Signs and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

Public awareness of bipolar disorder has been raised significantly due to the aggressive media campaigns from pharmaceutical companies. But, radio and television have been limited in their raising awareness of this illness. Although a lot of people have come to hear about this illness they have not come to really understand what the condition really is, its symptoms and medication.

Of course, before delving into the comprehensive it is helpful to understanding some of the basic bipolar symptoms and bipolar medication treatments. Therefore, a brief overview of both the common bipolar symptoms and medications is provided.

On the most basic of levels, bipolar disorder involves “swinging” from extremes of highs and lows. That means a person afflicted with the disorder can experience high, elevated moods followed by low, depressed moods. (Hence, the condition was originally called manic depression) The distribution of the highs and lows are not 50 – 50. In other words, one does not shift moods from day to day. A person could be manic for weeks on end, then shift into days of depression, followed by weeks of mania. Regardless of the duration of the mood swings, they are quite pronounced as bipolar disorder is serious enough to be labeled a disability. A brief overview of the symptoms of bipolar disorder is as follows:

Bipolar Disorder – Manic Symptoms

-Many people in a manic state experience severe anxiety and are very irritable (to the point of rage), while others are euphoric and grandiose.

-People commonly experience an increase in energy and a decreased need for sleep. A person’s speech may be pressured, Attention span is low and a person in a manic state may be easily distracted. Judgment may become blurred.

-They experience thoughts that just cant go away; this thoughts can be in the background with other thoughts or take over a person’s consciousness altogether.

-Impetuous actions are undertaken with little worry of the consequences.

Depressed Symptoms in Bipolar Disorder

-Extremely low energy levels combined with feelings of hopelessness, sadness, or despair.

-Usually these people are very tired and quickly irritated, and do not have any sleeping patterns whatsoever.

-Feeling helpless, guilty, or worthless.

-Loss of or increase in appetite.

-In extreme cases, the individual may suffer from suicidal thoughts.

Medication Treatment for Bipolar

There is no uniformed, standard combination of medication that will give the same results to different patients when it comes to treating bipolar with medication. There are lots of drugs that are utilized to aid bipolar patients calm their illness down. These medicines are for anti-depressants, anti anxiety, mood stabilizers and anti psychotic.

Some of the most common anti-depressant prescribed drugs include Wellbutrin, Zoloft and Effexor. These medications are for raising the patients mood and their levels of energy.

Lithium, Seroquel, Risperdal and Geocodon are the most commonly prescribed drugs for anti-psychotics and mood stabilizers. These drugs are used for the toning down of the manic side of the bipolar illness. With this medication the patients life is somehow restored not to 100% at least to near normal level.

While some doctors do not like to give anti-anxiety drugs to their patients there are others who still prescribe Xanax, Ativan and Klonopin to their patients. These medications help in bringing down excessive highs and panic attacks in the manic side of bipolar.

These drugs are prescribed in various dosages and combinations. Monthly visits with a psychiatrist are then conducted to determine whether the treatment should be modified or continued.