BPDFamily.com

Hi All. I know that BPD can't be cured with meds but could any of you please share your experience with mood stabilizers such as Abilify to lessen verbal and/or physical "explosiveness"?

Hi In4thewin,

Up until my DD turned 18-19 (she's 21 now), she had tried Risperdal, Lorazepam, Lithium,  Oxycarbazepine, and Lurasidone, among many others. She also has Bipolar and ADHD. For the past year to two, we have seen a significant decline in the efficacy of the meds. And now finally, they don't seem to help at all. Except for her ADHD med. I think the BPD has gotten worse and agree with others that it is resistant to meds. Even her anti-anxiety meds often don't calm her. I hate to be so depressing, but in my opinion, intense therapy is the only way to really help with BPD. Unfortunately, right now my BPD d is not in therapy.

I wish you luck and some peace.

Lamictal was very helpful for my daughter.

My adult BPD SD sees a psychiatrist regularly and is enrolled in an outpatient therapy program specializing in trauma-focused BPD. 
She takes the following:

• Seroquel (antipsychotic & other disorders) - she says this one makes her want to sleep too much, so she attempts to adjust medication on her own.
  Lithium (mood stabilizer)
  Lexapro (SSRI to treat her anxiety)
  Klonopin (Benzodiazepine used to treat panic disorder)

Her psychiatrist also prescribed her Xanax until she abused them. Last she had access to them she made an attempt to take more than prescribed on certain days and would go without on other days by using various legalized drugs to "take the edge off" (nitrous oxide, Delta 8, etc.)

Her medication plan gets evaluated monthly between her providers to adjust based on their input.

I believe if she wasn't on prescribed medication, her triggers would get the best of her causing episodes much more frequently.  On this medication plan, she can go weeks (and rarely a couple of months) without having a melt down.