pdoc. Have you been on any mood stabilizers or just antidepressants? Even with someone with a clear-cut diagnosis, it can take years of medication trials to get the right mix.

If you're interested in reading more about Phelps' work, here is a link to his website: http://psycheducation.org/

I hope you are able to sort things out soon.

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Edited later:

I just looked at your other posts, and it seems that you were already given a diagnosis of bipolar, so the "soft bipolar" context may not apply. But I did want to still share my husband's process of searching for the right diagnosis. I originally read your post to mean that you hadn't been diagnosed with bipolar, but had been diagnosed with BPD and were questioning that diagnosis. Sorry.