Bipolar Disorder Help – The Role of Medications in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder
Posted by Charles Kelley
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes tremendous mood and behavioral changes resulting in bouts of depression and/or mania. This condition is believed by most experts to be caused mainly by chemical imbalances in the brain. There is currently no cure for this disease, and treatment is a lifelong battle. However, with the proper usage of medication and psychotherapy bipolar treatment can be successful.
Types of Medication Used
The causes of bipolar disorder, whether from failed neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain) or as in some evidence suggests, biological or environmental factors, must be treated with medication. The most common medications used in bipolar treatment are mood-stabilizers. What mood-stabilizers do is try to balance back out the brain functions making it less likely to encounter depressive and manic episodes and lessen the severity when they do occur.
Anti-depressants can also be used in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Due to other factors being involved with this condition, anti-depressants may be used to help neutralize depressive episodes and also prevent them from triggering. Usually anti-depressants are taken in conjunction with mood-stabilizers to control bipolar symptoms.
In some cases of extreme mania, anti-psychotic medication is used. The main purpose of this type of medication is to help relieve symptoms of manic episodes. It is most often taken with other medications for bipolar treatment. If left untreated, manic episodes could become psychotic.
Since everyone’s body chemistry is different and the symptoms and severity of bipolar disorder vary from patient to patient, medication strategies will be different as well. Whatever combination works for one person might have a lesser effect on another and so on. It could take months or longer of trial and error to determine the accurate combinations and dosages of medicine per individual.
Remember, it just takes time. Even if you got the right medicine on the first try it would take weeks or more for it to show effective results, so don’t give up if you try something for a while and the desired results are not achieved. Talk with your doctor and come up with another plan. Bipolar treatment is not an easy task, but with proper medication, therapy, and patience, it can have positive results!
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