How to Choose a Mood Stabilizer
If you are bipolar or have a mood disorder, your doctor may recommend that you take a mood stabilizer medication. However, choosing which mood stabilizer to use can be confusing, especially since there are so many kinds on the market. Learning how to choose a mood stabilizer means taking many things into consideration.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Get a proper diagnosis. Mood stabilizers work well on people with bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic-depressive), but not on people with simple depression or other disorders.
-
2
Consider side effects you can live with. Some mood stabilizers, like Risperdal and Zyprexa, can cause weight gain. Others, like Topamax, can make you feel "fuzzy" or sleepy, especially when you first start taking it. Lamictal has been linked to skin rashes, some of them life-threatening. Also, Lithium can cause salt imbalances in your body if you don't drink the right amount of fluids.
-
-
3
Decide if you can deal with blood draws. Some mood stabilizers, like Lithium and Depakote, require frequent blood draws to determine blood levels of the medication. Others, like Trileptal, don't require any blood draws. When you choose a mood stabilizer, consider how well you deal with needles.
-
4
Talk with your doctor about the differences between "true" mood stabilizers (examples: Lithium, Lamictal), anti-seizure medications that also function as mood stabilizers (examples: Depakote, Tegretol), and antipsychotic drugs that act as mood stabilizers (examples: Abilify, Zyprexa). When you choose your mood stabilizer, it helps to know what the medication is supposed to be doing in your body.
-
5
Consider how often you want to take pills every day. Once-daily dosing is easier than remembering pills several times a day, but not every mood stabilizer comes in one-a-day form.
-
6
Keep in touch with your doctor once you choose a mood stabilizer. If you run into issues, he or she can help you with adjusting dosages and changing the time of day you take your mood stabilizer.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Often bipolar patients are prescribed two mood stabilizers to take at the same time, each from a different "family" of medications. Always take your medication as prescribed, even if you feel "better." Mood stabilizers need to build up in the blood stream, and stopping them without your doctor's supervision can lead to problems down the road. Many mood stabilizers used today are approved for primary purposes other than bipolar disorder, but have been found to help with stabilizing moods.
Never take medication that hasn't been prescribed by your doctor. Anti-depressants and ADHD medication have been found to cause mania in many bipolar patients.
