Personality Disorder Service & Change In AD's

[Strawberry.Bananas]

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted for support so I hope what I say isn't out of line or offends anybody etc. I shouldn't, but my words are getting misinterpreted recently so I wanted to make sure that you know that's not my intention before I start.

Ok, basically, I went to see my Psychiatric Consultant today for my routine review. He didn't really seem interested in what my problems were, I almost felt dismissed by him and I almost had to fight to get my point across. I got some answers but didn't get to explain how bad things have been.

I've been waiting on a referral to the Personality Disorder Service and he told me today that it was submitted in January and he's going to get my new care co-ordinator to chase it up for me. I've known about this for a while but now that it's coming into something I'm starting to get quite anxious. What can I expect from this service? What happens if they do diagnose me with a Personality Disorder? Will I be abandoned by the Mental Health team if I do?

The other thing that came about is that my Anti-Depressants are being changed because since the new research saying you can no longer have 60mg of Citalopram (which I was on) I was dropped to 40mg and it hasn't been working very well. I've started self-harming again, worse than ever, and my mood has been very low to the degree that I've been fighting suicidal urges pretty much every day. I'm quite scared now that the change is going to make me worse because I have to reduce my Citalopram to nothing before I can start the new one. If 40mg of Citalopram is in my body and I'm already like this what am I going to be like with nothing? And then for the 6 weeks for the new ones to kick in? And what if they don't work? Or I need a higher dose? I'm scared and I don't really know what to do...

Can anybody please advise on any of this?

Thank you

[Ballerina123]

In answer to your question about the personality disorder service (I don't have a PD but have know many to go through a similar service, so I'm going by there experience and my knowledge of working in the nhs).

What can you expect from the service? At first a lot of question about your mood, feeling, behaviours, personal life, contributing factor, ect. They will basically asses you to see if the service is right for you and to, maybe, diagnose you. It will also be a time where you can ask question and get a feel for the place a decide weather you would like to accept any treatment offered. During this time they will discuss the next step; I image the next step would be starting a therapy based treatment.

What happens if you get diagnosed with a PD? This will probably mean you can access their treatment. I think getting a diagnosis can be scary but it can also help to guide your treatment and as a result help you recover quicker.

Will you be abandon by the MH team if you are diagnosed? No, quite the opposite. You may have less contact with the MH team if you join the PD therapy but that is only because that is a specialist service and it is better that no one else, like the community MH team, interfere. Depending on how well you are when you finish the therapy will depend on weather the MH Team continue to see you.
For example, if you feel very well and are managing you problems well then you may feel you don't want to see the MH team. However if you are officially diagnosed with a PD then you will be classed as someone with a chronic MH condition and that will mean you can get access to MH services with fewer questions asked for the rest of your life (or for as long as your PD lasts- many people can become symptom free with the right treatment).

As for your medication I think the best thing to do would be to speak to th MH team about your worries. They may be able to offer some extra support during this time.