I know how you feel. I was diagnosed PPD. Then after being hospitalized again they decided I had Peripartum BP. I didn't want it to be real because I can't serve our country with BP. But I had to accept it I guess... Make peace. It's nice to finally have a name for it and be on the right medication that I need to be on and it actually finally helps. So maybe this is a blessing in deguise.

long reply zapped by DS, sigh.

second try. this is shorter so it might come over a bit short!

I'm not surprised about the diagnosis either..

good thing is there is no mania or hypomania with Borderline - intense mood shifts yes but not those states. You should be able to take anti-depressents like anyone else - Borderline is a personality disorder, not a disorder rooted in faulty biochemistry.

I hope you will get proper treatment, that is DBT rather than any old therapy.

you can find out more on the Personality Disorder board.

I wouldn't trust your therapist. A diagnosis points the way to a treatment regimen. Suit yourself.

Ok so I know how you feel as far as not being able to label yourself and it being scary and frustrating. I was dx by my GP after taking a BP quiz. So i have been on Lithium since then. I have had a hard time finding a t-doc or p-doc so for now I am seeing a counselor who is guessing I may just be manic depressive. So it sucks when we have no name for what makes us feel so shitty! I hope you get everything figuered out it would be nice for us to have one less thing to worry about. Hugs to you.

I assumed this was the appointment with a psychiatrist not a therapist?

'Suit yourself', not appreciated. This is the second doc I've been to. And i think by saying don't make the label your main focus she means that isn't the root of my problems and dwelling on a name isn't going to help. (Why am I defending her?)

Yeah, it was with a psychiatrist. She'll be meeting with my therapist to discuss her 'findings' soon. I meet with him next Wednesday and her the Wednesday after that. What fun

well actually there is a huge upside to this.

Borderline is treated by therapy and while it probably never goes away entirely with work by you and whoever is doing the DBT you can have a degree of recovery.

You can also be free of meds, so no weight gain, any of the other side effects and not constantly worrying if they are going to stop working, be withdrawn or if in the US taken off the insurance list.

I wish you the best. I have been told exactly the same thing- not to focus on the label. I was in an acute state when diagnosed bipolar/schizoaffective. Have you ever had psychosis? I think that's the determining factor really.

A non-BP Dx is a good thing! If you're really concerned that you may be being Dx'd wrongly, seek another opinion. I know that's easier said than done. Oh - I understand that with a Dx comes the ability to research something specific and have a better understanding of possible outcomes - for me, anyway, that has been helpful. But it's also true that our docs should treat our SYMPTOMS not a label. Good luck with your Tdoc! I hope you do find peace with this!

Yeah, I have experienced psychosis. When I spoke to my doctor about it was when he told me to get an appt with the psych. What does that determine though?

If you have experienced true psychosis - that is losing touch with reality, seeing things that are not there, having beliefs which are obviously untrue - then that is schizophrenia or bipolar.

Three caveats.

It is not due to drugs (medical or street), fever / delerium or major trauma.

It must last more than several days.

You are not aware at the time that the hallucinations / false beliefs are not true. If you are aware then that isn't psychosis.

oh and to add that the false beliefs are fairly major - you are really a spy, you are a prophet, the government implanted a tracking device in you - rather than feeling people are talking about you, you are not liked etc etc.

I understand your concern. my daughter had been suffering for three years with anxiety/depression. all the antidepressants when in her system for 6 weeks caused her to be suicidal and in hospital again and back to square one. I have often thought she seemed bi polar but the psychiatrist says more likely borderline. yet antidepressants don't help. recently after a hospitalization she was put on pamelor 25 mg and told to increase it every week. because of her history we chose to stay on 25 mg. at the 7 week mark she became suicidal again so we had to go to hospital and ask to be weaned down to a lower amount. she has been on 10 mg now for about 3-4 weeks and seems to be doing better. start low on the antidepressants and see how they affect you in 6 weeks is my advice. my daughter was also relieved to have a diagnosis and is now doing some dbt counselling one on one with a counsellor. Good luck to you, you are not alone

Hi Iam , it is very possible to have multiple DX, like perhaps Borderline and Bipolar at the same time etc..
I have both.
I too would like a label ! A lot of Doctors don't want to label but treat symptoms , I always wonder if you don't have a label then what are you treating ?
Like if I had cancer I would want to know what kind of cancer or in organ failure hell yes I would want to know what organ ! any way just the way I feel about having a name to claim it .
BTW I am assuming your DX will change many times over your life time who knows . or things added to the list of dx.
I hope you can get to the bottom of all this and get the help that you deserve and feel better . hugs