I Was Hesitently Diagnosed By My Short Known Counceller With Scizoaffective Disorder, I Know I Suffer With Borderline Personality Disorder & I Know I Am
Manic Depressive But I Got Slapped With A Couple Of Perscription's & Pretty Much Told "Have A Happy Day" Arrg !!. Who Else Here Knows They
Were Misdiagnosed Or Suspects It?
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Misdiagnosed Anyone?
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Misdiagnosed Anyone? |
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Posts: 1 (12/24/08 15:46:53) |
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Qelyn |
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Posts: 458 (12/26/08 14:38:03) |
I was misdiagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder..... I was in a Borderline psychosis when I was misdiagnosed so I don't hold too much against the
therapist..... Besides I only saw her for a short period of time and ran with it for about 2 years it was a short blip on my mental health screen so it
doesn't bother me too much anymore.....
I thought BPD was a misdiagnosis as well but I have come to accept it with reading more current information on it..... In my opinion though BPD needs to be medicated anyway because it has a psychosis effect due to brain dysfunction and chemical imbalances associated with it, which causes the wrong thinking common in BPD..... Q |
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lauren.myownbusiness |
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Posts: 17 (08/29/09 10:19:18) |
I feel I was horribly misdiagnosed!!! I mean yesterday when I was in therapy I brought up to my therapist that I felt I had borderline personality disorder.
She said I had certain traits some days but that I don't have the disorder because people that have it never get better. I was a little suprised that a
therapist would say that. She said that if I was to be diagnosed with that no insurance would cover me and that would make me untreatable. So I'm a little
frustrated because I wanted a diagnosis and she thought I was weird for wanting to be labeled for wanting some untreatable personality disorder and she said my
other therapist I saw previously before her and agreed with her. So then she ended up diagnosing me with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which I do agree that I
currently have but the tragic event happened when I was 18 years old. I know that I've been feeling crazy or whatever since I was 12 years old. I'm
pist off that she is so caught up on identifying as the trauma is what is messing up my life and once my PTSD gets treated that I will magically be all
better.......I know that that's not true. Anyways that's all I will say for now...
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nobodyatall.copingwithdisso... |
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Posts: 19 (09/02/09 23:29:48) |
Lauren, I don't know what it is with professionals not wanting to 'label' us with personalities disorders. I mean you have to be diagnosed to get
better. I think they look down on the diagnosis so they feel uncomfortable with using it. Silliness I say.
Qelyn, that is intersting that you were diagnosed with DID, normally people with DID get misdiagnosed with BPD, did they say why they thought you were DID. Did you have a lot of problems with dissociation? |
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lauren.myownbusiness |
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Posts: 26 (09/03/09 00:07:00) |
To tell you the truth it felt like with holding that diagnosis is like saying well I don't want to give a name to what your going through so it can never
really be dealt with and acknowledged. I know for that in the least I have borderline personality traits. The annoying part is that yes it does interrupt my
life and damage my relationships. I think it's a relief to have a diagnosis so that you know what your dealing with it so you can seek out the proper help
you need. Anyways I do have like 3 or 4 books about dealing with Borderline Personality Disorder. That helps alot what I like to do is just go through them and
high light the things that I relate to and that I need help with. So if no one wants to diagnose me then I will just have to bring my book with me and read off
all the things and then have to focus on each individual thought pattern. I gotta figure something out. Apparently therapists have a very bad opinion and bad
experiences with BPD's and she said I didn't act like that. That I don't tell her to her face I don't trust you or your gonna leave me
blah...blah...blah or that I push and pull with her. Well yes I do think that in my head but I wouldn't feel it would be appropriate to speak that way to
her. Second of all I could feel abandonment issues with a therapist but I just wouldn't show it. She is the one that diagnosed me with PTSD and by the way
that does make you very numb to things and detached. So how could I really act out in front of her??? I feel nothing when I'm in therapy....maybe a little
akward at times but I don't rage at her or anything. I'm pretty sure that not every single BPD out there in the world certainly doesn't present
themselves the same in therapy. We all have different personalities and were all raised differently so why would she assume we all would be all some stereotype
even within a diagnosis of BPD. That truly does bother me that alot of assumptions are made and alot of generalizations.
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heavy heart |
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Posts: 335 (09/03/09 01:11:55) |
I can't say I feel I was ever misdiagnosed. I feel it took a while to be diagnosed with everything I do have [parents avoided me getting diagnosed
with anything while I was growing up], but each illness was never mistaken for anything else. My family mental history made it easier too for professionals to
discover what was going on with me. I have many family members with mental illness. Many who are bipolar and that was the first diagnosis I received and the
illness that's affected me throughout my life. Also have at least one family member that has each other diagnosis I have. It did take years for me to be
diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, even though it's the most troublesome disorder for me. It took my finding out about it and educating myself
well on it to know that I was certainly a "classic case" and asking a professional about it, for them to look into me further (which they should have
done to begin with, yes) - and they finally diagnosed me with BPD as well. And then each other professional I had seen since then agreed I certainly have BPD,
fitting all 9 criterions, in fact. Actually that is what I always did - If I got a diagnosis, I would eventually ask other professionals what they thought as
well....But they all have actually agreed on each diagnosis of mine. I feel it's always good to know exactly what's going on so that you can get the
help you need in order to get better......
Lauren, I think some professionals think every BPD patient will act like "a textbook borderline," but you're correct - that isn't always the case. I was never too much of a pain for professionals to put up with. I'm pretty cooperative and respectful and the therapist who I have now, who I have a very great relationship with, even had that "oh god" look on her face when I told her I had the Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis, at our first session. I remember she was listening to me talk, looking through papers and as soon as I said it she looked up at me with this look on her face and said "So you'll love me one day and hate me the next?" But I assured her I was never a problem for professionals, she worked with me and she's seen I'm a cooperative, reliable patient. There may be certain things, like you've said, that I've FELT towards a professional but I never often 'acted the feelings out.' Maybe that's one of the reasons why it took longer for them to diagnosis my BPD, because I wasn't the 'typical borderline' who lashed out at them, called them constantly to demand attention, often not showing up for appointments, etc. I've read that a lot of professionals have soon figured out who the borderline patients were after the patients acted in that manner. But it certainly isn't the case for all of us. My therapist learned I'm a good patient to have....she always says I'm pleasant....Although she knows I'm quite dependent on her now and attached to her. I think that's what many professionals fear as well when it comes to BPD patients. |
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Qelyn |
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Posts: 990 (09/03/09 12:34:11) |
I was diagnosed because I was having hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations that are common in sleeping disorders..... I made the mistake of telling her I
was hearing people in my room when I was falling asleep....... The hallucinations were probably the result of poor sleep due to not being medicated properly
for my depression and BPD..... However then she hypnotized me and I was in a very vulnerable position she asked (who I consider my inner child) that the little
girl name herself..... She was on the right track before that with the BPD.....
Now as far as BPD not ever getting better that is untrue...... Although the person with BPD has to want to get better and be willing to make drastic changes to perception and the wrong thinking we are plagued with, plus they have to be willing to keep searching for the right med combo to treat symptoms and comorbid conditions must be treated as well...... BPD does not generally stand alone...... Plus we have to be willing to break down that trust barrier with mental health professionals and follow treatment regiments, one problem with BPD's we do not trust anyone but ourselves and refuse to listen to the provider thinking we know better so the provider has to prove to us that the treatment is effective..... In fact when my prescribing doctor wanted to treat me with atypicals my black and white thinking got in the way, an atypical had caused my diabetes so I was very reluctant to try another one...... I did my own research and told the doctor I had done so, she asked me if I now believed her that it was common to treat BPD with an atypical antipsychotic...... I was reluctant to trust her until that point when it was pointed out that I was having trust issues with her..... I was treated 11 years ago for some of this stuff I was in a terrible place..... Like a typical borderline I left the therapeutic setting too early and decided I wasn't sick anymore..... 11 years later I ended up back in the hospital and back into the therapeutic setting due to crisis mode..... This time I have been in ongoing therapy for 2 years and on meds for about 18 months I am guessing.... I am better than I ever have been, even to the point where I no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for BPD..... However I have also watched some very sick BPD's come and go from this site, ones that may never recover because they are so lost in the condition..... So there are those out there who do not get better even with correct treatment..... You have to decide if that is you or not before it can be determined if you can get better from it or not..... It is unfortunate that a therapist would have out of date information, however if she has been doing this for any length of time she has probably seen some of the borderlines who are too sick to see the other side of this thing and therefore they never recover...... She is right and wrong in what she told you and you have to decide how big of a deal it is that she refuses to give you a diagnosis like that...... BPD also does carry a stigma so be careful about wanting the diagnosis..... There are plenty of people here who have gotten poor treatment because they have the tag, and mental health professionals that refuse to treat them because of the tag..... There are plenty of professionals who wont see them at all, or who limit the amount of borderlines on their client list because BPDs require so much time and energy..... Our very thinking is skewed and personality traits are hard to change..... BPD often consists of out of control symptoms so you can never get to the trait changes that need to occur to get better...... I had to change my very core thought processes for my life to get better...... Once these misperceptions were understood it was very easy to correct..... But it took me 35 years to get to where I could undo my wrong thinking.... It also took me being willing to change anything it took to get better, its not easy to say wow I have been wrong for my entire life and I am creating my own problems and unhappiness, especially since I was a victim in everything and everyone was out to get me in my own mind...... But if you are willing to look deep inside and question everything you have ever known about yourself it is possible to be in recovery from BPD..... However your therapist is correct about how hopeless it looks and how hard it is, she is wrong to say it is impossible to have happen...... Fortunately slowly the perceptions on BPD are changing and new treatments have cropped up for BPD specifically which tend to help some people..... But it is still one of the hardest things to treat, and the most time consuming..... And often times BPD's leave treatment too early leaving providers frustrated and hopeless about it...... So really sit down and think about this rationally before you get too angry at your therapist for not throwing this label at you..... You have to decide how badly you think you need this label and what you think will come out of it by being saddled with it..... Getting the label does not immediately get you the right treatment..... In fact as far as I know DBT is not even available in my area.... The only thing my label afforded me was a psychiatrist who after asking me some hard questions agreed to treat me and medication aimed at treating my symptoms...... There are things that often go hand in hand with BPD that she said were deal breakers for treatment from her...... So be very careful when focusing too much on the label..... Q |
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heavy heart |
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Posts: 336 (09/03/09 19:12:49) |
Very well said, Q......as always......You're right, it's a shame a therapist would give such out-of-date information, but you're correct as well
that she most likely has seen many borderlines come and go.....ones that couldn't/wouldn't be helped......It does carry a terrible stigma and that is a
shame as well.....And as I said, there are the 'typical, classic borderlines' they would call them and then there are some with the label that actually
want to get better and will be more cooperative.....But sometimes I think the ones who are the most uncooperative, lashing out, refusing treatment, denying
their condition, etc. eventually hit rock bottom very very hard and then will finally do treatment. Even so, sometimes it gets to be too late before they get
to that point...and are never able to realize it......But even though a bit weary at first, I'm glad my therapist gave me a chance, I gave her a chance,
and she found I'm a good patient and I found she's an even better therapist!.....She said she does have other BPD patients.....and even a good friend
with the condition.....I don't know how they act though....lol......
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nobodyatall.copingwithdisso... |
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Posts: 20 (09/05/09 00:43:58) |
Qelyn, your Therapist might suspect you have DID if she wanted the inner child to have a separate name. BPD is the incomplete process of a DID system forming
which is why we have a fluctuating personality. Do you know about DID? It used to be called Multiple Personality Disorder.
Anyway I have this same problem of not being believed at first that I have BPD because I don't present as a raving lunatic. It is like if you are not bringing a razor to your session and threatening to cut yourself right in front of them, then you can't possibly have BPD. I think professionals don't actually get taught right about personality disorders. I can see them limiting the number of really bad patients with BPD so they can be spread out and not tax one person emotionally but to be afraid of BPDs entirely is just hysteria. I don't know if anyone else has depersonalisation but I have that and lots of dissociation etc. This kind of thing can also stop you from getting believed about your BPD. Depersonalisation makes you feel like your history, emotions and symptoms don't belong to you. It can actually make me feel like i am making it up so it obviously has that effect on therapists etc. If you have this it is best to get it in your notes so they will know why you shut down. Also because I dissociate, sometimes instead of getting angry when I am triggered, I just 'check out' and I am in another world. So I won't present like someone who gets angry when they are triggered though that can happen too. Another thing is that professionals are still getting used to those of us who 'turn ourselves in' so to speak. Previous generations used to be ashamed of mental illness and we are becoming more and more enlightened. So it used to be that the only people who admitted they had it were hypochondriacs or just lying to get attention. Every time I tell a psychiatrist that I have bi polar they nearly fall out of their chair because I admit it and only think of it as a disability and not a character flaw. This often leads to them trying to change my diagnosis to unipolar depression because they think someone who actually has bi polar would never accept it. But I do and I do. So if you don't judge yourself, you are one step ahead of them because they are secretly judging you. And this confuses them to no end. |
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Qelyn |
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Posts: 993 (09/05/09 18:53:30) |
I am fully versed in DID I went through an entire 2 year period thinking I had it due to a misdiagnosis...... It was a misdiagnosis though....
Q |
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lauren.myownbusiness |
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Posts: 29 (09/05/09 22:48:36) |
"Also because I dissociate, sometimes instead of getting angry when I am triggered, I just 'check out' and I am in another world. So I won't
present like someone who gets angry when they are triggered though that can happen too."
I totally relate to that part. Everything you wrote makes perfect sense to me. |
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heavy heart |
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Posts: 346 (09/08/09 21:04:49) |
On the subject of dissociation - Although many memories of my childhood are very vague, I don't think my dissociative states were ever so bad years ago.
They've gotten quite bad at some points over these last few years. (Really, it seemed to have gotten worse once my friend hung himself in 2006 - which is
when I began to hallucinate [him] again too.) I've been in that state of mind on and off the past few weeks or so with everything that's been going on.
I've just been quite numb, detached, unemotional, feeling out of myself, forgetting parts of my days again, etc., on and off. So as far as dissociation
goes, I can't recall it ever being this bad years ago.....Which is part of why I think I reverted back to self-harming a few times now, because when
I'm in that state of mind and feel numb and detached, it's as if I do it and I'm not even attached to the action.....and I've been like that
with a lot of things I've done lately - and in the past few months. Does that make sense to anyone? (Although I must say the ice cubes thing has helped me
before.....- to grasp them really hard in the palms of your hands to bring you back into the moment a little bit......)
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nobodyatall.copingwithdisso... |
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Posts: 22 (09/09/09 00:27:33) |
Heavy Heart, have you ever tried holding an ice cube instead of self harm. It hurts but does no permanent damage. Just a temp solution but then you don't
have scars later when you feel better. I think it is normal for all these symptoms to get worse when there is trauma. I am sorry to hear about your friend.
That sounds difficult.
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lister74 |
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Posts: 1 (09/09/09 17:03:17) |
I was misdiagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder for years. It was only a couple years ago when I finally found a Doctor that got it right. Ive found that a
lot of Doctors just don't like to believe in BPD. Keep looking, don't give up their is a Dr. out there that will know what the hell they're
talking about.
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heavy heart |
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Posts: 347 (09/11/09 23:47:42) |
Yes - that's the last thing I said in my last post......about the ice cubes.....instead of self-harm...and also to bring you back into the moment more when
you're dissociating......that's what I mentioned......I've done it....have even suggested it to friends that it would help.......
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nobodyatall.copingwithdisso... |
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Posts: 23 (09/12/09 10:15:01) |
lol silly, I re read it now and saw it. I must have gotten upset and stopped reading. So sorry about that.
I am glad you do the ice cubes to. Much better I think. |
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heavy heart |
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Posts: 355 (09/13/09 02:51:58) |
haha - it's a-ok......i have done the same thing before......and yes, i try to stick to the ice cubes thing when i really need it.......
xx |
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nobodyatall.copingwithdisso... |
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Posts: 24 (09/13/09 11:01:41) |
I think it might be little mini dissociations when I do that. It seems like when I miss something in the posts it usually has something to do with self harm or
violence etc. I missed in someone elses post once that she was being beated up by her friend and started to give her advice on how to save her friendship when
I should have been advising the opposite.
 But someone else mentioned it and I got back on track.
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heavy heart |
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Posts: 360 (09/15/09 16:50:14) |
Oh wow - I understand.......I can be like that at some points when people speak of sexual abuse.......It takes me back a long time ago...and triggers not even
emotion in me like most other things do, just numbness...
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myriad15 |
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Posts: 2483 (09/24/09 15:09:10) |
just on the whole mis-dx ..i was told by my new ..temporary shrink that if i was in america id have been dx'd bi polar II (co-morbid bpd)here though they
are calling it cyclic depressive though the type II dx exists here... love meeting new docs they always add something to the mix lol
m y r i a d
of my mind ..i quote 'I don't know whats in there, but its weird and its pissed off' J.Carpenters 'The Thing' |
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Syndica |
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Posts: 113 (10/09/09 16:30:35) |
I was miss misdiagnosed with depression, but I found out i have PBD and Bipolar type 2 which makes me see things, the doctor said I was very bad case of
bipolar 2. I just find it strange to me I never knew there was different types of bipolar. Anyone talking lithium?
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