With this post, we continue our biweekly series on medications used to treat bipolar disorder and related symptoms. This week, we focus the spotlight on Tegretol (carbamazepine) – an anti-seizure medication that has been found useful in treating bipolar disorder. Following are some of the primary benefits Tegretol offers:

Syndicated from the Bipolar Blog

Whenever you have a change in medications or therapies, your moods will improve, worsen, or stay about the same. Documenting how you feel can be a valuable tool in helping you team up with your doctor and therapist to obtain the right combination of medications and therapy. Use the following form to record the most recent change in your treatment plan and in how you feel since the change. (Or download the form as a Word Document.)

Syndicated from the Bipolar Blog

Antidepressants may be less effective in treating bipolar depression than in treating unipolar depression. However, there are steps you can take to improve the effectiveness of your antidepressant regardless of the type of depression you’re feeling:

Bipolar disorder can be and often is misdiagnosed as unipolar depression (see “52 Percent of Bipolar Patients Receiving Antidepressants as First-Line Treatment?“). This could be a very dangerous misdiagnosis, because many antidepressants used to treat depression can trigger (or “unmask”) mania, especially in people who really have Bipolar I. In other words, you could go into your doctor’s office feeling depressed and as a result of the anti-depressants experience a manic episode.

Recently, the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) distributed a press release entitled “Largest Study of Its Kind Implicates Gene Abnormalities in Bipolar Disorder.” According to the press release, this “largest genetic analysis of its kind to date for bipolar disorder has implicated machinery involved in the balance of sodium and calcium in brain cells.” As the press release points out, no single gene has been identified as the “bipolar gene.” Researchers generally agree that multiple genes contribute to make an individual more susceptible to the eventual onset of bipolar disorder.

For more about bipolar disorder genetics and heredity, check out Dr. Fink’s two-part series – “Bipolar Disorder & Heredity: The Genetic Link.”

According to the results of a recent survey conducted by Decision Resources (“one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and healthcare issues”), 52.3 percent of newly diagnosed bipolar disorder patients are prescribed antidepressant drugs first line. (See the press release “Astonishing 52 Percent of Newly Diagnosed Bipolar Disorder Patients Receive Antidepressant Drugs in First-Line Treatment.”)

Larry and Linda Drain who have formed a local chapter of DBSA (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance) in Blount County, Tennessee. The group’s mission is to provide information and support for people with bipolar disorder and their loved ones and facilitate connections among people in the bipolar community. As Larry has said, “The weight is less heavy when it’s shared.”

With this post, we continue our biweekly series on medications used to treat bipolar disorder and related symptoms. This week, we focus the spotlight on Lamictal (lamotrigine) – an anti-seizure medication that has been found useful in treating bipolar disorder. Following are some of the primary benefits Lamictal offers:

Many people with bipolar stop taking their medications at some point in their treatment. This is a reality that patients, doctors, and family members often wrestle with. But it’s important to understand some of the possible reasons why. Understanding that there are often compelling factors in someone’s decision to stop their meds can help loved ones approach the problem without judgment. And for people with bipolar disorder it is critical to honestly evaluate why they want to stop taking their medication, because then they can tackle these issues directly and without judging themselves.

Whenever we blog about medications used to treat bipolar disorder, invariably someone writes in boasting about their success at being medication free or sounding the alarm about the evils of psychiatric medications. If someone posts a comment about how medications have helped them, someone usually replies by saying something like, “I’m happy for you, but just wait a few years when you don’t have a functioning kidney.”