Medications used for BPD and do they work for you?

--Sorry this got so long, feel free to skip to the very last section; that's all you have to read to answer the question!

Hi there, I'm new to this forum, and also pretty new to BPD, though I have done my fair share of research. (I also have OCD among other things, and part of that for me includes obsessing about looking up all this stuff - mental illnesses as well as the many medications used to treat them.)

I was officially diagnosed at a place that specialized in BPD in November 2014, though I (and my therapist and psychiatrist) had been suspecting it for a while before that. This diagnosis definitely fits, but I have been having trouble finding the right medications for it, since there is no FDA-approved medication specifically for BPD.

I am in individual therapy, as well as going to a DBT group, so I have that aspect covered, but I still feel that medications would be helpful, such as a mood-stabilizer, and/or possibly an atypical anti-psychotic.

Right now I am on Topamax 50mg twice per day, Lexapro 10mg once per day, Metoprolol 25mg once per day (it's for my irregular heartbeat, it's a beta blocker, but apparently not one of the ones that helps with anxiety), and Hydroxyzine 50mg once per day at bedtime (supposed to help me sleep, it doesn't work that well for me but my psychiatrist won't give me anything else). I had asked my psychiatrist to prescribe me the mood-stabilizer Lamictal (the specialists had told me I should stop everything else and take that instead), and she finally did, but I'm too nervous to start it, so it's just sitting unused. I have found ativan to help a lot with anxiety prn but my psychiatrist won't give it to me anymore, and apparently benzos are contraindicated for people with BPD because they decrease inhibitions, thus increasing impulsive actions. Which sucks because I have very severe anxiety and panic attacks, and my therapist thinks I should be on Klonopin every day.

I am in the process of finding a better psychiatrist, it's just been a challenge, so it has taken a while, but I have an appointment with someone new on Tuesday that I have waited a month for, so I'm hoping that goes well.

My question to you all, is what is your experience with medications for borderline personality disorder? Have you tried different ones? Which ones worked and which ones didn't? I'm having trouble getting the medication aspect since I find myself having to do the research and educate my psychiatrist about the disorder, since she doesn't know much about it. It's very frustrating and I end up yelling at her a lot.

I've tried:

Depressants: all the SSRIs, some tricyclic ones, and atypicals.
Mood stabilizers: Lithium and Lamotrigine (I also fit "Bipolar 2")
Antipsychotics: Abilify
Benzodiazapenes: Many different kinds.

NONE DID A SINGLE GOOD THING FOR ME.

What worked: Exercise

I also found exercising helped (I mostly lift weights) and grounding techniques/mediation helps a lot.

I do not think there is medication for BPD. Keep in mind that the mood swings for BPD are completely different from those with BP affective disorder. A mood stabilizer IMO will not work with BPD mood swings. It only has use for Bipolar mood swings. Antipsychotics are for psychosis, mania, and some have antidepressant effects. Do you think you also are Bipolar? Do you have problems with psychosis? The only med I think will help would be an antidepressant if you are also suffering from clinical depression.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

I don't think antidepressants are a cure all but I cant go without mine. exercise does help..I'm hoping to get on a mood stabilizer soon. the depression is killing me

Hi frey2

I was originally diagnosed with Bipolar - so the current medications that I am on are for that. When I was diagnosed with BPD - nothing was added/removed.

I think your doctor would be looking at symptoms that may be ailing you and make a judgment as to whether or not medication would be beneficial or not for the symptoms that you present.

Take care.

The medicine that i've been on that has helped the most, is risperdal. It is pretty fast acting and it makes my head much more manageable. I feel a LITTLE more in control, i still definitely feel dull and overall...bad. But 10x better than i was before i started taking it (even though i was still on medicine before taking risperdal). All the chaos going on inside me seems a little farther away, it is still there but just kind of muted.

The other antipsychotic i have taken was abilify, i was on 15mg of it but i had no improvements. I felt the same pretty much. I was on lithium for about a week but got bad side effects and haven't been put on another mood stabilizer yet.

hopefully you find the right medicines. i never thought medicine would help me but it has when i look in retrospect. It does take a while to find the right combo but it can be done. Hell, mine is still being adjusted and its been months in the process but it takes patience.

From what I've heard medication doesn't help personality disorders.

I appreciate the responses from people, and their experiences of what has worked for them.
From reading extensively about BPD, it has been my understanding that although there is no specific medication for bpd as a whole, different medications can be used to help treat the different aspects of the disorder. For instance mood-stabilizers help with mood volatility, and have been shown to generally have the largest impact on a person with bpd. Anti-psychotics help with transient psychosis (for instance paranoia), as well as some can help with anxiety and anger. Anti-psychotics have been shown to have the second-greatest efficacy for bpd individuals. Anti-depressants are sometimes used for anxiety or depression in bpd individuals, but the effects of these drugs have been shown to have the lowest impact on the borderline person, and overall they have the least efficacy of the other drug classes stated.
This is just from my reading tons of books and online medical articles about borderline personality disorder, as well as looking up medications all the time (I am not a medical professional of any kind, so obviously I could be wrong about this stuff). I was just curious if people had been put on any of these medications and had found them to be helpful or not.

I was just diagnosed with BPD, but I also have OCD, anxiety, and depression and just started taking Prozac. Has that helped anybody at all?

(frey2)

My psych has me on Lamictal 300mg/day and Ablify 15mg a day and Clonopin 1/2-1mg twice a day. I also take 300mg wellbutrin a day. I have BPD and major depressive disorder. My new psych doc thinks I have Bipolar also. My experience is that the Clonopin dramatically reduced my anxiety & panic attacks. Psych doc has me weaning off Cymbalta and I am in serious withdrawal...dizzy with brain "zaps", nausea, facial and head pain, and hot flashes (now taking 20mg a day). I'm not sure how lamictal is helping me. Not sure how long it takes for it to start working. I'm on about week 4 of taking 300mg of the lamictal. My emotions and mood swings are currently very negative and intense.