Lithium for BPD?

[How to communicate after a contentious divorce...]

Hey all,

I've known someone for the last year who clearly has BPD. I personally know her counselor thinks she has BPD and I have been waiting for an official diagnosis. Well I just found out recently that this girl has been put on Lithium for "depression." It seems like the diagnosis is going the right way, since lithium is a mood stabilizer. My question is, is lithium given for people who have BPD? I thought it was just for borderline, but I was told by a social worker friend that is not always the case.

[FeelingBitter]

Hey all,

I've known someone for the last year who clearly has BPD. I personally know her counselor thinks she has BPD and I have been waiting for an official diagnosis. Well I just found out recently that this girl has been put on Lithium for "depression." It seems like the diagnosis is going the right way, since lithium is a mood stabilizer. My question is, is lithium given for people who have BPD? I thought it was just for borderline, but I was told by a social worker friend that is not always the case.

[flourdust]

my xw was given lithium for BPD. I can't say that I noticed a very strong effect, certainly not enough to stabilize her at home, but the psychiatrist said there really aren't any medications that have strong evidence for effectiveness with BPD.

[PaulaJeanne]

Lithium is a common treatment for bi-polar disorder. It's one of the oldest psychiatric medications around, and in the case of my daughter, who is 23 and has bi-polar disorder with borderline traits, it has been effective. I don't thinjk there are any medications that work for borderline. My daughter was on other mood stabilizers, particularly lamictal, which helped a little bit. Hope this information helps.

[Grey Kitty]

I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that Lithium is used for bipolar.

It is possible that she has both bipolar and BPD. In which case, the Lithium could be effective for the bipolar.

It is possible she has been miss-diagnosed with bipolar instead of BPD. In which case, it is unclear whether Lithium will help. Maybe unlikely more than unclear.

You might want to read this:

What is the relationship between BPD and bipolar disorder?

[Sunfl0wer]

My sis has both BPD and Bipolar.
Was treated with Lithium
Helped a lot
It did not make her not symptomatic of BPD at all, but certainly helped her be more stable.  Maybe best to say it raised her baseline a bit.