Diagnosis Questions

[HandThatFeeds]

Finally I have a diagnosis and meds (yay). I got the psych to write it down for me so this is it:

• Anxious personality disorder
• Features of emotional unstable personality disorder (borderline type)
• Recurrent depressive episodes

I understand the features of part (he said that he preferred to under diagnose and wanted to do further investigation) but now I have a few questions…

1. Is emotional unstable personality disorder BPD or not?
2. He said that he would see me again in 4 weeks once the meds started to take effect - is that typical?
3. I have to have a blood test - what is it for?
4. What is the difference between BPD and Bi Polar?

[Stellata]

EUPD is pretty much Borderline PD, yes. The UK criteria are slightly different from the US.

Yes, checking up on medication progress is normal.

Blood test is to check thyroid and hormone function, to check whether your depressions have a physiological cause. It's standard with psychiatrist referral.

Borderline PD is pretty much an attachment disorder, and difficulties with managing intense feeling. Bipolar is more of an imbalance in brain chemistry causing extremes of mood, lows and highs. Impulsivity can be common to both.

Sorry for brief reply, am at work.

[HandThatFeeds]

I guess that I should have asked him at the time but I wasn't really thinking straight.

Thanks for the replies; confusion over (for now).