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Mental Health Anyone Bipolar AND Borderline Personality Disorder?

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A family member has just been diagnosed with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder). It got me thinking can you be both? :|

From what I've read it seems you can. I did a bit of research and I'm ticking a hell of a lot of the BPD boxes. 6 years after being diagnosed with bipolar 1 and GAD im just wondering if anyone out there ever had diagnosis of both BIPOLAR AND BPD? :\

I'm 6 years in and still trying to sort out my meds and just wondering if this is the reason why?! 8)

Maybe I'm grasping at straws.........I just want to 'cured'. I'm sick to shit of it all.

Sorry Rant over. :!
 
It is possible to have both, but the "phase" of your Bipolar will affect the way the Borderline exhibits itself. Obviously in a manic phase or dysphoric mania, you will have more energy, in Depressive or Agitated Depressive phases you will have less energy and be less active
The borderline is more the personality where the Bipolar is more of the Manic-Depressive spectrum (not just limited to mood, also sex drive, energy, attention/focus, sleep effects, etc)
And to make things more complicated, not everyone's depressive phase symptoms are similar, some have Atypical depression which is somewhat different
 
Possibly me. Diagnosed bipolar in psych hospital around 19 or 20. Confirmed by appt with worst, most un/empathetic psychiatrist in the world. One session with LCSW said its most likely BPD but my intense paranoia during stress may mean a diff comormid disorder as well. BPD is the WORST diagnosis of all IMHO. People think your a manipulative maniac who does anything for attention and dont wanna be 1000 feet near you...let alone your friend. It condemns you to a life of social isolation. I'm afraid of even trying to make new friends cuz if the scars on my wrists don't make them run then my BPD label will. Luckily I have a husband who loves me despite all this.
 
I'm diagnosed with both Bipolar Disorder and borderline personality disorder. I was diagnosed whilist heavily abusing drugs though and it's unlikely that I actually have bpd.
 
I was diagnosed with Bipolar type II and Borderline Personality Disorder. My life has been a roller coaster ride for myself and those close to me all my life. Things only started making sense after I was diagnosed and started studying these conditions really well.

I think getting to know yourself, your triggers, your reactions, your impulses, your urges, your moods, highs, lows, cravings, intense needs, emotions, etc. is the key to recovery. I still get my episodes. I still do crazy things. I still put myself in danger sometimes and I still do impulsive things but I have learnt so much about myself which makes it so much easier to cope with.

Once you are able to recognize your triggers and early warning signs it is easier to pre-plan a solution to those triggers rather than allowing them to throw you off the rails. You will still experience the symptoms but you can channel your reactions to the symptoms in a healthier direction.

You will find something if you think about it carefully that will help you cope when these things hit you. For example I like writing music, I like sketching, I like getting a massage, I like singing, hiking, tanning, writing poems, etc.

When a deep emotional craving that no one can fill hits me I write about it. I write a song or a poem and express how I feel in a creative way. I know that talking to someone will not really help when I'm in that head space because they won't understand. The only way I can truly work through the emotions is to write about it and the fact that I am doing something creative turns the negative episode into something positive which makes me feel good and proud afterwards when I look at the end result. Before I would go on a drinking bindge to try and cope with the intense longing and emptiness or even the hypomania which leads to feeling worse later as apposed to feeling better.

You can work out your own coping strategies and have the plans ready for each type if episode, crisis or emotional upset. Sometimes a strategy will involve going to the emergency room or phoning a particular person or going for a jog. There are so many things you can do but you are more likely to stick to your strategy if you write it down and keep it with you written in a document on your phone so that you can read it when an episode hits you.

I hope this helps xx
 
Do you mean me or the person who started the thread? I'm going to assume you asked me.

I haven't used Lithium before for the bipolar. The psychiatrist put me on Lamotrigine mood stabilizer and an antipsychotic because I asked him not to give me something that will make me pick up weight.

But first of all the mood stabilizer didn't help for the depression and I was very scared of getting Steven Johnson Syndrome so I stopped using it. And secondly the antipsychotic made me depressed. It brought down my hypomania but swund my over into depression and I was really suffering.

The doctor was reluctant to put me back on antidepressants due to the hypomanic episodes but I feel better on antidepressants than mood stabilizers as I find hypomania is easier to handle than depression so I am using antidepressants again.

I am still unstable even while on antidepressants but more in control I would say as I feel stronger and more positive. But it can still be a nightmare sometimes.
 
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UncookMyBrain said:
You dont seem like you have BPD at all, usually if a guy loved you, you would push him away rather than marry him.
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Rubbish. Self-sabotaging relationships is a feature of BPD, but that doesn't mean that everyone who has it does it to every relationship. The two women with BPD that I'm closest to are both in long-term relationships that have lasted longer than mine.

Lopdiepop said:
I haven't used Lithium before for the bipolar. The psychiatrist put me on Lamotrigine mood stabilizer and an antipsychotic because I asked him not to give me something that will make me pick up weight.

But first of all the mood stabilizer didn't help for the depression and I was very scared of getting Steven Johnson Syndrome so I stopped using it. And secondly the antipsychotic made me depressed. It brought down my hypomania but swund my over into depression and I was really suffering.
Click to expand...

If you got through the first six weeks without SJS, you were really out of the woods. It tends to happen either after the introduction of a new drug or after a dosage increase. It's also extremely rare and can happen with literally any medication. Some just have a slightly higher incidence.

I am still unstable even while on antidepressants but more in control I would say as I feel stronger and more positive. But it can still be a nightmare sometimes.
Click to expand...

Good luck! Feeling in control of your treatment is really important.
 
I am not diagnosed by a doctor but do believe my personality reflects the symptoms. I have been diagnosed bipolar and have taken Lamictal and Xanax for about three years now. My mood is still all over the place but I do not live a sober lifestyle so that makes it kind of hard to gauge what it is I am feeling at times and why, then come the triggers impulses and reactions, often times not ending in the best outcomes. I think maybe I need to up my dose of Lamictal I have only been taking 100 mgs per night. Perhaps a Benzo with a longer lasting half life as well. I can vouch for writing being an amazing outlet for getting obsessive thoughts and feelings out. It helps to look back on these writings later and see the irrationalities. Meditation has been helping me as well.
 
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