Articles and blog posts relating to the treatment of bipolar disorder through medication.
Weight gain is an incredibly common––but mentally devastating––result of many bipolar medications. One thing to remember if it happens to you: be kind to yourself. I would do anything to be skinny – anything, that is, except for dying or losing my mind. Unfortunately, in 2014 I had to choose between thinness and sanity. Faced...
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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...
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If you feel like you want to “throw in the towel” when dealing with medications, it’s important to remember it can take time to find success. There’s a few things to consider when it comes to taking medication: I’ve been taking medication—you know, I’ve been taking a mood stabilizer, an anti-psychotic, otherwise known as...
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My medication non-compliance led to a devastating psychotic break in 2015. But through family intervention and a return to compliance, I am now healthy, employed, and advocating for others. Here’s what I’ve learned. By Emily Allen In 2013, fed up with weight gain as a side effect, I decided to stop taking a key...
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No one loves needing to take daily medications for a chronic condition, but confronting your barriers to adherence assures a better outcome for bipolar disorder. Making the decision to go on medication for bipolar disorder—and sticking with it to find some-thing that works—can be a hard-fought battle. It’s common to have doubts about the diagnosis...
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The FDA has approved Abilify MyCite, a pill with a sensor that digitally tracks if patients have ingested their medication U.S. Food and Drug Administration—November 13, 2017, Silver Spring, MD— The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first drug in the U.S. with a digital ingestion tracking system. Abilify MyCite (aripiprazole tablets...
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Taking medication for bipolar disorder takes commitment. You may find yourself measuring the pros and cons. For many, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Each week I feel like a pharmacist. I pull out my shoe box, sort through peach-colored bottles, and put my medicine into my weekly pill boxes. I have two because...
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When you have bipolar disorder, no medication can truly change your attitude or thinking, as I learned from my late father. It takes hard work. My dad was the first person I knew who had bipolar disorder. It was back in 1975 that he had a “nervous breakdown.” For months he battled severe depression....
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Some people may think that the side effects of antidepressants can be pretty innocuous as they are commonly prescribed, but for me, the side effects can be rough. Earlier this year I wrote about the impacts of taking anti-psychotics and mood stabilizers, so now I’m going to write about the third type of medication...
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Despite advances, diagnosis and treatment of bipolar still has a long way to go before capable, customized, compassionate care is the norm. Today we have more reliable medications, with fewer side effects, than ever before. People with mental health issues can choose from every imaginable form of therapy, from interpersonal to cognitive to eclectic. More...
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Though I experience few side effects from mood stabilizers, taking these medications still impacts some areas of my life. In my last blog, ‘6 Things I didn’t Realize About Taking Antipsychotics’, I wrote about some of the impacts that taking antipsychotics can have on your life. But I don’t just take antipsychotics for my bipolar...
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When I was first put on antipsychotics I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal, but now I know that there was a lot I didn’t realize about taking them. On the same day I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder I was put onto an antipsychotic. That was over three years ago. Now I take...
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An award-winning novelist with bipolar disorder wants young artists to know that untreated mania has had a worse effect on his creativity than any meds. By Francisco X. Stork It almost never fails to happen. When I talk about my experiences with bipolar disorder at one of my book events, someone, usually the mother of...
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Because my weight fluctuates, there are three sizes of clothes in that Batcave I call a closet. This makes me face-up to an out of control situation my life—my weight. Hi! I’m Allison Strong from bp magazine’s bphope Vlog and I’d like to discuss how difficult it was recently for me to pack to...
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If you have bipolar disorder, changing medications can result in many challenges. Here are some tips to take on those trials. I’ve been on the same medication cocktail for over seven years. I think. It’s been so long, I can’t remember. You see, when that particular set of meds was put together,...
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My pharmacist is the Central Intelligence Agent of my treatment plan––they have my back, and are just as dedicated to my stability as I am. One of the aspects of having bipolar is the need to visit the drugstore more than the average person. Have you ever felt judged or distanced because of that? How...
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A problem in bipolar disorder treatment is the slow trial and error procedure to find our individual medication “cocktails.” As a freshly diagnosed bipolar II patient, I thought being prescribed one magic, mood-adjusting medicine would instantly change my life. Not so fast, this perverse disease schooled me. The first prescription I tried shoved me straight...
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Change is hard, scary, and sometimes inevitable— especially when it comes to medications. One thing to remember: stay focused and fight the bipolar, not your medications. One of the toughest, if not the toughest, part of being bipolar is having to deal with taking our medications. Insomnia, weight gain, hair loss, thyroid problems, liver issues, numbness, etc. are...
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One man’s story about his passion for writing, his fear of medicating his mood, and keeping his creativity I tiptoed into the packed, dimly lit performance studio for my first ever spoken word poetry event. My eyes adjusted quickly and my ears opened to a deep, booming voice: “When you and I tango, winter smiles.” Around the room, the audience swayed....
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I have always attributed much of my stability to my psychiatrist––I know that if I were to ever relapse, he would guide me back towards stability. As I left my psychiatrist appointment, I truly recognized how integral Dr. Song has become to my wellness in managing bipolar disorder. We first met when I was admitted...
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