Medications for Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder or manic depression is characterized by a shift in a person's mood. This is a mental disorder considered to be severe in nature, as this could affect an individual's ability to perform daily tasks.

The early signs of manic depression can manifest during the late teenage years or in the early adulthood. However, there are special cases in which such signs could be seen in young children, and normally develops in a matter of years. Persons with this mental disorder both experiences mania and depression.

Mania is a term used for extreme excitement, and its opposite, extreme depression follows. Manic depression has no cure as of this moment, but there are several ways to manage this disorder, for the patient to live as normally as possible. There are medications, and other therapies available for patients, and each of these has distinct characteristics.

Benzodiazepines

This group of medications are among the firsts to be prescribed to patients experiencing manic depression. Benzodiazepenes are also used to treat anxiety, and other problems such as insomnia. Some of the medications belonging to this group are Ativan, Klonopin, Librium, Valium and generic Xanax. After 15-20 minutes of intake, the patient feels relaxed, and feels the need to go to sleep. However, it is known to have side effects such as fatigue, loss of short term memory, and dizziness, thus disrupting the patient's focus or ability to concentrate during treatment. Benzodiazepines are only suitable for short-term treatment, as these medications are habit-forming. These kinds of anti-depression drugs should be stopped at a gradual manner- by slowly decreasing the dose. Otherwise, the patient will suffer seizures as one of the withdrawal symptoms.

Antipsychotics

These medications include Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel, and Zyprexa and many others. Antipsychotics provide balance within the brain's neurotransmitters. The mechanism of antipsychotic medications is not yet specifically known, but they are opted by some medical practitioners as a short-term treatment for patients experiencing manic episodes with psychosis. Intake of these medications aid in reducing manic behaviors, such as impulsiveness and recklessness. The side effects of antipsychotic medications are less serious than benzodiazepines. Some of the noticeable side effects include weight gain, dry mouth, and risk of acquiring diabetes. When used for a long term medication, patients might experience Tardive Dyskensia, an incurable condition in which patients involuntarily lip smack, stick out their tongues and contort their faces.

Lithium

This is also a medication commonly given to patients with bipolar disorder. There is no detailed mechanism of lithium among patients with manic depression, but it has several claims that it is effective to reduce suicidal tendencies and extreme shift of mood among patients. However, the catch in taking lithium is for patients to check their lithium levels on a regular basis, and make sure that it does not go excessively high, or go lower than the healthy and tolerable amount. Excessive lithium levels can become toxic among patients. When taken as a medication, patients might experience some of these minor side effects: lack of focus and coordination, nausea and vomiting, weakness or sluggishness, and itching of the skin in various areas of the body. There are also serious side effects that requires immediate medical attention. This includes increased intake of fluid due to excessive thirst, fainting, slow heartbeat, hallucinations, seizures, light-headedness, and fever.

Anticonvulsants Commonly for epileptics, this medication has become widely used for the treatment of bipolar disorder, as well as the extreme mood shifts (mania and depression). To name a few of these medications, there are: Tegretal, Topomax, Trileptal, Lamictal, Keppra and Depakote. These medication works among patients with manic disorder by reducing the activity within the nerve cells situated in the brain. However, there are few side effects to take note when taking these medications: dizziness, fatigue or sluggishness, tremor, rashes and several allergies, nausea, as well as sudden weight gain.