LITHIUM BIPOLAR DISORDER

Medication for bipolar disorderThis page is designed to give you information about drugs that can be used as part of the treatment of bipolar disorder. It is important to be well informed about prescription medications you are taking, but this is not a do-it-yourself manual. Self-medication can be dangerous. Interpretation of both the signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder, and medication side effects, are jobs for the professional. The prescription and management of medication, in all cases, must be done by a responsible physician, working closely with the patient and his/her treating psychologist, and sometimes involving the patient's family. This is the only way to ensure that the most effective use of medication is achieved with minimum risk of side effects or complications. Just as aspirin can reduce a fever without clearing up the infection that causes it, psychotherapeutic medications act by controlling symptoms. Like most drugs used in medicine, they correct or compensate for some malfunction in the body. Psychotherapeutic medications do not cure mental illness. In many cases, these medications can help a person get on with life despite some continuing difficulty coping with problems. In the case of bipolar disorder, the antimanic medications help control, or minimize the effects of a manic episode. However, the person still has to learn self-monitoring skills, to identify an episode as it is developing, and psychotherapy is helpful to learn to adjust to the limitations of the disorder, as well as focusing on depressive symptoms and issues.