Medication to Treat Bipolar Disorder

If you have bipolar disorder, you will probably need medication to keep your condition under control. Medication along with psychotherapy will help reduce the frequency and severity of mood swings. You will need to work closely with your doctor to find the right medication or combination of medications.

The Facts

• It can be tricky to find the right drugs to control bipolar disorder, because everyone reacts to medication differently. Your doctor may need to change your medication several times or adjust dosage amounts until the right combination is found. Successful control of this disorder requires frequent office visits and careful monitoring of symptoms and side effects.

Most Common Bipolar Drugs

• The most often prescribed drugs for bipolar disorder are mood stabilizing drugs. These are drugs that can be used for acute episodes of mania and depression and can also be used for maintenance. The best mood stabilizer for manic depression is lithium, which is an effective long-term drug. Anti-seizure medications are commonly used to treat bipolar disorder. Examples of these medicines are valproic acid, Tegretol, Lamictal and Trileptal. Drugs categorized as atypical antipsychotics are usually used to treat schizophrenia, but are also used for bipolar disorder. Examples of these drugs are Abilify, Geodon and Zyprexa.

Other Medications

• Other medications may be used in combination with mood stabilizers or anti-seizure medications. Benzodiazepines, such as Valium and Xanax, are sometimes prescribed for acute mania and to relieve insomnia. Some patients may need a low-dose antidepressant, but these are prescribed cautiously, because they may cause a shift to a manic episode.

Side Effects

• Your psychiatrist or pharmacist can answer questions about side effects of any medication that you are prescribed. Side effects may not appear until you have taken a particular drug for some time. Some side effects you may experience include nausea, weight gain, diarrhea, sexual problems or tremors.

Considerations

• To help your doctor find the best medication combination for you, keep a daily log of sleep patterns and mood symptoms. Also keep track of any side effects that are troublesome or disabling. If a medication combination appears to be working, you should continue monitoring your symptoms because your response to medication can change.

Warning

• When you are on prescription medication for bipolar disorder, it is important that you take the medication exactly as prescribed. It is equally important that you don't abruptly stop taking your medication without talking to your doctor. Suddenly stopping medication can result in dramatic worsening of your bipolar symptoms. Other dangerous withdrawal symptoms are also possible.