Tag: Pregnancy

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OUR BABY WILL HAVE BPD? Ask The Doctor Dr. Leland Heller Biological Unhappiness WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OUR BABY WILL HAVE BPD? Question: First off I must say that I greatly admire you and the work you have devoted your life to. I’ve known my husband since we were 15 years old.  We’re now 26 and have been married for almost 2 years, and have been together and living together for 3-4 years.  He was, for lack of a better term, a complete wreck.  When he was 17-18 he got diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and the BPD when he was 19.  He had a pretty extreme case of it too.  He has been on Tegretol for a number of years now and has finally been living a healthy, stable, productive life (a life that he is actually enjoying) and we have a great relationship, something that felt like would never happen. When I was 19, I was diagnosed with having mild anxiety and mild obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.  We’re quite a duo aren’t we?  I’m not on any medication.  We both want children and are considering getting pregnant.  Now, my question is, how truly high of a risk would our baby have of developing the BPD or any of the other disorders I’ve mentioned? I have a bachelor’s in psychology and am now in graduate school working on a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, so I know a bit about this sort of thing.  I just want your personal opinion.  It’s always been my belief that although both have significant influence on a person, when it comes down to it, genetics outweighs environment. What do you think? Dr. Heller’s Answer: While genetics clearly can play a role, genetics as the only role is very unusual in my experience.  ADHD, psychological trauma or head injuries are usually also present. I wouldn’t discourage someone with the BPD from having a child, however I’d make sure that both parents take their medication during and after the pregnancy and they do everything possible to ensure a loving, caring environment for the child.  Ongoing counseling, reading motivational and spiritual books, doing affirmations, etc. are all important to reduce that risk. 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Ask the Doctor Home MENU: Screening Test “Ask the Doctor” (BPD)Borderline Personality Disorder Annual Updates Biological Unhappiness Disorders & Official Criteria Dr. Heller’s C.V. & Picture How Dr. Heller Got Involved If You Want to See Dr. Heller as a Patient Testimonials Table of Contents for the Book ‘Biological Unhappiness’ How to Order “Life at the Border” Why Read ‘Biological Unhappiness’? Goals AD(H)D and Relationships BPD, Bipolar or ADHD? Suicide What if BuSpar makes me anxious or ill? A Suicide Attempt Per Minute in the US Grandparents raising Grandchildren Information About Children What Signs are there that Someone May ‘SNAP’? TV & Cartoon Characters with Depression & Other Disorders Dr. Heller’s Office Website Dr. Heller’s Lectures Mentally Healthy People Retraining the Brain Today is a Gift Reviews Links Webrings Site Index Home   Video DVDs now available!   You can watch and listen to Dr. Heller in the comfort and convenience of your own home.  Provides full explanations and treatment descriptions of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – 90 minutes, other Biological Unhappiness disorders – 90 minutes. Click here to find out more about Dr. Heller’s educational videos. “Biological Unhappiness” “Open this book and it will open your mind.  By combining proven medical procedure with hope and inspiration, Dr. Heller has made a significant difference in thousands of patients who had little hope for recovery.  “Biological Unhappiness” contains critical information for those who have lost hope.”Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker, author, See You at the Top, Over the Top, Success for Dummies, Raising Positive kids in a Negative World.    Dr. Leland Heller  Dyslimbia Press, Inc. 1713 US Hwy 441 N, Suite E • Okeechobee, FL  34972 • 863-467-8771 Email: Hours: M-Thu. 8:30AM-5PMFri. 8:30AM-12 Noon*(*During November through April, the office is open until 3PM on Fridays.) All material not explicitly credited otherwise is copyrighted © 1999-2011 Dr. Leland Heller. All Rights Reserved.  May not be duplicated without the permission of Dr. Leland Heller or Dyslimbia Press. Biological Unhappiness™, BiologicalUnhappiness.com™, & Dyslimbia Press™ are trademarks of Dr. Leland HellerDesigned and/or hosted by the webmasters at: US-Webmasters.com (TM) Start here to find it FAST!(TM)

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ON BPD WITH PREGNANCY, GENETICS AND GETTING OLDER? Ask The Doctor Dr. Leland Heller Biological Unhappiness WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ON BPD WITH PREGNANCY, GENETICS AND GETTING OLDER? Question: Hi, I am looking for information, esp. original research on two questions: — BPD and pregnancy: I know that few careful studies have been done on how BPD affects pregnancy.  But how does pregnancy, e.g. pregnancy hormones, affect BPD? – I have heard of some beneficial influences, but only in anecdotal contexts…  — inheritable BPD: Aside from the older observations of clustering of BPD (or really only BPD symptoms) in families, are there any newer studies on genetic components?– BPD history: It is quite striking how much more optimistic (and politically correct) the newer literature is, from the NIMH, books and websites, compared to that only a decade ago.  One striking example is that it is often observed that BPD gets better in the fourth decade of life, but what is the latest on the reasons for this?  It appears that the older literature, (along with many therapists in the trenches) seems to discount the phenomenon as just the patients wearing themselves out… Thank you for any references, info or tips. Dr. Heller’s Answer: 1) There’s very little in the literature on pregnancy in the BPD.  I’ve seen it go both ways.  Some women with BPD do great during pregnancy, better than usual.  Many have a very, very hard time.  I’ve worked with some women who had to take Tegretol during the pregnancy because the suicide risk was so great.  Most are very anxious to get back on medication after the pregnancy (and/or breast-feeding) are over.  2) There have been some studies about heritability, but like most topics pertaining to the BPD, scientific data is sparse.  The BPD clearly can run in families.  Some of the most fascinating cases I’ve seen are adoptions where the BPD risk is high in the biological offspring that weren’t raised by the biological parents.  I’ve rarely seen the other way around.  I think the ADHD genetic link is more important than the BPD link as a cause of BPD. 3) The “improvement” over time is usually limited to the ability to maintain a job.  Most individuals with BPD during adolescence still fit criteria and experience the medical BPD symptoms throughout adult life – continuing to old age.  Interpersonal relationships generally remain a disaster.  Self-mutilation usually lessens or ceases after adolescence is over.  The worst symptoms are during adolescence when the limbic system goes into hyperdrive.  Maturity and growing past adolescence make a huge difference, but don’t make the core medical symptoms go away.  Having successful family and love relationships are to me far more important than work success, and without treatment most people with BPD have a difficult time throughout their lives with these relationships. 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Ask the Doctor Home MENU: Screening Test “Ask the Doctor” (BPD)Borderline Personality Disorder Annual Updates Biological Unhappiness Disorders & Official Criteria Dr. Heller’s C.V. & Picture How Dr. Heller Got Involved If You Want to See Dr. Heller as a Patient Testimonials Table of Contents for the Book ‘Biological Unhappiness’ How to Order “Life at the Border” Why Read ‘Biological Unhappiness’? Goals AD(H)D and Relationships BPD, Bipolar or ADHD? Suicide What if BuSpar makes me anxious or ill? A Suicide Attempt Per Minute in the US Grandparents raising Grandchildren Information About Children What Signs are there that Someone May ‘SNAP’? TV & Cartoon Characters with Depression & Other Disorders Dr. Heller’s Office Website Dr. Heller’s Lectures Mentally Healthy People Retraining the Brain Today is a Gift Reviews Links Webrings Site Index Home   Video DVDs now available!   You can watch and listen to Dr. Heller in the comfort and convenience of your own home.  Provides full explanations and treatment descriptions of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – 90 minutes, other Biological Unhappiness disorders – 90 minutes. Click here to find out more about Dr. Heller’s educational videos. “Biological Unhappiness” “Open this book and it will open your mind.  By combining proven medical procedure with hope and inspiration, Dr. Heller has made a significant difference in thousands of patients who had little hope for recovery.  “Biological Unhappiness” contains critical information for those who have lost hope.”Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker, author, See You at the Top, Over the Top, Success for Dummies, Raising Positive kids in a Negative World.    Dr. Leland Heller  Dyslimbia Press, Inc. 1713 US Hwy 441 N, Suite E • Okeechobee, FL  34972 • 863-467-8771 Email: Hours: M-Thu. 8:30AM-5PMFri. 8:30AM-12 Noon*(*During November through April, the office is open until 3PM on Fridays.) All material not explicitly credited otherwise is copyrighted © 1999-2011 Dr. Leland Heller. All Rights Reserved.  May not be duplicated without the permission of Dr. Leland Heller or Dyslimbia Press. Biological Unhappiness™, BiologicalUnhappiness.com™, & Dyslimbia Press™ are trademarks of Dr. Leland HellerDesigned and/or hosted by the webmasters at: US-Webmasters.com (TM) Start here to find it FAST!(TM)