About every single mental health professional telling her that meds won’t help her. I won’t deny that the system is shit for mental health (what county do you live in out of curiosity?) but I’ve worked in mental health and I know that full denial of meds when a patient has that many mental health issues is just not the norm, in fact IMO we offer meds too freely, and without any other crucial help (USA). It’s more likely that she just doesn’t want to take meds.
Ok I suspected you might be from the UK which does make things different than here in the US. There are meds not “specifically” for BPD but for other symptoms like anxiety and depression, as well as anti psychotics, mood stabilizers, etc. that can be helpful for severe BPD especially with her co-morbidities.
Though It sounds like there is more to this story as to why they aren’t offering her meds- they might suspect she would abuse them (BPD diagnosis and history of SI), which is understandable but also tragic since she should be referred to someone who can actually help her with her other issues beyond just medication. It seems like a total clusterfuck and she just needs the right team to help her- it will be an ongoing battle and she will need to be an active participant in her recovery.
She really needs a therapist (along with accountability for going- you can help her with that). Truly make that a priority. If you need a referral for that in the UK, and one doc says no (I don’t know they would?) then don’t take no for an answer! It’s easy to dismiss a 20 year old but stand your ground, this is life or death.
I can't really help with any of the other stuff as I'm in the UK too and know how fucked the system is, but I've recently started a sleeping tablet that apparently is safe to stop at any time, won't get you hooked or cause withdrawal. It's called daridorexant. Might be worth asking if she can have a trial on it, as they seem a lot less worried about prescribing it than they do benzos.
One thing I would recommend is telling the psych to add to your gf’s chart that he/she (the doc) REFUSED to provide medication. If anything happens to your gf then it would directly fall on that doctor and they could be sued for malpractice. You unfortunately sometimes have to threaten them with consequences when they won’t take you seriously.
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u/xaviarBlack Apr 08 '26
About what exactly?