Treatments for Bipolar Disorder
There are many treatments available for bipolar disorder, ranging from medications to therapy. There are too many medications to be discussed here in depth. There are also many forms therapy can take, and techniques that can be learned to assist the patient in gaining some control over their bipolar disorder.
Typically, bipolar disorder is treated with more than one medication. This is due to the dual nature of bipolar disorder. Most patients need at least two medications: one to control depression and one to control mania. The combination of these two types of medication works to obtain balance in moods and stop mood cycling. Often, a third medication, called a mood stabilizer, is also prescribed. The most common mood stabilizer is Topomax.
Popular medications for treatment of mania in bipolar patients include lithium, valproate (Depakote), carbamazepine (Tegretol), olanzapine (Zyprexa), and ziprasidone (Geodon). Lithium has long been considered the miracle drug of bipolar disorder. It is a sodium based medication that helps to balance the chemical imbalance in the brain that causes manic episodes in bipolar patients.
Valproate, or Depakote, was originally developed as a seizure medication. However, its effects on bipolar patients who have rapid cycling bipolar (moods that cycle every few hours or days rather than weeks or months), it has been quite effective. Carbamazepine, or Tegretol, is another anti-seizure medication. While it appears to have similar effects on bipolar disorder as Depakote, it has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a bipolar disorder treatment.
Olanzapine, or Zyprexa, and Ziprasidone, or Geodon, are both anti-psychotic drugs, and are particularly effective for treatment of bipolar disorder in which mania becomes so severe that psychotic symptoms are present.
Medications for treatment of depression are called anti-depressants. Common anti-depressants include citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft). All of these medications have been proven to be successful treatments for depression, although Celexa and Prozac are the most commonly prescribed.
Typically, treatment of bipolar disorder includes a combination of medications and therapy, or counseling. However, in some cases, medication may not be necessary for milder cases of bipolar disorder. In other cases, medication may not be desired by the patient, and the patient may wish to seek out other alternatives to medication for treatment of their bipolar disorder.
For these patients, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be quite effective. CBT is a method of bipolar disorder treatment that involves teaching the patient techniques to recognize triggers and symptoms of their mood cycling, and use that information and recognition to prevent the triggers from occurring, or the mood cycling from being quite as severe. Most of these techniques require the patient to develop cognitive thinking skills as well as critical thinking and problem solving capabilities. If the bipolar disorder is severe to the point that the patient is unable to engage in these thinking abilities and skills, CBT may not be a viable form of treatment in and of itself.
Overall, there are many treatments available for bipolar disorder. There are many options for the patient that can be discussed with the patient's doctors. If a patient is not satisfied with the form their treatment is taking, they should discuss it with their doctor, and not be afraid to change doctors in order to change treatment methods. All in all, effective and successful treatment of bipolar disorder rests in the hands of the patient.
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Comments
I think Peta is right about the dairy. I’m bipolar. The doc tried me on lithium, valproate, tegretol and lamictal. None of them worked, unless being constantly grumpy or so air-headed I couldn’t remember my route to work counts as working. I finally got sick of the useless drugs, stopped taking them and decided to focus on the fact that I had allergies, asthma, sleep problems (woke most mornings feeling like my head was exploding, but the doctor wasn’t worried) and overactive bowels instead. Turned out I had obstructive sleep apnea and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Reading a little further, I discovered that IBS and bipolar disorder were thought to be genetically linked. Hmmm. So I switched diets – with the aid of a nutritionist-naturopath – and added more regular exercise. An IBS diet means NO DAIRY, NO BEEF, very little other fat apart from omega-3’s and omega-6’s, and lots more fibre. A miracle has happened. I’ve not had any inkling of spring-summer-fall hypomania in two years now, and my usual winter depression was reduced to the period in December when I was too busy working to follow my IBS diet and exercise plan. Even my PMS time has gone back down to a couple of hours the day before (rather than 10 days worth). I haven’t even considered phoning my old p-doc in two years. As far as I’m concerned, if your p-doc isn’t really worried about what you eat and how much exercise you get, he’s not going to help you.
Peta and Bipolar Disorder - By Alice Carey
15th February 2008 - 8:31pm
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