Bi-polar diagnoses in children with BPD parents?

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[frtbt2]

As a child of a pwbpd I mainly hang out on that board but I was curious about something. I had a series of emotional problems. When I was 15, I was (falsly) diagnosed as bi-polar and put on Lithium. The funny thing is, as soon as I moved out of my mother's house everything went away. I've now been off meds for over a year and perfectly functional. I was just curious about how many on here have children that have been diagnosed bi-polar and if there would be any connection. A volatile environment often results in volatile behavior, so I was just curious.

[lbjnltx]

dear frtbt2,

i'm not normally a poster on this board either...i have a child dx w/emerging bpd (also mdd, odd).  she is 13 yrs. old.

it is a common theme...the dx of bipolar in kids w/bpd.  i'm NOT SAYING YOU HAVE BPD...i am pointing out that as nons...we can catch fleas 
from being in an unhealthy environment and thereby show the symptoms of bpd...having said that...it is far far too common for anyone under 18 to be diagnosed bipolar instead of borderline...they don't like to make that diagnoses until the personality is fully formed.  hence my child has the "emerging" diagnoses. 

while i am so sad to hear that your parent is bpd...i am even more glad that you are NOT!  congrats on getting away and getting healthy!

lbjnltx

[snowrose]

SS26 was diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder.  Interestingly, once he moved away from BM and declared his independence he's been doing incredibly well with managing his own life and even advancing in a career - without medication.

OTOH, SS24 is diagnosed bipolar and I'm really not so sure if that is a true diagnosis or if it's just a flea  my-issuesthat makes a good excuse.  He's still young and immature, and he's had an excellent example in his mother for not accepting responsibility of his actions.  So he has problems with keeping a job, he has problems controlling his temper, and he drinks to excess. 

The jury is still out on SS24.

[GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT]

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT This board is intended for general questions about BPD and other personality disorders, trait definitions, and related therapies and diagnostics. Topics should be formatted as a question. Please do not host topics related to the specific pwBPD in your life - those discussions should be hosted on an appropraite [L1] - [L4] board. You will find indepth information provided by our senior members in our workshop board discussions (click here).

[frtbt2]

That was exactly my case, as soon as I moved out I did really well WITHOUT medication. They said it was a normal reaction to a volatile environment. Anyway, I was just curious

[Hello Kitty]

DH's mother is uBPD...he entered into intensive therapy following the death of his sister when his life fell apart; his initial dx was cluster-B dysfunction (he didnt have any single dx within cluster-B, but exhibited varying behaviors in each part of the cluster without meeting criteria for any one of them).  

LOTS OF FLEAS - with therapy and a huge distance he placed between himself and his parents...after a couple of years, he emerged quite a different man, with very few fleas remaining (those that keep cropping up, we work on now).  Lot's of work to rid himself of them, but the stories I hear about those perisistent buggers, for years leading up to the therapy and moving far, far away...I'm actually glad I didn't know him then, we'd never have dated or married!

[Heathermarie]

Yes, that is exactly what happened to me as well.  Falsely diagnosed as a teen with bi-polar by the family doctor that listened to what my mother had to say about me behind closed doors and then prescribed me Lithium and Zoloft. 

I took them for about 2 months even though they nearly paralyzed my ability to think.  I couldn't even drive my car with the radio on or window down because it was too distracting. 

Amazingly, my "symptoms" went away that same summer when I moved out of the house, and I have never again spent another night under my mother's roof. 

Actually, this same family doctor put me on birth control when I was 11 (per mom's suggestion) because I was "moody".  They changed to dosage many, many times over the years to deal with my "estrogen imbalance".  Funny...I never had any blood work to suggest an imbalance.  This was all from mom's description. 

[frtbt2]

I hated the Lithium too. My grades actually went up when I went off it even with my mood issues (which I did have, it just wasn't chemical). To this day I have problems with things like deciphering song meanings when I'm listening to them. I get the words, I just can't put them together into meaning. Small thing, but still. And yes, as SOON as I moved out, all of these "mood issues" stopped.