What is bipolar disorder?How can it be treated?

Answer 1

From high to low. From euphoria to depression. From recklessness to listlessness. These are the extremes associated with bipolar disorder, which can be a serious and disabling mental illness. Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depression or manic-depressive illness — manic behavior is one extreme of this disorder and depression is the other.

Bipolar disorder often begins in adolescence or early adulthood and may persist throughout life. The causes of bipolar disorder are elusive, and there's no cure.

The flares of bipolar disorder may last for weeks or months, causing great disturbances in the lives of those affected, their friends and their families. Left untreated, the condition usually worsens. But bipolar disorder can be managed with medications and other therapies.

Medication and psychotherapy are the main treatments for bipolar disorder. Occasionally, doctors use electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Medications
Most people with bipolar disorder take medication to regulate their moods. Lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid) has been widely used as a mood stabilizer and is generally the first line of treatment for manic episodes.

Anti-seizure medications, such as valproic acid (Depakene), divalproex (Depakote) and lamotrigine (Lamictal) are also widely used as mood regulators. Topiramate (Topamax), another anti-seizure medication, also is sometimes used to stabilize mood.

Sometimes, doctors also use antidepressant medications to treat the depression associated with bipolar disorder. These may include paroxetine (Paxil), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), sertraline (Zoloft) or bupropion (Wellbutrin), among others. In other circumstances, doctors may use antipsychotic medications such as risperidone (Risperdal) or olanzapine (Zyprexa).

One medication, quetiapine (Seroquel), has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat both the manic and depressive episodes of bipolar disorder.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), certain antipsychotic drugs may increase the risk of diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. Therefore, the ADA recommends that doctors screen and regularly monitor people who take Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa for bipolar disorder.

You may need to take medications for several weeks before they reach their full effect.

Psychotherapy
This approach is often used simultaneously with medication. Your therapist will help you detect patterns leading up to episodes of bipolar disorder, trying to identify triggers for these episodes. These patterns might include your use of medications or anything that happens to you physically or emotionally. Psychotherapy helps provide strategies for managing stress and coping with uncertainties. This, along with basic education about the nature of the disorder, helps you understand why you may well need to keep taking medication over many years.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Doctors use this form of treatment mainly in people who have episodes of major depression associated with suicidal tendencies or in people whose medication has proved to be ineffective. In this treatment, electrodes are taped to your head. Then, while you're anesthetized and after you've received a muscle relaxant, a small amount of electrical current is passed through your brain for less than a second. This current produces a brain seizure, but because of the muscle relaxant, your body remains calm.

ECT profoundly affects brain metabolism and blood flow to various areas of the brain. How that correlates to easing depression remains unknown, but this therapy is often highly effective.

Bipolar disorder isn't an illness that you can treat on your own. But you can do some things for yourself that will bolster your treatment program:

Take your medications. Even if you're feeling well, resist the temptation to skip your medications. If you stop, signs and symptoms of the disorder may recur.

Pay attention to warning signs. You and your caregivers may have identified a pattern to your episodes of bipolar disorder and what triggers them. Call your doctor if you feel you're facing an episode. Involve family members or friends in watching for warning signs.

Avoid drugs and alcohol. Drugs, especially stimulants including diet drugs, and alcohol may be part of what triggers episodes of bipolar disorder.

Check first before taking other medications. Call the doctor who's treating you for bipolar disorder before you take medications prescribed by another doctor. Sometimes other medications trigger episodes of bipolar disorder or may interact with medications you're taking to treat bipolar disorder.

Answer 2

I am bipolar diagnosed in 1998 am 35 years old. I take Lithium Carbonate and have been pretty good since then. I do have "mini manics" I call them, where I am extremely hyper and then instead of crashing into depression I come back down to my decent level. I do believe that it I will be on this for the rest of my life. I don't believe that there is a cure, but then again there are some that will disagree with me. Medication, the right therapist and some hard work will take this mental illness to be successful. A lot of my friends with Bipolar are on a lot of meds or have a lot of trouble with finding the right medication. I say get him to a great medications doctor, don't settle for just one. You are in control and you have the right to hire and fire whom you want. Also, there isn't an over night fix to this. It takes time... And you supporting him will be the hardest thing you will ever do. Patience. Good Luck

Answer 3

Bipolar disorder, often referred to as manic-depression in the general literature, is a psychiatric condition defined by periods of extreme mood. These moods can occur on a spectrum ranging from debilitating depression to unbridled mania. Individuals suffering a bipolar disorder generally experience fluid states of mania, hypomania or what is referred to as a mixed states in concert with clinical depression. These clinical states typically alternate with a normal range of mood, which is termed euthymia. Bipolar disorder can range in severity from a mild annoyance to a serious lifelong disability.

There are many variations of this disorder. Moods can change quickly (4 or more times in one year) or more slowly. In psychiatric terms, this is called rapid cycling or slow cycling, respectively. Ultrarapid cycling, where moods change several times per week, is very rare. These mood patterns are associated with distress and disruption, and a relatively high risk of suicide.[citation needed]

Bipolar disorder is usually treated with medications and/or therapy or counseling.

As well as being linked to disability, studies have suggested a correlation between creativity and bipolar disorder, although the relationship between the two is unclear. Studies have also indicated increased striving for, and sometimes obtaining, goals and achievements more generally; in other words, many with bipolar disorder tend to be more driven, extremely goal oriented, and hard working.

Answer 4

Bipolar is a type of depression that is treated with medication and counselling.My son has bipolar and dealing with a child with bipolar is not easy.There are some good web sites that will tell you more about bipolar and what exactly it is; just type up bipolar that's what I do .Good Luck!

Answer 5

I've this affection, everyone suggest u to go the psychologist
and take medicine. Someone tought about electroshok.
I decided don't cure me with this traitment becouse they are
dangerouse. As usually i wake up the morning terribly unhappy and i would die i have to make a big effort to get up,
during the day sometime i'm up and some time i'm down.
I accept that, that is my life, i have to make a big effort to live
and go on, but that is better that depend from a medicine,
who reduce me like a robot without light in the eyes.
You can ask for help to a counselor yoga or find a spiritual guide, i find inside my soul and my heart the power to go ahead, i think you can too. Just love ourselves, and take care ourselves is possible come over this problem.
I wish for u everything you need. many many kisses.
sorry, my english is bad but i hope u could understand.

Answer 6

If normal thinking and behavior is the Equator, Bi-Polar is beyond the Equator. So normal people shift to the Tropics, but Bi-Polar beyond to the North or South Poles, hence Bi-Polar. You can be high or low and many attributes to either Pole as listed already. Yes it can be treated by drugs and the person stays on the equator like the rest of us. However, when they are on the Equator, they do not 'feel' normal, actually miss the Poles. Likewise many take to drink and then the choice drugs or drink, choose drink. Therefore the treatment needs to include some form of counseling.

Answer 7

Bi-polar disease is often called manic/depressive.Extreme highs with excessive talking, or irratability, or restlessness.This is the Mania, or manic or "highs"
The lows or the"depressive" is often characterized by lethargy, lack of interest, thoughts of suicide or death, or feelings of worthlessness. Often times people can exhibit manic symptoms and depressive symptoms at the same time. Yes there are many medications to re-balance the chemicals. What medicine may work well for one, may not work as well in another. Doctors usually try the "standard" drug first. and then proceed from there with other medications if symptoms don't resolve.

Answer 8

I have bi-polar with psychosis.

The only thing that has worked for me is medication: Abilify for depression, Geodon for mania and Lamictal as a mood stabilizer.

I tried other things for 10 years and I went steadily downhill without medication.

Answer 9

It is where you experience many ups and downs. Like one minute you will be extremely happy and hyper and the next minute you will be depressed and tired, you wont want to do anything. There are certain medications that help out with it I'm positive. Please consult a doctor about it though. Or try to get a psychiatrist. I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 10

Basically..Its like experiencing periods of mania and periods of depression, that can last for months at a time.. But there is so much more to it than that. It can be managed with medication, as far as I know, its not curable.