lamotrigine bipolar ii

Care need long-term management of bipolar disorder: Â • The majority of bipolar disorders require management courses long-term effective treatment.

 • Complete recovery from bipolar person can not be said to occur if the symptoms disappear for an initial time under the effect of medication. There can be several episodes of recurrence.

 • In fact bipolar disorder has a percent chance to last a lifetime, even after diagnosis and treatment.

 • Bipolar disorder differs from one individual to another in severity, frequency cycles of mania and depression, and various psychotic states which can be debilitating.

 • A single or a few can trigger episodes of relapse more relapses.

 • In many cases, patients take medication stops after the onset of symptoms have disappeared.

It is extremely vital importance, a real action plan is formulated for long-term management course in order to make treatment viable. Due to the progressive nature, episodic and chronic illness, long-term treatment is essential for most patients with bipolar disorder.

Course long-term management of bipolar disorder requires careful consideration of the various components as:

• A correct diagnosis and assessing the degree and type of the disease.

 • Course of treatment and goals.

 • A plan to combine several procedures therapy, along with medication.

 • The ongoing management of the field of drugs and possible disruption in terms of individual needs on a long term basis.

 • Careful consideration of psychosocial factors

The main objectives of long-term or life time long management or maintenance of therapy are:

 • Dealing with bouts of depression and mania.

 • Prevention of relapses.

 • To limit the effects of treatment.

 • Improve the quality of life and functioning.

An optimal strategy for long-term treatment and management course is not yet available. In this scenario may be two different mode of action depending on the need each patient, namely
– Mono-therapy

– Combination therapy

Management of the long-term management of bipolar disorder

1. A correct diagnosis is the first step in the long-term course of bipolar disorder. It requires thorough research on the degree of dysfunction in the workplace, family and interpersonal relationships.

The family medical history and the risk that the patient presents for him / herself and others also be investigated. Besides the presence or absence of psychosis, the need for emergency medical care, the severity of the disease, patient history as well as medical history of substance abuse should also be investigated. All these go a long way to help establish the pattern of treatment.

2. The second step, course management in long-term management of bipolar disorder, is to create a good course of drug treatment based on diagnosis. Certain drugs are most useful, rapid cycling, while others are more effective for manic or depressive attacks.

Some patients may be resistant to some drugs, while others are unable to tolerate the side effects. An expert can recommend a monotherapy or combination treatment, according to the requirement that the bipolar patient. The treatment plan and of course, for a patient with a mixed state is quite different from one with a manic or depressive attacks more pronounced.

3. In the acute phase, the main objective is to ensure that the patient responds to treatment. Finding the right therapy and course of treatment may take some time.

4. When the patient is in his / her way to recovery the frequency of therapy and treatment can reduce. At this point, the patient can be educated by different psychotherapeutic techniques to identify the signs before a relapse and was warned of its dangers. The services of an expert psychotherapist and as the support of the family must pitch in

5. There is also a need to build a strong and therapeutic relationship between patient with bipolar disorder and doctor.

There is a lack of adequate studies on therapy designed to control either the long-term course of bipolar disorder. Because of this Treatment sometimes can be insufficient and inadequate.

Medication for long-term treatment of bipolar disorder and their management

 • It has been established in several controlled studies, atypical antipsychotics such as olanzapine, risperidone and quetiapine, play an important role in the management of long-term courses. These act as mood stabilizers and have greater tolerability profile compared with antipsychotics.

 • Sometimes mood stabilizers such as lithium, lamotrigine, carbamazepine and valproate may be used. However, many patients do not respond to these drugs, or is unable to tolerate their side effects.

 • Although lithium is the oldest and most commonly used drug for bipolar disorder, can pose several problems when used as long-term drug. Certain individuals may be resistant to lithium, while some others consider that intolerable side effects, Some people may experience manic episodes when taking lithium were abruptly.

Lithium can also cause nervousness, excessive sweating and hyperthyroidism. However, recent studies show that lithium and lamotigine has an efficiency of long-term drug for bipolar illness. Addition of lithium is the only drug that has been recommended by the FDA for children with bipolar disorder.

 • Lamotrigine has proven highly effective for maintaining long – term course. This anticonvulsant However, it can cause skin rashes, and is not effective for patients in acute mania.

 • Studies have found that valproate is also a viable option for long-term maintenance course, and can help reduce the incidence of relapse. According to some studies, carbamazepine and valproate are less effective as medications for long-term evolution.

Just as bipolar disorder usually more may need a long life or at least a program of long-term treatment. The management of a course of long-term treatment for bipolar disorder is challenging. It requires a proper diagnosis, an appropriate model for the treatment of acute phases and initial maintenance therapy and after treatment and psychosocial or psychotherapeutic intervention education, support family, in addition to drug treatment.

Finally, each case is different and hence management, of course, long-term management of each one bipolar patient is different.

Sara Sentor Webmaster http://www.survivingbipolar.net

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