Tag... Your it!

Raise your hand, if you have been slapped with "Borderline Personality Disorder", by a Doctor who has seen you approximately 4 times for about five minutes a pop?

Now, keep it raised, if they didn't bother to tell you that you apparently have "Borderline Personality Disorder", rather just wrote it in indelible black ink to remain a part of your medical file for the rest of your life.

I am pissed off!

It's not so much the label that bothers me, I acknowledge that I do display a few of the "cluster b' traits... I guess that's why there is the push to get BPD re-classified as CPTSD. I do not, however reach the required amount, indicated in the DSM-IV for a diagnosis... I do, however, fit the criteria for PTSD, which rates nary a mention on my chart.

What pisses me off is the stigma that I know is attached to BPD... trouble maker, attention seeker, manipulator.... (all these not necessarily true of most BPD patients). Basically it has become a waste bin diagnosis. And it is in my medical file FOREVER.... how do I know this? Well, I went to my neurologists appointment at the hospital for my epilepsy and there it was in bold print on my chart. She was actually lovely, and agreed with me that until my insomnia was better controlled there was not point messing with my anti-epileptics. BUT, she could easily have been one of those doctor's who sees the BPD diagnosis, and immediately everything you see is circumspect... which is difficult in medical settings where so much is subjective.

Anyway, long story short, when asked about the appearance of this label on my file, the team all shook their heads (we dont know who actually wrote that, BPD doesnt have the stigma it used to, we dont rely on labels...b lah blah, patronising bullshit)

I don't know where this all leaves me, but I'm feeling angry, patronised and pretty let-down, on top of already feeling pretty cruddy... (three nights in hospital to help with insomnia is pretty pointless when they put you in a double room with someone who snores like a banshee, and then goes and complains to staff when your mobile phone wakes her in THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!

Grumble, grumble... will return and post when I can do something other that rant!