Bipolar Disorder Treatment Overview

0:00 this talk is an overview of treatment for bipolar disorder I'll teach you the basics of pharmacologic treatment for the different phases of bipolar disorder with a visual organizer before getting into the talk recall that there are several principles that you should keep in mind when choosing psychotropics including safety profile patient preference prior trials ease of use side effects secondary benefits and Drug cost now let's get into the talk the two phases of bipolar disorder requiring a acute treatment are Mania and depression however patients with bipolar disorder also require chronic treatment to prevent recurrence of episodes of mania or depression which is called maintenance treatment the meds most often used in treatment of bipolar disorder are the mood stabilizers and

0:45 antic psychotics each phase of treatment Mania depression and maintenance has different meds shown to be most effective but there is substantial overlap as such ideally whichever Med you use to treat an acute episode of bipolar disorder should also be effective for maintenance treatment with these principles in mind let's outline the most effective monotherapy options for each phase of treatment although I will be listing the options in terms of Effectiveness as seen in randomized controlled trials keep in mind the other general principles of choosing psychotropic meds and know that the most effective option in most cases may not always be the best option for a particular patient for Mania the most effective meds in order are lithium copine and valpro aapip resol and resp spadone also have high Effectiveness for

1:32 depression the most effective meds are quene lithium and lamotrin lurasidone also has high Effectiveness for maintenance the most effective meds are lithium copine and lamotrin velpro and aripiprazol also have high Effectiveness I want to highlight that lithium and copine are the most effective options in each category and therefore are excellent choices for both acute treatment of mood episodes and maintenance treatment next let's discuss combination therapy combination therapy which involves adding a second adjunct Med is indicated when an adequate trial of monotherapy alone is not sufficient to treat an acute mood episode or to prevent recurrence of mood episodes combo therapy generally involves using a med in each class that is one mood

2:19 stabilizer and one antis psychotic this avoids multiplying the risk of adverse effects with multiple meds particularly those associated with using more than one anti-yo therefore if monotherapy with a mood stabilizer was partially effective then simply add an antis psychotic and vice versa finally a reminder to include non-medication adjunct treatments in your treatment plan including therapy and lifestyle optimization for patients with bipolar disorder maintaining regular circadian rhythms with regular sleep meals and physical activity is particularly important that's the end of this talk I hope this helps in understanding the pharmacologic treatment for bipolar disorder thank you