[Sherryanne]

I have boderline personality disorder and for the past month have been tryin to function without meds, against advice. In the past I've taken Resperdal, Effexor, Xanax and Prozac. For the last year I've been taking prozac only and seem to function ok. So after alot of pressure from my family, Ive weaned off the prozac. I'm not too sure of my emotional state.

Alot of doctors are telling me I need the meds. But I dont wanna spend the rest of my life takin meds.

Am I doing the right thing?

hey there. yeah, i think you might well be doing the right thing. at least, you are doing what im doing lol. fact is that meds arent going do do a heck of a lot except possibly to mute things by way of sedating you. add to that the fact that we simply dont know what the long term effects of medication on the brain is and i think it is a fairly sensible thing to be doing in all honesty.

that being said... i do have a small amount of something sedating (chlorpromazine or seroquel or valium) to take when i have my... urm... episodes. for when things get really very intense. to help me sleep so i dont si or whatever. i do that maybe once a month or once every couple months if i really need to.

what do they want you to take? if they think you should be on meds is it just for the sake of your being on meds or do they have a particular med in mind that they think you might find some benefit from?

if meds really helped then i guess there is no problem with your taking them for the rest of your life. trouble is the meds are unlikely to really help and if you add to that picture the side effects and uncertaintly of long term negative effects... then i think you have made a pretty good decision truth be told.

[Direction]

Alexandra k - I know your views by reading your other posting on medications...

There are a lot of unknowns...

Suggesting or hinting to someone that it is allright they do something against their doctors advice is awfully dangerous and gives other readers who are new just the push to stop taking medications.

Sherryanne and Everyone else reading this - please, please talk to your doctor first or get a second opinion.

[psisci]

Agreed. Also, some meds have proven effective for BPD.

[drunksunflower]

What meds can work for BPD?

Also, what are the therapies used?

A friend of mine recently told me she has it (rather than depression which was prev diagnosis) and she was talking about maybe DBT (CBT and Eastern influences type fusion?)

Interested ...

[Sherryanne]

Hey everyone,

Thank you for the replies. I should add that the doctors who are advisin me to take meds for my BPD are general practitioners and not psychiatrists. My therapist, who I see more often believes that with continuous therapy I do not need meds and rite now I'm doing wwell without the prozac. So yeh its sorta confusing.

I take your points and I am aware that you should never go against doctors advice, which I havent, I just question their knowledge and I dont want to be another statistic.

One doctor said to me, its like diabetes, you may not be sick but you take it for when you get sick. Something just seems wrong with that to me. I know BPD is lifelong, but I'm beginning to be treated like its a death sentence.

> Alexandra k - I know your views by reading your other posting on medications...

uh. you mean you know my views on SSRI's? i certainly do distinguish between SSRI's and other varieties of medication.

> Suggesting or hinting to someone that it is allright they do something against their doctors advice is awfully dangerous and gives other readers who are new just the push to stop taking medications.

to the best of my knowledge i tried to suggest that the poster TALK to their doctor in order to see

1) whether they thought there was a particular medication that might benefit them
2) so one could look up the studies to see.

i never did suggest (and never would) that people stop taking a medication suddenly without talking things through with their doctor first.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
some meds have proven effective for BPD.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

I have NEVER heard of any meds being affective in treating a personality disorder. Might you be mistaken?.....

meds may help in treating symptoms like-- anxiety or depression that accompany many disorders-- but I've not ever heard they can be affective in dealing with the personality disorder itself-- for this I've read that only long term therapy really works. If I'm mistaken please point me in the direction of which you speak.......

me thinks the money hungry pharmacuetical companies
may have influenced some members a bit here....

mandy

[psisci]

Atypical antipsychotics have shown some promise in treating personality disorders.

Can I ask..... what happens when said personality disordered stops taking atypical antipsychotics?? Is this a lifetime requirement?? I wonder........

mandy

Well, I did find this article... dated from January 2007.....

atypical antipsychotics-- not been tested..........

of course at the bottom of the article, they have to tell you to NOT stop taking it-- in BOLD letters--- so the pharmacuetical companies can keep making money and use the consumer as a guinea pig at the same time!

I still can't find out if the consumer is expected to give the pharmaceutical companies a life time supply of money for these meds that they "guess" are effective in treating a personality disorder .......

mandy

[psisci]

Yep, you are right, I am wrong....that proves it. For 20+ years docs have called these meds ego-glue for treating personality disorders, but they must have all been corrupted.

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they must have all been corrupted.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">
I see..... thanks for confirming.

mandy

[drunksunflower]

mandy ... are you serious?

i am confused

of course I am......

just because someone is a doctor doesn't make them perfect ..... they make mistakes too.... and OH my gosh.... shudder the idea that they could be wrong!!!

of course some are corrupt(not all are)...... they are merely human afterall....

the consumer should be well informed..... for they are the ones that will have to live with the affects of medications NOT the doctors...... do the benefits out weigh the affects??? everyone should know the balance of the meds they take-- benefits- vs- affects....(IMO)

mandy

Well, not everyone with BPD has psychotic breaks of course, so antipsychotic meds wouldn't be helfpul for the individual with BPD who does not have that symptom.

What I've read says supportive therapy, usually long-term and sometimes life-long, is the most helpful for managing BPD. That sounds encouraging and comforting to me.

ECHOES

[psisci]

It has nothing to do with psychotic breaks. The meds work for all with BPD.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
The meds work for all with BPD.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

may I ask, What recent studies do you base your statement on??

There are many that read these posts in hopes to be guided in the healthiest, safest and best direction towards healing-- after all isn't that what health care of all types is supposed to be about-- health, healing and safety?? Not the pharmacueticals bottom "black line".

It's been noted in just about every study I can find that various types of talk therapy are THE BEST and safest forms of treatment for personality disorders..... Like-- Echoes has stated--- and I totally agree! Please don't mislead the readers!

and... I don't appreciate any sarcastic-unprofessional attitudes.

mandy

uh.. you called them antipsychotics.

instead of being belligerent and unable to take criticism and challenges, how about just explaining?

thanks

[psisci]

The meds are called antipsychotics, but that says nothing about what they do...partial d2 antagonism, variable d1-6 actions, variable serotonin actions, NE variability, all different by the med and the dose. It seems that the variable nature of these meds help BPD. The older antipsychotics helped as well and they were mainly just d2 antgonists. Perhaps that is the key, but i doubt it......

... and in English?

... this says nothing about what they do either. you mention seratonin which I have always heard in reference to depression; however we are talking Borderline.. which can include psychotic breaks amoung other symptoms.

what symptoms are the antipsychotics used for?

[psisci]

Look it up, I am not your dictionary. You asked me to explain and that is the best explanation, and that is how doctors think about these meds in regards to symptoms. Basically these meds stabilize neurotransmitters that are thrown into disarray by consistent behavioral abberations secondary to a disordered personality structure.

wow! i know a lot of doctors and they can all explain things in a way that a patient/poster could understand. they're mostly MDs........

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Look it up, I am not your dictionary

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That is not a very supportive reply! a bit rude-- not to mention lack of professionalism!

... how come you haven't answered my question about--- recent studies done that support your statement in the effectiveness of such meds with personality disorders? just wondering....... hmmmmm.......

[Fuzzybear]

sounds ideal for a nutzo like me then