What Is Bipolar?
6. Medications
The treatment for bipolar disorder depends on the phase and severity the patient is currently in. For example, if the patient is in the depressive phase and has suicidal ideation, inpatient hospitalization may be necessary whereas a patient who is moderately depressed can be treated as an outpatient. Physicians in charge of the patient with bipolar disorder will need to determine if there are any current medications causing the mania, hypomania, or mixed manic state. in these patients, the offending medications should be discontinued.
The choice of medication depends on the presence of symptoms such as, agitation, aggression, psychotic symptoms, and sleep disturbance. Importantly, discontinuation of antidepressants should be tapered over a duration of several weeks. Patients in the depressive phase should be monitored for emergent symptoms after pharmacotherapy (medication) for depression is initiated. A patient with psychotic features might be given an antipsychotic agent.
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