There are several mood stabilizers that can be used in bipolar disorder such as Lithium, Depakote, Tegretol, Trileptal, and Lamictal.

For bipolar mania there are several other drugs that can be tried such as Zyprexa, Risperdal, Invega, Seroquel, Geodon, and Abilify.

For bipolar depression one of the courses of action would be to combine a mood stabilizer with an antidepressant, and be watched for signs of mania.

When I get manic I get very agitated and irritable. I yell, scream, holler at almost anybody for no particular reason. I once even yelled at my doctor one time during my manic state. Then I get to the point where I become psychotic and maybe see things climbing on the wall or bugs crawling around on the floor, or I more often mistake something I saw as something else.

Depression in bipolar disorder is similar to depression in non-bipolar people. This can cause a person to see the doctor during a depressive phase and the doctor thinks they have depression and gives a patient an antidepressant and it sets them off into a manic or mixed state. A mixed state is when you have both symptoms of mania and depression concurrently.

Many people with bipolar disorder have to take more than one medication. That’s because each medication they take works in different ways so each medication will treat a different aspect of the person’s bipolar symptoms. I take the antipsychotic Zyprexa Zydis as a mood stabilizer and it helps me very much. I know if I take the Zyprexa Zydis each night it will help prevent the ups and downs I use to have before starting the medication.

There are also life style adjustments that can be done to help with bipolar disorder. One of the main things that can be done is keeping to a regular sleep schedule and a routine to follow though out the day.

Best of luck,
Andy…
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Treatment is often any combination of anticonvulsants, antipsychotics and antidepressants. Therapy is a good idea in conjunction with medication.

It’s a bad, bad idea to drink with these medications. Many of them allow you to get drunk more easily. Once, when I was on Abilify (aripiprazole – an antipsychotic) I went for a night out and had my normal amount of alcohol and ended up completely childlike and helpless, confused and crying and having to be taken home. NOT a good idea.

Also, many of these medications are bad for your liver. Combining them with alcohol makes you at high risk for liver damage.
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I am taking Lamictol in the morning and Seroquil at night. The combo works wonderfully. I still cycle but its not near as extreme. I was going thru jobs and relationships like they were nothing. If you think you might be bipolar go talk to a psychiatrist and get checked out. It’s not the end of the world if you are! I drink with the meds. I cant remember if they told me not to! I do get pretty tipsy after only a couple though if i take them too fast.
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