My soon to be ex-pdoc says that there is nothing to treat BPD...

is he for real?

I'm getting a second opinion, as that leaves a lot of unanswered questions, plus, from what I have heard from various sources, that is the diagnosis he gives anyone who happens to be on medicaid.

He smiled when he told me that there is nothing to help... that just seems wrong. Help?

i am sorry goofy. He is wrong. It is treatable. Not only would I look for another PDoc, I would also report him. This is unacceptable. I am sorry you had to experience that. Please know that there is hope. Keep Looking. Take care and keep us posted.

WOW!!! Is he for real? I agree with Jen, you should report this quack. My understanding, although it could be wrong, is that BPD is pretty much treated with the same meds as BP is. You could do a net search easy enough to find out. I think you would be wise to change pdocs and get one that will not only properly diagnosis but also treat whatever the diagnosis is. Sorry, he put you through this. Isn't that just what you want to hear from your pdoc, that whatever you're dx'd with, is untreatable.

(((((((((((((( goofy )))))))))))))))))

Jennifer and Angel... thank you soooooo much. I am having a bad night. I think I'll try bed, since I've been on the computer long enough to be on the verge of carpal tunnel!



Off to now!

dont take this as medical advice, but i have read many places that bipolar meds also work for borderline personality disorder.
BPD is associated with rapid mood swings and so is Bipolar disorder. i have read that depakote treats both. check it out... run a web search for borderline meds and keep searching....
i know people who have BPD who take depakote and also xanax......
i think that pdoc's opinion is crap

ccl, this is what my research has shown me as well.

Don't forget, therapy is one of the most effective treatments, as well as age -- some new studies showing that you "grow out of" BPD, mostly.

Also, the old, accepted view was that nothing helped any PD. If you had a PD, it was pretty well engraved in stone. That's not true. There are a lot of htings that help, with therapy at the top of the list, but some doctors still haven't bothered to read up on it...

And yes -- many meds help with it, mostly mood stabilizing types and some ADs.

Good luck.

Dude, what a dumbass. The doctor, I mean, not you :-)

Goofy,

BPD is highly treatment resistment, but Depakote, and high doses of Zypreza and Abilify have been known to be effective. A google search might bring some other options as well. Might be worth checking into?

Greg

Goofy,

Here are some of the other recommended meds:

Prozac
Zoloft
Luvox
Paxil
Lamotrigine
Valproate
Naltrexone

Hope this helps.

Greg

Your doctor is very misinformed. Borderline personality disorder IS treatable. Both medications and psychotherapy are extremely helpful. Two key medicines are usually an antidepressant and some sort of anti-impusiveness drug. Every borderline patient I've seen has definitely needed an antidepressant and has gotten better once we found the right dose (usually when I start an antidepressant for them I go ahead and get them up to the highest dose over several weeks). The antidepressant will improve and stablize people's mood, usually reducing suicidal thoughts, anger and improving their quality of life.

The second key medicine for severe borderline personalities is an anti-impulsiveness drug. This group includes a lot of medicines that quickly and rapidly blunt the anger/rage, dissociation, and feeling that one is "falling apart". Typical choices would be low doses of the antipsychotics such as Abilify (2.5 - 5mg a day ; this is my first choice med), Risperdal (0.5mg - 1mg at night, some prefer the dissolvable tablet for rapid as needed doses), Geodon (20mg - must take with food!), Seroquel (50mg -100mg at night), Zyprexa (2.5mg - 5mg at night - due to risk of diabetes/weight gain this is not a 1st line choice to me). Haldol is an older medicine I might use if I had to since it is dirt cheap.

Some of the mood stablizers such as Depakote and Tegretol can blunt impulsivity too. I, however, much prefer to use one of the above anti-psychotics because 1.) I don't have to worry about checking blood work for liver problems, 2.) there is much less risk of drug-drug interactions, 3.)anti-psychotics are better suited to helping the dissociations and sometimes "static" noises borderlines have and 4.) I don't have to worry about increasing the dose of tegretol later on because it stimulates its own increase in metabolism.

I can't say enough about how much an antidepressant and an anti-impulse medication help people. I have had borderline patients in meltdown experience rapid improvement in 3-4 days once we begin a low dose anti-psychotic. One borderline patient got promoted at work because we got her symptoms under such control.

I also need to emphasize that psychotherapy is vital too. There is even a very special type of cognitive - behavioral psychotherapy called dialectic behavioral therapy (DBT) that has been designed to help borderlines. Traditional psychodyamic therapy (what I usually practice) is very helpful too. Basically these therapies help the patient to accept limits on the help they expect from others and slowly develop ways to decrease their own anxiety with techniques they can use to help themselves.

There is much research going on now in the psychiatric community in personality disorders. The idea that personality disorders are "untreatable" is 10 - 20 years old. Personality disorders are regarded by many psychiatrists as the next frontier to conquer. There are several books commonly available in the bookstore for people with borderline personality disorder. You need to find a doctor who has some experience with borderline personality or dissociative identity disorder (multiple personalities) as they will be of the most help to you. Many psychiatrists devote their entire practices to borderline patients, and new drugs and treatments are continually becoming available. Don't give up hope.