Bipolar Disorder Treatment

What are the Treatment Challenges of bipolar disorder?

Factors that can complicate treatment in bipolar disorder include:

Bipolar disorder is often unrecognized and misdiagnosed.
The clinical course of the disease can be irregular and unpredictable.
Similar to schizophrenia, reports by the affected person may be influenced by false perceptions while experiencing symptoms.
Single therapy is often not effective due to the diverse nature of the symptoms.
Drug-induced side effects (e.g., weight gain, tremor, and GI and neurologic side effects) are problematic.
Many people do not adhere to treatment regimens.

In addition, some of the clinical features of bipolar disorder may also become challenges to effective treatment. For example, people in a manic state may damage property, spend extravagantly, and act out in public, resulting in incarceration and misdiagnosis. If the disease presents with depression, the fact that there may be an underlying bipolar disorder may be overlooked for an extended period of time, especially if there are other factors in the patient’s life that might be construed as the cause of depression.

Bipolar disorder may be associated with repeated disruptions in the person’s ability to function, leading to loss of job, health insurance, or other reasons for not being able to pay for treatment.

Patient Adherence What is the Patient Adherence to Drug Treatment in bipolar disorder? Non-adherence with medical therapy is one of the major causes of relapse in people with bipolar disorder..
Treating Bipolar Disorder How is bipolar disorder treated? Although bipolar disorder cannot be cured, its symptoms can and must be managed, because patients are at relatively high risk for suicide.
Bipolar Disorder Medications What are the Medications to treat bipolar disorder? A variety of medications are used to treat bipolar disorder.
Consensus Treatment Guidelines What are the consensus treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder? The consensus guidelines for bipolar disease are prepared by a panel of psychiatrists who are experts in their field.
Lithium & Bipolar Disorder What is the role of Lithium in the treatment of bipolar disorder? Lithium has long been considered the mainstay of pharmacologic therapy for bipolar disorder.
Anticonvulsant Mood Stabilizers What is the role of Anticonvulsant Mood Stabilizers in the treatment of bipolar disorder? Valproate (Depakote®) was approved in the United States in 1995 for the treatment of manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder.
Typical Antipsychotics What is the role of Typical Antipsychotics in the treatment of bipolar disorder? Like anxiolytics, antipsychotics are used as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of mania with psychomotor agitation or psychotic features.
Atypical Antipsychotics What is the role of Atypical Antipsychotics in the treatment of bipolar disorder? Although atypical antipsychotics have a lower incidence of EPS and tardive dyskinesia than typical antipsychotics, as well as better overall tolerability, they are not without side effects.
Psychosocial Therapy What is the Role of Psychosocial Therapy in the treatment of bipolar disorder? As with schizophrenia, patient education, psychotherapy, and good patient follow-up are important in increasing adherence to drug therapy and optimizing clinical outcome for people with bipolar disorder.
Patient Education What is the role of Patient Education in bipolar disorder? Patient education should include topics relating to the nature of bipolar disorder, benefits of treatment, consequences of discontinuing or disrupting therapy, expected side effects, and the need to continue medication even when symptoms abate.
Patient Follow-up & Hospitalization Why Patient Follow-up is important in bipolar disorder? When Hospitalization should be considered for patients with bipolar disorder?
Self-Care Can bipolar disorder treated by Self-care? Which specialty treats bipolar disorder?

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