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Medications for Borderline Personality Disorder-II

No new drug-type has been released to the market for treatment of patients with Borderline Personality Disorder, but there have been a few more medications added. Effexor-XR and Serzone are still commonly considered as the best first-line medications for Borderline Personality Disorder patients, with SSRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Luvox, and Paxil) a close second. These medications, however, do not work for every patient, and sometimes are only partially effective, so the alternatives are briefly discussed below.

Atypical Antipsychotics:

The Atypical Antipsychotics include Risperdal, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Clozaril, Geodon, and Abilify. All of the aforementioned medications are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating schizophrenia. Some of them have been shown to be effective in the mania associated with Bipolar Disorder. Zyprexa, Seroquel, and Risperdal all have been shown to help some people with Borderline Personality Disorder. Zyprexa has been the best investigated, and works fairly well to decrease the mood swings, anxiety, depression, and self-injury in Borderline Personality Disorder. Reports in the literature also give examples of where Risperdal and Seroquel help some people with Borderline Personality Disorder a great deal.

While Zyprexa is the best studied, it does cause a great deal of weight gain, and this may be a negative for its use. The weight gain can be so significant that the risk of developing type II Diabetes goes way up, and the FDA has clamped a warning label on the Atypical Antipsychotics for this reason. Clozaril and Zyprexa seem to be the worst medications for causing this, although Geodon and Abilify have little to no chance of causing the problem. All the Atypical Antipsychotics can cause sedation for some people, and tremor, mental slowing, and lethargy are also possible side effects.

Anticonvulsants:

Lamictal, Topamax, and Depakote have all been shown to help some people who have Borderline Personality Disorder. Most likely, Trileptal, Zonegan, Neurontin, and Gabitril will also help patients with Borderline Personality Disorder. The idea for using these arises from the efficacy of Anticonvulsants in treating patients who have Bipolar Disorder. Investigators reasoned that the mood swings in people with Borderline Personality Disorder might be similar to the mood swings in people with Bipolar Disorder. These drugs clearly help some patients, but they do not seem to do much for treating depression when it arises. Like the Atypical Antipsychotics, one of these medications may work better for you than another, so there is no “right” one to use.

All Anticonvulsants cause some mental dulling, but Gabitril causes the least amount of this problem. Neurontin and Depakote seem to cause the most weight gain. Topamax may actually cause weight loss. Lamictal, Zonegan, and Gabitril seem to be weight neutral. Again, it is a matter of how they work for you, and they are different drugs with different side effects.

This information is for informational purposes only, all medications should be prescribed by a qualified healthcare provider.

About the Author

David Oliver is the founder of BorderlineCentral.com a one stop source of information on how to cope and deal with borderline personality disorder.

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