BPDFamily.com

Hello.  Our 30 year old daughter has been seen by an addiction counselor for years.  He has finally come to the conclusion that she has BPD.  I have been on a few informative fact finding weekends about BPD and agree that this is what she is dealing with.  She has also been addicted to heroin for a number of years.  During a brief "interlude" from heroin she started a dialectical behavior therapy group but her addiction got in the way.  She only made it for about 2 months before relapsing, eventually arrested for selling drugs to support her habit.  She is serving 18 months in jail and they have her on lithium.  The therapist in jail is suggesting she switch maybe to Latuda.  I have never heard of that medication and just thought I would see if any of your loved ones out there have had any experience with that medication as used with someone with BPD.  I have sent her some of the BPD workbooks to use while in jail and she is enjoying them.  Any suggestions on what we can do to help appreciated.
Thank you.

Hi, is she also Bipolar?  Lithium is a mood stabilizer. Latuda is an antipsychotic, this class of med is used to manage mania in bipolar. I'm not well read on the use of those in BPD, but a quick google search seems to suggest that mood stabilizers and antipsychotics are used to treat it. My spouse has both BP and BPD and finding the right antipsychotic has been amazing for him. They are pretty heavy duty meds though and it frequently takes trying a few different ones to find the best option for any individual.

Not really sure if also bipolar.  She has used drugs for so long it has been difficult to get an accurate diagnosis.

Hi PrincessMa

*welcome*

We are glad to have you here with us and sorry to learn about your d30's addiction that has landed her in jail.

It is very promising that she is working on the DBT skills while she is there... .I hope that she continues to use what she is learning to keep herself free from trouble there and able to abstain when she is released. 

Are you also learning the DBT skills and therapeutic language she is learning?  It is a very supportive and beneficial thing to do.  The skills help us cope and when we can speak the same therapeutic language while modeling the use of the skills in our relationships we are operating at the highest level of support for ourselves and our children.

Re the meds... .it is usually trial and error.  Has your d had psych testing to help determine if she is bipolar?

lbj

I did attend a skill building weekend a couple of years ago but have forgotten a lot of what I learned really.  I do have the materials - i should refresh myself.

As far as testing goes, way back in first grade she was diagnosed with ADD.  She really hasn't had "testing" since.  Her addictive behaviors masked so much and were reluctant to fork out the $$.    She messed around with drugs all through high school and was in full addiction mode by freshman year of college.  She was early 20's when the addiction counselor first mentioned BPD.  Upon reading more on my own, she fit the characteristics to a "T".  After a few more years of watching her struggle he updated his diagnosis and  mentioned that he felt she had sociopathic personality disorder.  Reading up on that terrified me.  As strange as it sounds, I think he almost told us that to soothe us in a way.  To get us to a place of not blaming ourselves as to why we had not been able to help her.  I just do not believe it - when she is NOT on drugs - her behavior is classic BPD.

Now that she is 'clean' her true self will show more and more.  I can't imagine she will have much in the way of testing while in jail.  In the meantime, they are trying drugs out on her.  She is agreeable to trying.  She is eager to be on something that helps her with her poor impulse control.  She keeps getting write ups since she has no verbal control.  As a result she was moved into locked down dorm with no contact visits whatsoever.  We video-visit - much like skype - every other day for 30 minutes.  But this dorm is cell-living, rather than dorm living.  She likes that it is easier for her not to get in trouble there since they don't leave their cells much - she just can't imagine doing 18 months like that.  And - it is actually the phych dorm so there are a lot of way crazy people there - lots of talking to themselves etc.  Her incredible need to be liked is also challenging while behind bars.  And the difficulty in being alone... .