Need for Borderline Personality Disorder Patient Advocates

I once heard that almost half of all people with schizophrenia have difficulty getting medical treatment for physical problems when their doctors are aware of their psychiatric diagnosis. Based on my experience, the percentage of this problem is much higher for people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and this is why having a patient advocate on your side may prove invaluable.

Diagnosed BPD and Wishing I Had A Patient Advocate

In 2008, I was sent to Richmond State Hospital in Indiana, basically to wait for an open bed in an inpatient unit for people with BPD. While there, staff refused to accept my medical history--even with documentation from a hospital in Indianapolis. I remember explaining multiple times that I have seborrhoeic dermatitis, only to have the staff member make a derogatory comment and penalize me for the symptoms.

I also have exercise-induced asthma, which is affected by the weather. I sometimes use an inhaler to alleviate the symptoms, and arrived at Richmond with a prescription for it.

One day, I began wheezing while exercising outside. I signaled for help, and was taken back to the unit. I asked for my inhaler. The charge nurse told me that although I had a prescription for it, the staff had not filled it--citing concerns of addiction.

I have no history of prescription drug abuse.

When it became clear that I was not “faking” my symptoms, the nurse opened another patient’s unused inhaler, said his name and that he was on the same type of inhaler, and handed it to me. I'm still not sure how many laws that broke.

The next day, I asked to exercise on the unit instead of outside. When the nurse balked, I explained I was concerned I might have another asthma attack. She told me I was overreacting.

Borderline Personality Disorder and Attention Seeking Behavior

That mentality is precisely why people with BPD need to have someone help advocate for medical treatment. If you've been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, it is not unusual for medical personnel and therapists to attribute cries for help (medical, emotional or psychological) as attention seeking behavior.

If you need a patient advocate, here's what you should do:

1. Have documentation of all medical issues that you may need treatment for. Keep one copy for yourself, and give the other to your advocate. The road to treatment is paved with paperwork. As the saying goes, “If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen.”
2. Bring your advocate with you to appointments or tests, or to any discussions involving your treatment. Sometimes doctors are more likely to believe the advocate than the patient.
3. If you have trouble getting medical treatment, have your advocate document your requests and the refusals. Be as specific as possible—time, date, nature of request, way denial was phrased.
4. Sometimes, changing doctors may solve the problem, although this is not always possible. You shouldn’t have to beg for medical treatment. A patient advocate may be able to keep that from happening.

Another helpful tool is learning how to speak out and stand up for yourself. Be your own patient advocate.