Mood Stabilizers
They should be used as a last resort in “rapid and short mood changes” - Karen and Mardoche
image by: Bipolar Bandit
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Mood Stabilizing Medication
The oldest and most studied of mood stabilizers is lithium. However, many drugs that were first developed as anticonvulsants to treat epilepsy also act as mood stabilizers. These include carbamazepine, divalproex and lamotrigine. Gabapentin and topiramate are also anticonvulsants that may act as mood stabilizers, but they are usually given in addition to other medications.
Resources
Mood Stabilizer Toxicities
This is a great summary of the causes, symptoms, work-up, and treatment of two relatively common medications that cause toxicity. In fact, these (along with carbamazepine) are levels I routinely recommend checking in patients with a history of bipolar disorder who come to the emergency department with altered mental status even if they do not report a history of being on these medications. That is because these three medications are very commonly used in the treatment of bipolar disorder and all have quite different treatment courses. In addition to the great summary above, below are some of my usual teaching points about these medications in overdose.
Mood Stabilizers: The First Five
Lithium, when compared to other mood stabilizers, has been found to be the most effective when used as a single agent. It has been shown to reduce the risk of suicide, with an incidence as high as 10% in those affected with Bipolar Disorder as well as Major Depressive Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Schizophrenia.
Lithium and other mood stabilisers
Lithium, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics are the three main types of drug which are used as mood stabilisers. There are several types of individual drug within each of these groups.
Mood Stabilizers in Psychiatric Disorders and Mechanisms Learnt from In Vitro Model Systems
Mood stabilizers are often prescribed for the treatment of psychiatric patients. For decades, lithium has become the gold standard in BD treatment due to its effective treatment in BD patients with mania and depressive symptoms.
Mood Stabilizers: The What: 5 Things all Clinicians Need to Know about Them
They should be used as a last resort in “rapid and short mood changes”.
Top Mood Stabilizers for Bipolar Disorder
I’ve been pouring over textbooks and treatment guidelines, and these four mood stabilizers keep rising to the top. None of them are perfect, but each has a unique role in bipolar disorder....
Mood Stabilizing Medication
Mood stabilizers are medications used in the treatment of bipolar disorder, where a person’s mood changes from a depressed feeling to a high “manic” feeling or vice versa. These drugs can help reduce mood swings and prevent manic and depressive episodes. Mood stabilizers can take up to several weeks to reach their full effect. Because of this, other psychiatric medications such as antipsychotics; are often used in the early stages of treatment to treat acute mania.
5 Things I Didn’t Know About Taking Mood Stabilizers
I have been taking mood stabilizers since my diagnosis over three years ago but it took two years to get the combination right. I now take two different mood stabilizers and am happy to say that I have been euthymic for a year. Though I experience few side effects from mood stabilizers, taking these medications still impact on some areas of my life.
StatPearls
One of the strongest indications for mood stabilizers is bipolar disorder, a mood disorder comprised of two types. Bipolar I disorder is defined by at least one manic episode in a lifetime, while bipolar II disorder is defined by at least one past or present hypomanic episode with at least one past or present major depressive episode.
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