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Medications for Bipolar Disorder

Medications for Bipolar Disorder are prescribed, primarily, by psychiatrists. Bipolar Disorder is not curable, but it is manageable by medication. In the same way that aspirin can reduce a fever without curing the cause of that fever, bipolar medications act by controlling the symptoms of the disorder, even though they cannot cure the Bipolar Disorder itself.

Medications for Bipolar Disorder can help a person function despite that person still having some continuing difficulties dealing with the disorder. For example, the person with bipolar may be experiencing the psychotic symptoms sometimes associated with Bipolar Disorder, such as hallucinations, and anti-psychotics can help stop those hallucinations. But the person with bipolar may still experience the low moods of a bipolar depressive episode and need other medications, such as antidepressants, to help with those symptoms. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a person with Bipolar Disorder to take more than one medication.

How long you need to take medications for Bipolar Disorder differs from person to person as well. Most people who have Bipolar Disorder must take at least one medication, such as a mood stabilizer, for all of their life, whereas a medication such as an anti-psychotic may only need to be taken for a short period of time only during a psychotic break-through episode.

Medication for depression or anxiety may only be needed for a single period, or only for several months, and then the patient may never need it again. However, for people with Bipolar Disorder, for whom the depression is actually part of a bipolar depressive disorder, the antidepressant will be necessary to take indefinitely.

As with any medication, your psychiatrist will need to monitor your response to the bipolar medication. You will know best how well your bipolar symptoms are responding to the bipolar medications prescribed by your psychiatrist. It is very common to have your medication doses changed, and/or your medication itself changed when necessary to control the symptoms of your Bipolar Disorder. It is necessary for you to be honest with your psychiatrist and tell him/her how you are feeling.

Like any medication, bipolar medications are different in each person. Some people respond better than others. Some people have side effects, while others do not. Some people may respond better to one medication than they do another medication. Some may need larger dosages than others.

Medications known as mood stabilizers are used to help control Bipolar Disorder, since the primary characterization of the disorder is extreme mood shifts. Other medications are added to the mood stabilizers when necessary, usually for short periods of time, when episodes of bipolar mania or bipolar depression break through in spite of the mood stabilization medication. Mood stabilizers are used alone or sometimes in combination with antidepressants to control Bipolar Disorder. Anticonvulsant medications can also have mood stabilizing effects and may also be useful for bipolar episodes that have not responded to typically prescribed mood stabilizers.

About the Author

Michele Soloway has dealt with bipolar disorder from a very young age. Her grandmother, mother, herself, and her teenage son all have the disorder. She also lost her sister to suicide because of bipolar disorder. Michele has a blog for bipolar survivors at http://bipolarsurvivor.blogspot.com, and is also a contributing writer to www.bipolarcentral.com.

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This Week's Bipolar News

Overeating and substance abuse are similar disorders
Los Angeles Times
People with bipolar disorder have higher-than-average rates of obesity and substance abuse. But McIntyre found that the obesity rate in bipolar patients was ...

Club stoush bowls out member
The Advertiser
A MAN suffering from bipolar disorder and depression has been barred from membership at a Sydney bowling club after a clash over club bylaws.

Mom abandons 18-year-old under Nebraska safe-haven law
Richmond Times-Dispatch
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Police say a woman has abandoned her 18-year-old daughter at a hospital, saying she can't control the girl, in what may be the latest use of Nebraska's unique safe-haven law. The woman told officials at BryanLGH Medical Center West that her daughter, who was adopted, is bipolar and has a learning disability, Assistant Police Chief Jim Peschong said today.

Click here for all Bipolar News.

Featured Article:

Romancing Your Spouse

"Romancing your spouse?" Ok, I can already hear you yelling at me! I know, it's a strange concept, but hear me out. Some of the longest-running marriages have lasted because of this very concept.

You may be thinking that this has nothing to do with Bipolar Disorder, but it does. Even the best of marriages has some strain on it - the pressures of day-to-day living, at the very least. However, Bipolar Disorder puts additional pressure on your marriage because of the issues you have to face in dealing with the disorder, whether you are the survivor or the supporter.

No matter how long you've been married, the suggestions in this article can put some "spark" into your marriage. And if you've only been married a short time, putting these suggestions into place now can help ensure a long, happy, healthy marriage (of course, you will still have to do some hard work yourself to make that happen as well!).

Click here to read the entire aritcle

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