Robert Asks... Do you think a combination of different herbs can cure any form of bipolar disorder and if so what are those herbs? Dr. Fink Answers... In Chapter 9 of Bipolar Disorder For Dummies, we discuss a host of alternative treatments for bipolar disorder, including ECT (electroconvulsive therapy), light therapy, vitamins & minerals, and herbs, used alone and in conjunction with traditional forms of medicines and therapies. For example, some people claim that St. John's Wort is useful for treating the depressive pole in bipolar disorder. (Of course, unfortunately, like most other antidepressants, St. John's Wort also increases the risk of triggering mania, especially in someone who has bipolar disorder.)

I recently received an email message from the translator who’s doing the Slovene translation of Bipolar Disorder For Dummies. Following is the letter (included here with permission).

With this post, we continue our sort-of-biweekly series on medications used to treat bipolar disorder and related symptoms. Two weeks ago, we covered an older class of antidepressants that are still sometimes used – Tricyclics. This week, we turn our attention to another older classes of antidepressants – Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors or MAOI's, for short.

Some time ago, on our other blog, Bipolar Blog, a visitor posted a piece in our Share Your Bipolar Story section entitled "Bipolar Extramarital Affair," which generated some discussion. Recently, another visitor commented on that story about the need to make some allowances for bipolar: "Allowances must be made. Not to do so is unfair because it [bipolar] holds people to unrealistic standards and disappointment becomes the inevitable outcome." He goes on to say that "You have two choices: moderate the behaviors and/or moderate the expectations."

With this post, we continue our sort-of-biweekly series on medications used to treat bipolar disorder and related symptoms. Several weeks ago, we covered Wellbutrin (bupropion), an antidepressant that's in a class of its own. This week, we turn our attention to an older class of medications used to treat depression – Tricyclics.

Bipolar mania can really foul up the family dynamic. One minute, your family is cruising along on autopilot, and the next minute you're in a tailspin. It can begin innocently enough with a barely perceptible increase in irritability and criticism, and then quickly escalate into knock-down, drag-out conflicts, all of which contribute to worsening the mania.