My theory on my ex's ailments linked to BPD.

[VIDEO: "What is parental alienation?"]

So shes been promoted to assistant manager working 50 hour work weeks. This is a way of her coping with not dealing with her issues as she can throw herself into work.(workaholic) Well she cant handle the pressure of working this much or the responsibility so she gets stressed. Now borderlines naturally from studies have been shown to have higher levels of stress. This is due to being in a constant effervescent state of fight or flight due to their disorders survival based defense mechanisms. Cue cortisol. This is the hormone produced when stress is high. In small amounts its not harmful as its a natural occurrence. It becomes a problem when having prolonged high levels in the body. The side effects of this are sleep mood pain and memory problems. These all affect my ex. This is directly linked with her opiate use because high cortisol levels incidentally mess with the production of dopamine the bodys pleasure chemical. Opiates in turn lower cortisol levels by reducing stress. They also benefit in releasing excess dopamine to which the cortisol has been repressing.I also can link this to sex working on the same way as it accesses the same opoid and dopamine receptors in the brain as opiates. My ex would say that the act of this relieved her headaches which meant that her cortisol levels were being depleted. This may be in turn why our exs other than for the various other reasons were aware of like to have sex. I think its linked to a lack of opoid stimulation from the lack of love and affection growing up as well. Now with the thyroid gland its linked also to cortisol. The gland is responsible for regulation of hormones and metabolism. It produces TSH(Thyroid stimulating hormones) that are released by signals sent from the pituitary gland in the brain. The two TSH hormones are T3 and T4. In contrast cortisol suppresses the production of TSH. Symptoms of this include fatigue/stress,weight fluctuation,hair loss,cold intolerance,constipation,decreased concentration,depression,dry skin,infertility,hyperlipidemia (increased fat intake) irregular or heavy menstrual cramps/cycles,memory impairment,and muscle aches/spasms. All of which i listed affect my ex. Shes on birth control as well and the chemicals work in further suppressing thyroid gland functionality. Shes also anemic and iron is a key component in producing TSH. Its a vicious cycle because the opiate abuse in turn only temporarily relieves symptoms by lowering cortisol(stress) and relieving thyroid gland dis-regulation. It would naturally deplete the bodys ability to produce dopamine which i suspect is already low in a pwBPD. Also cause dependency to stimulate the opoid and dopamine receptors which are both under-stimulated. Hence her opiate addiction. This is my explanation to link all my ex ailments from a scientific standpoint.

[Chasing_Ghosts]

So shes been promoted to assistant manager working 50 hour work weeks. This is a way of her coping with not dealing with her issues as she can throw herself into work.(workaholic) Well she cant handle the pressure of working this much or the responsibility so she gets stressed. Now borderlines naturally from studies have been shown to have higher levels of stress. This is due to being in a constant effervescent state of fight or flight due to their disorders survival based defense mechanisms. Cue cortisol. This is the hormone produced when stress is high. In small amounts its not harmful as its a natural occurrence. It becomes a problem when having prolonged high levels in the body. The side effects of this are sleep mood pain and memory problems. These all affect my ex. This is directly linked with her opiate use because high cortisol levels incidentally mess with the production of dopamine the bodys pleasure chemical. Opiates in turn lower cortisol levels by reducing stress. They also benefit in releasing excess dopamine to which the cortisol has been repressing.I also can link this to sex working on the same way as it accesses the same opoid and dopamine receptors in the brain as opiates. My ex would say that the act of this relieved her headaches which meant that her cortisol levels were being depleted. This may be in turn why our exs other than for the various other reasons were aware of like to have sex. I think its linked to a lack of opoid stimulation from the lack of love and affection growing up as well. Now with the thyroid gland its linked also to cortisol. The gland is responsible for regulation of hormones and metabolism. It produces TSH(Thyroid stimulating hormones) that are released by signals sent from the pituitary gland in the brain. The two TSH hormones are T3 and T4. In contrast cortisol suppresses the production of TSH. Symptoms of this include fatigue/stress,weight fluctuation,hair loss,cold intolerance,constipation,decreased concentration,depression,dry skin,infertility,hyperlipidemia (increased fat intake) irregular or heavy menstrual cramps/cycles,memory impairment,and muscle aches/spasms. All of which i listed affect my ex. Shes on birth control as well and the chemicals work in further suppressing thyroid gland functionality. Shes also anemic and iron is a key component in producing TSH. Its a vicious cycle because the opiate abuse in turn only temporarily relieves symptoms by lowering cortisol(stress) and relieving thyroid gland dis-regulation. It would naturally deplete the bodys ability to produce dopamine which i suspect is already low in a pwBPD. Also cause dependency to stimulate the opoid and dopamine receptors which are both under-stimulated. Hence her opiate addiction. This is my explanation to link all my ex ailments from a scientific standpoint.

[Infern0]

Mate I swear our exes are the same chick. Mines just got promoted to ASM too... .

[enlighten me]

Chasing ghosts

This is a theory I have been looking into for some time with the addition of oxytocin. Oxytocin is the bonding hormone and has been shown to be lower in pwBPD. One of the things oxytocin does is reduce cortisol levels after a stressfull event.

So by having elevated cortisol which gives all the symptoms you have stated and by having low oxytocin (meaning forming relationships and trust become issues) you have what we all witness with BPD.

An additional thing that I have noticed is that a lot of pwBPD cannot tolerate estrogen. This could also be related to higher cortisol levels as cortisol acts as an endocrine suppressor so estrogen levels can be normal but not as effective so adding more gives them elevated estrogen and all the side effects this has.

[Nomad1027]

Chasing ghosts, thank you!  Thank you for sharing this amazing post.  While I am not in a position to discuss the science, it makes sense to me.  What you have laid out suddenly explains a great deal.

My DxBPDw began to experience significant hair loss, for example, as her BPD increasingly spiraled out of control.  Both my ex wife and ex gf experienced significant weight gain.  Both had terrible menstrual cycles.

This is amazing stuff!  Thank you for adding to my knowledge and understanding of what may have gone on with them.