1. Mood Stabilizers
Mood stabilizers are the most popular treatment for sufferers of bipolar disorder. These medications help stabilize the patient's mood to prevent them from "cycling," or having the shifts from manic to depression that define the disease. Generally, a drug can be classified as a mood stabilizer if it relieves (and does not worsen) the patient's manic and depressive episodes. A well-known mood stabilizer is lithium, an anticonvulsive drug that has been widely used for decades in treating bipolar and other serious mental illnesses.
2. Antidepressants
Depression medications are often prescribed to bipolar patients to treat their depression symptoms. Antidepressants are never given to patients instead of mood stabilizing drugs, however. The two must be taken as part of the same treatment program or the patient can be pushed into a dangerous manic state.
A variety of antidepressant medications may be tried to determine which has the greatest impact on the patient's condition. A few of the first-choice treatments include Bupropion (Wellbutrin) and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors such as Floxetine (Prozac), Fluvoxamine (Luvox), Pzraxetine (Paxil) and Sertaline (Zoloft). Other medications, including MAOIs and tricycle drugs, are generally tried after the above treatment options, because of their risky side effects.
3. Antipsychotics
Antipsychotic drugs are designed to control symptoms of psychosis such as delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. These symptoms can be seen in very severe cases of bipolar, though they are not always prescribed for this purpose. Depending on the patient's symptoms, a doctor may prescribe antipsychotic drugs to sedate them and treat symptoms of insomnia, agitation and anxiety.
4. Achieving Results From Bipolar Medication
It takes approximately two to three weeks before mood-stabilizing drugs begin working effectively to treat bipolar. In the meantime, some patients may be prescribed additional medications to control the anxiety that is commonly associated with periods of mania.
It could take even longer to achieve the best results from an antidepressant, as there is often some trial and error that goes into treatment process. It is not uncommon for many patients to try two or three different medications before one is found that works effectively.
