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Correct Diagnosis Makes Bipolar Treatment Highly Effective
Statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health show that some 5 million American adults have bipolar condition, a figure that is far higher than the previous estimate of 2 million. This may be due to a more accurate diagnoses of bipolar disorder, as opposed to depression.
According to Michael Gitlin, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Mood Disorders Clinic at the UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, the definition of bipolar disorder has broadened in the eyes of may doctors today and society has become more aware of psychiatric disorders in general, allowing more people to seek treatment nowadays.
This mental illness is characterized by the two "poles" which refer to the mood extremes: mania on one end, depression on the other. However, the behavior isn't always extreme, and many more doctors are now recognizing patients with episodes that are more subtle than the classic mania behavior, leading them to diagnose bipolar disorder rather than depression, said Gitlin.
Treatment for bipolar disorder can be highly effective when a correct diagnosis is made. Antidepressants like fluoxetine are medications used to treat depression and conditions that have depression as a component of the disease. These drugs improve symptoms of depression by increasing the availability of certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. It is believed that these brain chemicals can help improve emotions. You can buy fluoxetine through certified online drugstores.
The past five years has shown an increase in the number of medications available to treat bipolar disorder, with the overall goal being long-term stabilization of mood.
More than 35 years ago, Lithium was the first mood stabilizer approved by the FDA. The medication works by stabilizing or smoothing out moods, helping to prevent both extremes of depression and mania.
Anticonvulsants such as valproate (Depakote) or carbamazepine (Tegretol) also can help stabilize mood. Some doctors think these drugs are helpful for difficult-to-treat bipolar episodes.
Atypical antipsychotics (also called second-generation antipsychotics) such as aripiprazole (Abilify), clozapine (Clozaril), olanzapine (Zyprexa), quetiapine (Seroquel), risperidone (Risperdal), and ziprasidone (Geodon) have also been tried as mood stabilizers when lithium or anticonvulsant medications do not work well for a particular patient.
Doctors may also prescribe antidepressants, but how to use them is a matter of debate. Some experts frown on them because, as Gitlin explains, they might lift mood too much, tipping the patient into a manic state. While the FDA recently issued a warning of an increased risk of dangerous behaviors among children and teens who took antidepressants, experts including Gitlin, however, think that antidepressants can offer some benefits and that their use must be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Medication and psychotherapy both help, said Gitlin. Based on research, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy get results because the focus is on improving interpersonal relationships and regularizing daily routines and sleep schedules to help prevent manic episodes.
Depending on the patient's mood and episodes, treatment choices may change with time. But Gitlin and other experts emphasize that treatment itself must be long-term.
About the Author Ramon Bravante is a freelance writer and advertising practitioner with special interest in public health issues. He is currently writing articles oriented towards consumers of pharmaceutical products. Buy Fluoxetine is a reputable online drug store and offers an array of health products and Medicare prescription drugs.
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