Medicines Used to Treat Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is often treated with mood stabilizers. They are sometimes prescribed antipsychotics and antidepressants in conjunction with such medication.

Mood stabilizers

People who suffer from bipolar disorder usually resort to mood stabilizers in the first place. And in general the treatment with the stabilizers is maintained for some years. Lithium is a mood stabilizer quite effective. It was the first mood stabilizer approved by the FDA in the seventies, in the treatment of manic and depressive episodes.

The spasmolytics are also used as mood stabilizers. They were originally developed to treat seizures, but also are effective in controlling mood. One of the most spasmolytics used as mood stabilizer is valproic acid, also known as divalproex sodium (Depakote). For some people it is more effective than lithium. Other spasmolytics used as mood stabilizers are carbamazepine (Tegretol), lamotrigine (Lamictal) and oxcarbazepine (Trileptal).

Antipsychotics less common

Antipsychotics are sometimes used in the treatment of less common symptoms of bipolar disorder. Antipsychotic drugs are often prescribed in combination with other medicines.

Some antipsychotics used to treat people with bipolar disorder include:

- Olanzapine (Zyprexa), which helps people with severe depression and often accompanied by withdrawal from reality, hallucinations or del?rios7
- Aripiprazole (Abilify), which can be taken in the form of a tablet or injection.
- Risperidone (Risperdal)
- Ziprasidone (Geodon)
- Clozapine (Clorazil), often used in people who do not respond to lithium or the espasmol?ticos.Antidepressivos

Sometimes antidepressants are used to treat symptoms of depression in bipolar disorders. Fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft) some antidepressants are used. However, people who suffer from bipolar disorder should not take an antidepressant in isolation since it can cause a sudden change to manic depression, and this can be dangerous. To avoid this physicians normally prescribe a mood stabilizer, or an antipsychotic in combination with an antidepressant.

The studies that seek to establish whether antidepressants also help people with bipolar depression come to contradictory conclusions. A study funded by NIMH found that antidepressants are as effective as a placebo in the case of individuals with bipolar disorder. The study participants were taking mood stabilizers in conjunction with antidepressants.

What are the side effects?

The treatments of bipolar disorder have vastly improved in the last ten years. But each person responds differently to medications. If you experience any side effects should report it immediately to your doctor. He may change the dose or prescribe another kind of medicine.

Different drugs can cause different side effects in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Some of the medications used to treat bipolar disorder have been associated with specific symptoms and quite serious, which we list below.

Lithium can cause several side effects, and some may take quite serious proportions. They include:

- Loss of coordination
- Excessive Thirst
- Frequent urination
- Fainting
- Seizures
- Entrainment of speech
- Rapid heart rate, slow, or irregular strong
- Hallucinations (seeing things or hearing voices that are not there)
- Visual field
- Itching or allergic reactions
- Swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, throat, hands, feet, ankles or lower legs.

Anyone with bipolar disorder who is being treated with lithium should consult your doctor on a regular basis to check the levels of lithium in the blood, and to ensure that the thyroid and kidneys are working normally.

Some of the possible side effects associated with valproic acid / divalproex sodium include:

- Weight change
- Nausea
- Stomach pains
- Vomiting
- Anorexia
- Loss of appetite

Valproic acid can cause damage to the liver or pancreas, so people under treatment should consult a doctor with any regularity.

Valproic acid may affect girls and women in many different ways. Sometimes valproic acid causes an increase in testosterone levels (one male hormone) in adolescents and lead to a condition known as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). The SOP is a disease that can affect fertility and menstrual cycles become irregular, but symptoms tend to disappear when valproic acid is no longer taken. It can also cause birth defects in pregnant women.

Lamotrigine can cause a skin rash, rare but very serious and requires hospital treatment. In some cases this allergy can cause permanent disability or put patients' lives at risk.

Additionally, valproic acid, lamotrigine, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine and outos spasmolytics (listed in the table at the end of this document) contain a warning from the FDA. This warning states that their use may increase the risk of suicidal behavior and pensamento0s. People taking spasmolytics for the treatment of bipolar disorder or other illnesses should be closely monitored to prevent the worsening of symptoms of depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, or any other changes in mood or behavior. People who are under this type of medication should not change your dose without consulting your doctor.

Other medications used in the treatment of bipolar disorder may be associated with side effects rare but very serious. Always talk to your doctor or pharmacologist to learn the side effects before taking any medication.

For more information on the side effects of antipsychotics, see article on medication for the treatment of schizophrenia.

For more information on side effects and warnings issued by the FDA in relation to antidepressants, see article on medication for the treatment of depression.

How to take the medication for the treatment of bipolar disorder?

Any medication should be taken according to the instructions given by the doctor. Sometimes the person's treatment plan has to be changed. It is the physician who manages the change when such change is necessary. A person should never stop a medication without the help of your doctor.

There is no cure for bipolar disorder, but the treatment is effective for many people. Treatment works best when given continuously, without interruptions. However, mood changes can occur even when the treatment does not suffer disruption. Patients should maintain an open relationship with their doctors about treatment. Discuss the effect the treatment may help make it more effective.

Filling a table of daily symptoms, treatments, sleep patterns and events, by the person or members of your family can be quite useful. This table can help patients and doctors to monitor the disease. Doctors can use the table to treat the disease more effectively.

As the drugs for the treatment of bipolar disorder can cause very serious side effects, it is important that patients consult their doctors regularly to monitor any changes in the body dangerous.