Bipolar disorder type II affects sufferers less seriously than type I, in which full blown manic and depressive episodes may last a week at a time. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) states that type II never reaches a complete manic "up" phase, nor does it plunge to the depths of the depressive, even suicidal "down" phase of the type I disorder. Because the type II disorder isn't as severe, a person with the brain disorder usually doesn't need hospitalization and can maintain day to day living with a combination of counseling, lifestyle accommodations and medications.
Mood Stabilizers
Your physician may prescribe a mood stabilizer as the first line of treatment medications for bipolar type II. Mood stabilizers such as lithium, valproic acid, divalproex sodium or lamotrigine will almost certainly be a part of the treatment program for type I bipolar disorder. But Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D. of the Mayo Clinic says they are likely to be used in treating type II patients as well. As the name suggests, mood stabilizers help keep the "up" phase of bipolar type II patients from reaching manic proportions and the "down" phase from descending to suicidal depths.
Antidepressants
Your doctor may consider treating your depression as the primary approach for bipolar type II disorder. She may well add an antidepressant to a mood stabilizer when she prescribes medication. Possible choices for antidepressants your doctor may prescribe include fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline and bupropion. But as of 2009, the National Institute of Mental Health stated that adding an antidepressant may not be significantly more therapeutic than using a mood stabilizer alone in bipolar treatment.
Antipsychotics
A physician may include an antipsychotic medication in type II bipolar disorder treatment if the disorder isn't managed with mood stabilizers and antidepressants. He may choose an antipsychotic such as olanzapine, risperidone or quetiapine along with your other medication, according to Mayo Clinic staff. Some of these medications are sometimes called "atypical" antipsychotics because they came into prominence after the first generation of conventional antipsychotics.
Thyroid Medication
A test of thyroid function may reveal the need to increase thyroid hormones with levothyroxine. Bipolar disorder type II patients often show low thyroid levels, or hypothyroidism, which may need levothyroxine to keep thyroid levels balanced. The NIMH states using lithium can also reduce thyroid hormones.
