Bipolar Treatment with Medication

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Recent research offers good news for expectant mothers (or women considering pregnancy) who are weighing how to handle their bipolar medications. Balancing the benefits and risks of taking psychotropic medications during pregnancy is a hard but necessary task.  You should always discuss treatment decisions thoroughly with your psychiatrist or other prescribing practitioner, as well as...

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Medications and treatments can allow for mood stability and peace of mind with bipolar disorder. At times, they can also be frustrating. When you live with bipolar disorder, it’s common to want to be rid of your medications—and there are several valid reasons for feeling this way. But, as tempting as it may feel to...

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Finding the “right” mix of medications or treatments for bipolar can sometimes feel overwhelming—especially when newly diagnosed, but also as our bodies and symptoms change over time. Life before and after a diagnosis of bipolar can feel markedly different. Some may celebrate finally having a name for what has otherwise been a baffling experience of...

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I adore my growing family and happily shared “baby bump” updates with friends and family. Still, I spent each of my pregnancies in survival mode, coping with sadness and the risk of another depressive episode. Bipolar Disorder & Pregnancy Thriving and surviving. Those are two terms I often hear when people explain how their pregnancy...

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It’s not always easy to stick with a medication regimen. What tricks and techniques help you remember to take your meds properly? What issues made it harder to be medication-compliant—and how did you get back on track? I USE TWO SEPARATE seven-day pill holders, one for a.m. and one for p.m. I no longer use...

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People have different reasons for going off bipolar medications, even though “noncompliance” throws treatment off track. What helps you stick with your meds? Any tips to make it easier? WHAT HELPS KEEP ME compliant is remembering the crash that comes after I have stopped taking a mood stabilizer. It scares me to think I may have...

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With bipolar, finding the “right fit” is half the battle—the right providers, treatments, and lifestyle. Here are six ways to streamline your care with medication management. One common facet of life with bipolar is medication management—organizing, understanding, scheduling, paying for, and actually taking your prescriptions, treatments, supplements, and/or vitamins. With so many factors to consider,...

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Treatment that results in mood stability is cause for celebration! Adjusting to any weight gain can be difficult. In setting a goal to persevere, I am finding real strength and hope! At the dawn of my twenties, I was a mere 130 pounds at the height of 5 foot 7 inches. With a thinner body...

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Antianxiety medications. Antipsychotics. Antidepressants. Mood stabilizers. Why so many meds? The advantages (and risks) of combining medications in managing a complex mood disorder. Over several years of medical management of a chronic illness such as bipolar disorder, it is common to see people taking pills from several different classes of medications. For example, an antipsychotic...

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Feeling trapped and overwhelmed, and with depression looming, I felt an urgent need for a change of scenery. Answering my “traveling itch,” I took the risk of visiting my hometown. The trip was for my peace of mind—and it was worth it. Why Would I Take the Risk of Traveling? In July of this year,...

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After my diagnosis, I began to define myself by my bipolar. News of being “in remission” brought up fear, doubt, deep questions about identity, and confusion over what it means when my symptoms disappear … and then reappear. “You Are Not Your Illness.” Any doctor, clinician, therapist, and social worker worth their salt will at...

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Staying in touch with your treatment team can be hard under the best of circumstances when you’re living with bipolar disorder. With the need for physical distancing, it can be downright difficult. Here’s how I navigated my appointments. Mental Health Is “Essential”—Even More So Now It can be stressful to go to the doctor and...

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Bipolar medication compliance can be complicated. When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t want to take prescriptions every day—I didn’t want to think of myself as “sick” at all. Boy, have I learned a lot since then! Accepting My Need for Medication to Manage My Bipolar Symptoms One of the most challenging aspects of bipolar...

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I have my unhealthy vices. I’m human. I struggle every day. Besides having a life-saving support system, no matter what, we have to take care of ourselves. These last few months haven’t been the easiest for me. While a lot of positive things have happened, a lot of things have tested me, too. And some...

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My diagnosis of bipolar I disorder gave me an explanation for my symptoms, but not relief. Forget the painful social stigma—I was stigmatizing myself. When people who take psychiatric medications are burdened with guilt and shame from stigmatizing themselves, this is proof of an obvious problem in our world. Sometimes, being diagnosed with a mental...

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To allow your pharmacotherapy for bipolar disorder the best chance to work, identify what’s interfering with your medication adherence and explore simple solutions. Tricia received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder II less than a year ago, in January 2019. She took it as good news, since it opened new treatment avenues. It was still a...

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At first, my acceptance of bipolar and my medication compliance went hand in hand, shifting like my moods. Now, well, it’s complicated… But I recognize how my meds keep me anchored. Noncompliance and a Crash When I first started taking mood-stabilizing medications for bipolar during my senior year of high school, I was so desperate...

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No one loves having to take a daily pill (or handful) to manage a health condition, but not taking medication as prescribed isn’t going to help you in the long run. Here are tips to improve your odds of success. #1 Know the Score The more educated you are about bipolar disorder, the better you’ll...

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Weight gain is an incredibly common—sometimes psychologically painful—result of many bipolar medications. Here I share five ways to help you process this change. The most important thing to remember, if it happens to you: Be kind to yourself. I would do almost anything to be skinny—anything, that is, except for dying or losing my mind....

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Researchers believe an alternative approach to antidepressant and antipsychotic prescribing may be more cost effective and practical than genetic testing.   November 20, 2018 – Pharmacogenetic tests are marketed as an aid to psychiatrists in selecting the antidepressant or antipsychotic medication that will work best in individual patients, based on their genetic makeup. But for...