Bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression) is a psychiatric condition marked by manic phases (in which the patient has abnormally high mood and self-esteem) alternating with depressive phases (unusually low mood). Bipolar disorder can be treated with pharmaceuticals aimed at limiting both the manic and the depressive phases.
Mood Stabilizers
Some of the most commonly prescribed medications for bipolar disorder are mood stabilizers. These medications help prevent the mood swings (both high and low) that characterize the disorder. According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, the first mood stabilizer approved by the Food and Drug Administration was lithium, which has been shown to be very effective in treating bipolar disorder. In some cases, anticonvulsants (medications commonly used to treat seizures) can also work to stabilize mood. Anticonvulsants that can act as mood stabilizers include lamotrigine, carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine. According to rxlist.com, the anticonvulsants valproic acid and gabapentin can also be used to treat bipolar disorder.
Antipsychotics
Another type of medication used to treat bipolar disorder is atypical antipsychotics (so named because they work via a different mechanism than other antipsychotic medications). These include risperidone, clozapine, olanzapine, aripiprazole and ziprasidone. Although these medications are effective in treating bipolar disorder, they are typically used along with other treatments such as mood stabilizers because they are less effective in these patients when used alone.
Antidepressants
Because bipolar disorder causes periods of depression, many patients are prescribed antidepressants. The most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which include sertraline, fluoxetine, and paroxetine. Antidepressants are not prescribed by themselves for bipolar patients because when taken alone they can cause a rapid shift into a manic phase. Thus they are used along with the other types of bipolar medications.
