What Classes Of Medication Are Used In The Treatment Of Bipolar Disorder?

— -- Question: What classes of medication are used in the treatment of bipolar disorder?

Answer: So when treating folks who have bipolar disorder, the biggest class of course is mood stabilizers -- medicines like lithium, or some of the anticonvulsants, or some of the atypical antipsychotic agents.

But there are other medicines as well. Not infrequently, a traditional antidepressant needs to be added to a mood stabilizer. However it's very important to recognize that the treatment of bipolar disorder with just a traditional antidepressant is almost never adequate, and that when these medicines are used they should only be used in concert with a mood stabilizer.

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