With this post, we continue our biweekly series on medications used to treat bipolar disorder and related symptoms. We have already covered lithium, along with anti-seizure and atypical antipsychotics commonly used as anti-manic medications or mood stabilizers in bipolar disorder. We introduced our coverage of SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) antidepressants with a post on Prozac (fluoxetine). This week, we continue our series on SSRI antidepressants with this post on Celexa (citalopram).

With this post, we continue our biweekly series on medications used to treat bipolar disorder and related symptoms. We have already covered lithium, along with anti-seizure and atypical antipsychotics commonly used as anti-manic medications or mood stabilizers in bipolar disorder. We introduced our coverage of SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) antidepressants with a post on Prozac (fluoxetine). This week, we continue our series on SSRI antidepressants with this post on Zoloft (sertraline).

With this post, we continue our biweekly series on medications used to treat bipolar disorder and related symptoms. Over the past weeks, we covered several commonly used atypical antipsychotics, including Zyprexa (olanzapine), Risperdal (risperidone), and Seroquel (quetiapine). This week, we turn our attention to antidepressants, specifically the SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) variety. Medications in this class include:

Syndicated from the Bipolar Blog

Mood stabilizers are usually effective in treating acute mania. Treating bipolar depression, however, is often more challenging for two reasons:

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.

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.

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.”)