Borderline Personality Disorder or Bipolar ?

[jaz409]

I spent 3 months in hospital 5 years ago and was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, and Recurrent Depression. I was put on medication and completed a year of DBT Therapy. My medication was reduced and I saw a consultant two years later who advised I no longer fit the criteria for BPD and removed it from my records. Since then I experience high moods often when I feel like superwomen, I am over the top happy with lost of energy, and my sex drive is very high, but it always ends up with me becoming irritated, aggressive and paranoid. These periods normally last between 1-2 weeks and are followed by normal mood patterns. I do get depressed but no very often and it wuld only last for about a week.

This year i have lost my nan and dad to heart attacks and my auntie has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. 4 weeks ago my high reach a new high where I was seeing and feeling death, i felt like i could fly, didnt care about a thing, and very very happy and only sleeping 3 hours a night, but waking up refreshed. I was thinking about suicide but was felling to good to carry anything like that out. My concentration completly went and i was easy distracted and very irritable and agressive. I hit 2 periods of depression which lasted a day each time, but i have NEVER been so low and know I would of commited suicide if i had the plan straight in my head. (Which I have now sorted a plan).

Do you think the Borderline Personality Disorder has returned, or do you think i might be Bipolar ??

[Jaquta]

Jon Kabat-Zinn also has a book called ?Full Catastrophe of Living which could be helpful if you're into reading.  I think one of his goals is to reduce pain through meditation.

Mindfulness is a technique stressed quite a bit for those with bpd in particular.

I don't think the back pain is a symptom of bipolar.  I think it is likely due to stress, and muscle tension, or a long-standing back injury.

[Peter Forster]

Of course there is no way of diagnosing by email, however, with that caveat, let me say that what you describe does not sound like borderline personality disorder in action. It does sound like bipolar. It might be a very good time to go see a consultant again. The good news is that you should be feeling a lot better soon.

[Peter Forster]

There are many ways this can happen. Stress and depression lower the pain threshold. Also sleep disruption lowers the pain threshold and predisposes to various kinds of muscle and joint pains. (And of course it works the other way as well). For something that helps all of these conditions consider listening to mindfulness meditation audios (you can search Amazon for MP3's). I especially like Jon Kabat-Zinn's stuff.

[jaz409]

I am currently waiting to see a Consultant, but am under a CPN at the moment. I have noticed that when i get stressed out i get cronic pain in my low back which becomes very serious the more stressed i get, could this be a sympton of Bipolar, as I have had back problems since my early twenties.