CAN STIMULANT AB– USE CA– USE THE BPD? 
Ask The Doctor Dr. Leland Heller Biological Unhappiness 
CAN STIMULANT AB– USE CA– USE THE BPD? 
Question: My girlfriend is suffering from borderline personality disorder. We both believe it was induced by her abuse of stimulants for two years straight a few years ago. Before that, her life was considerably more stable. I read that there is a syndrome like BPD that is induced by drug abuse. My current problem is this: She was previously involved in an off-and-on relationship where she was psychologically addicted to an abusive man who lies, cheats, etc. During our relationship she has gone back and forth to him several times, been caught at it, and finally appears to have ended it. After her final bout with him she went to the opposite extreme, telling me she wants to marry me and asking me to move in with her, and foolishly I moved in with her knowing she would have the same cyclical reaction I have seen in her when I spend too much time with her. Suddenly I disgust her and she wants “space” and wants me to move out after I’ve already blown all my money on rent and bills with her. She has done something similar to this before, so I fully expected it, but I still don’t know what to do. At my urging she has recently started DBT and should have a psychiatrist soon who I hope will prescribe meds for her. Her mother is a doctor who has previously supplied her with Wellbutrin to help her stop smoking, which it definitely did not do. I have read about some side effects of Wellbutrin, and have seen some of those side effects in her, and I am concerned. Within the next week I’m afraid I’ll have to find somewhere else to live, but I’m hoping that when her meds change she may change also. I have read Stop Walking on Eggshells, Life at the Border, Borderline Personality Disorder Demystified, I Hate You, Don’t Leave Me, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, and various other books on the subject, as well as online resources, but I still don’t feel that I have all the answers. She doesn’t really see that her current way of looking at me is part of her mood swings. It’s like she’s lost in them, and every time seems to believe that’s just the way she feels, as if it’s not going to change again, but I’ve been observing this cycle for so long that I know she will love me again. It’s so frustrating. Can you offer any tips? It’s taking a toll on me. Dr. Heller’s Answer: The BPD generally starts at puberty. If you are correct, and the symptoms were not present prior to the abuse of stimulants a few years ago, something else is likely to blame and not the BPD. One of the hallmarks of the BPD is the persistence of symptoms. You wrote the she was “considerably more stable” — which is not the same as writing that she was stable prior to the stimulant use. A key determining factor for the BPD is whether the symptoms have been present since the onset of adolescence. If she does indeed have the BPD, the right medications will make a huge difference, and as always she’ll need to be evaluated and treated for comorbid diagnoses like ADHD, bipolar, GAD, OCD and OCPD. There are occasional stories of individuals getting the BPD from massive head injuries, but I’ve never seen in person or read any reports of anyone with no BPD symptoms suddenly developing the BPD from stimulant abuse. If indeed there were no BPD symptoms prior to the stimulant abuse, she may have developed toxic psychosis or something similar from the stimulant abuse, which could have resulted in a rapidly cycling bipolar phenomenon, possibly even schizoaffective disorder. Getting the correct diagnoses is crucial so the proper medications can be prescribed. You will likely benefit from counseling yourself. 
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