BPDFamily.com

Has anyone had experience with their BPD and substance abuse? 

How do you know if its one, the other, or both?

My ex-friend BPD struggled with substance abuse during her first year in college.  She was for sure smoking marijuana every day, and she tells me that she also did cocaine, though I'm still not sure if she was telling the truth about that or not. 

While we were friends, she would get drunk very frequently.  She came back from a trip on a Wednesday and got drunk that night.  She hung out with me that Friday and got drunk.  Then, she added marijuana to the mix again.  Her boyfriend wanted to smoke it but stopped after the first time.  She kept it up and was getting high 3-4 times a day, every day. 

Her boyfriend attributed her raging to the marijuana and that maybe it was interacting with her other medications and having a negative affect on her, but that was before she was diagnosed with BPD.   

My BPD husband smokes weed daily, he used to take LSD a lot when he was younger before I knew him. He also has had periods of drinking a lot. and gone through phases with mushrooms.  He has also told me he has done coke, extacy (sp?), speed and mescaline.  He is also a chain smoker.

Psychedelics and pot in high school

Cocaine in undergrad

Alcohol throughout life... even now (part of reason i left)

Mine has at times habitually used pot and alcohol. Coke socially as a 20 something. Quit all for many years with the exception of an occasional beer or two.

Interestingly, my brother is dx bipolar 2. When he is depressed he likes to smoke pot. It temporarily pulls him out of his depression & makes him like he is manic. It only lasts for the time he is high,  and he often acts like a total jerk during that time.

I've talked with him about it before,  and he says when he is under that influence he really just doesn't care about anyone.  He wants things his way,  and if you give him any friction on that he is a total jerk because he just doesn't care.

Now obviously at some point he cares again & can feel bad for being a jerk.

In my experiences, BPD and any illicit substance is a serious problem!  Have seen her on everything!  

First time ever seeing what appeared to be an addiction to weed, just smoked all night long. She would wake up and smoke then come back to bed.  Confrontational on speed, argued with everyone for anything.  Crack, she would steal it when xxx turned their back.  Behaved good  on heroin and masked her symptoms well, although I wouldn't recommend it!  

Any substance will become troublesome fast due to poor impulse control, the need to feel better, shame from using/lying and im sure a host of other problems.

You wont be able to tell if they have BPD if they are using.

IMO

What do you mean you wont be able to tell?

some drugs mask while others exacerbate the symptoms.  If you see BPD in her during drug use it may just be from the drugs.  Ive seen some crazy behavior in otherwise normal people.

Im my case, she blamed her behavior on drugs, love & me.  When we became sober together and there were no more excuses left she would start shutting down, then temper tantrums to rage. 

This is where I learned about BPD.

How long have you known her?

are you being idolized?

Do you live together?

What are her behaviors?

Im no expert on BPD but I know dope and not so much in a good way.

Behavior was erratic. It was like a tornado.  Constant lying.  There were always health issues.  At one point, she did not eat for 2.5 weeks.  She laid in bed and claimed it was a pancreas attack, but would not go to the hospital.  At the end of the relationship, I found a large amount of crack in my home.  She swore it wasnt hers, but she was the only one in my home.  She got mad when I approached her with it. 

My exBPD is an alcohol abuser and chain smoker. As soon as she woke up she would light up a cigarette. In one hand she has a cigarette and the other a beer can. She would spend almost all her money on cigarettes and beer. I never wanted to see her in such a state, back then it really did hurt me. Whenever I confronted her behavior she freaked out.

My stbx uBPDw gets terrible migraines.  Terrible (there's a level of pain that you can't fake).

She goes to the ER to get shot up with a cocktail of morphine, valium, and some other drugs.

Of course, a few of the headaches don't show on her face the same way.  There has been at least once that I specifically remember where the headache came on quickly (no precursors) after a stressful MC session (discussing her suicidal ideation).  We were sent to the ER by the MC, and she developed a migraine along the way.  She didn't seem to be in the same level of pain.  I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't in any pain.  She was very nonchalant about the migraine; she just needed the drug cocktail.

I suspect that she'd use the migraines as an excuse to take pills and stay in bed... .anti-anxiety meds, sleeping pills, and other stuff.  I only remember her getting morph'd up at the ER once for what I suspected was a minor (or non-existant) headache.

The worst one -- the diet pill -- I don't remember the name but it was prescription only.  I could tell within 90 seconds of coming home from work if she was on that one.  Almost like an upper to the others (all downers).

Very little alcohol, and no hard drugs that I know of.  But she speaks of hoping that MJ would be legalized as a migraine medicine.  

Gomez

Serious cannabis addiction- daily all day long every day. Lots of psychedelics before we met shrooms LSD DMT he loves that stuff and wants to do more. Was a coke addict but hasn't done in six or seven years except once I think? Also had brief venture into meth and heroin 15 years or so ago - I think both of those experiments lasted about six months each. Well before my time. Currently a serious pot addiction (he's always done that) and sometime binge alcoholic. He can go months without drinking go months having just one or two drinks a couple times a week and months when he binge drinks often gets plastered and BPD really really really bad. I can't call him an alcoholic because he just could take it or leave sometimes sometimes he takes it will order one drink and not even finish it but other times Whoa! I hate when he's drunk.