People who take medications to treat most serious medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and thyroid disorders usually never question the need to be on long-term medication. Many people with bipolar disorder, however, constantly wonder whether they really need to continue taking medication to keep symptoms in check.

A visitor to the Bipolar Blog gave me the following heads up:

This week on Johnson & Johnson’s YouTube channel, there’s a video of General Hospital soap star, Maurice Bernard, talking about his battle with bipolar disorder. I thought you may be interested in checking it out: www.youtube.com/user/JNJhealth.

Syndicated from the Bipolar Blog

In a previous post, “Should I Go or Should I Stay?” I discuss the dilemma that many people face when living with someone who has bipolar disorder.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about relationship dynamics and how these dynamics can trigger confrontations. I’m one of those people, for example, who really needs to please others. I’ll clean the house, cook dinner, do laundry, plant flowers, and so forth, just to see her happy. (According to the book The Five Love Languages, my “love language” would be “acts of service.”)

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 Neurontin (gabapentin) – an anti-seizure/anticonvulsant medication that has mixed results in preventing mania and controlling anxiety. Following are some key facts about Neurontin:

Many people who carry the bipolar diagnosis also carry something else – extra pounds – primarily due to the medications used to treat mania or depression. Atypical antipsychotics, including Zyprexa and Seroquel; anti-manics, including lithium and Depakote; and even some antidepressants have been known to pack on the pounds, despite a person’s best efforts to stay fit and trim.

Loved ones often wonder how long a manic episode can last if it remains untreated. Generally speaking, an episode can last several weeks to several months. A visitor to the Bipolar Blog posted a comment indicating that her husband was experiencing a manic episode that lasted eight months and was still ongoing.

Question

“Do some medications used to treat bipolar disorder actually cause anxiety attacks as a side effect?”

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 Topamax (topiramate) – an anti-seizure medication primarily used to help prevent the onset of migraines and epileptic seizures. It has also been found useful in curbing the weight gain commonly associated with other medications used to treat bipolar symptoms.

Dr. Fink and I co-host two blogs – Bipolar Beat (this blog), and our original Bipolar Blog. Although most content is shared between the blogs, we include some unique content on each. Bipolar Beat, for example, is the home of the biweekly series Bipolar Disorder Medication Spotlight.

One of the most popular areas on our Bipolar Blog is Share Your Bipolar Story, where we encourage visitors to post their stories and insights and read and comment on stories that others have posted. Currently, we have over 30 stories and look forward to hosting many more.

Results of a recent study published in the September 30, 2008 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that a relatively common gene mutation may protect people from ever developing bipolar disorder. The study, entitled “A common variant in the 3′UTR of the GRIK4 glutamate receptor gene affects transcript abundance and protects against bipolar disorder,” suggests that a missing section of DNA in GRIK4 gene provides the protection.