do mood stabilizers work for depression?
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Overview. 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.
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For many women with bipolar disorder, lamotrigine (Lamictal) is an effective mood stabilizer. Given its relatively favorable reproductive safety profile, lamotrigine is a reasonable option for women who require treatment with a mood stabilizer during pregnancy.
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In other words, antidepressants are effective against chronic, moderate and severe depression. They don't help in mild depression. The various antidepressants have been compared in many studies. Overall, the commonly used tricyclic antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs) were found to be equally effective.
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Adjusting medication One study suggests that taking citalopram in addition to a mood stabilizer may help to reduce anger, but “trait anger” (not related to bipolar symptoms) is also a predictor.
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There are few studies that focus on treatment of bipolar II alone. The literature shows lithium to be the mainstay of therapy to stabilize mood, along with anticonvulsants (e.g., valproate, lamotrigine, or carba-mazepine) as adjunct therapy. More research and clinical trials are warranted.
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The mood-stabilizing drug lithium remains an effective mainstay of treatment for bipolar disorder—but unfortunately, it can cause weight gain. Although the possibility of gaining weight while taking lithium is well known, this side effect does not affect everyone who takes the medication.
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Lithium may take several weeks, months or even up to two years to reach its full potential effect as a mood stabiliser. Even if lithium does not completely stop the mood swings, it usually reduces their severity.
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It is significantly more effective for unipolar than for bipolar depression. Low-dose, long-term treatment with clonazepam exhibits a prophylactic effect against recurrence of depression.
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They can also be used to treat severe depression or bipolar disorder. Like antidepressant medications, antipsychotic medications do not cure depression, or other mental health conditions, they do however offer relief from symptoms and improve quality of life.
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The most commonly used and effective mood stabilizers for borderline disorder are topiramate (Topamax) and lamotrigine (Lamictal). These medications are also referred to as antiepileptic drugs because they are commonly used for people suffering from partial complex seizure disorder.
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If you are taking this medication to help with symptoms of mood disturbance, you may notice some changes in the first 1 to 2 weeks. Medications like ziprasidone do not work for everyone. If you are not feeling better within 6 weeks, your doctor may recommend switching you to a different medication.
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In those instances, if one can consistently utilize healthy lifestyle management and good self-care, then it may be possible to maintain mood stability without medication. I have found that's usually just not the case for many with bipolar disorder.
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Lithium is used to treat mania that is part of bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness). It is also used on a daily basis to reduce the frequency and severity of manic episodes.
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The classification of drugs used to treat depression is: Antidepressants are used primarily to treat depression.
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Antidepressants and mood stabilizers Some people who take medications for depression and mood stabilization may experience hair loss. Drugs that may cause this include: paroxetine hydrochloride (Paxil) sertraline (Zoloft)
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Medications may include: Mood stabilizers. You'll typically need mood-stabilizing medication to control manic or hypomanic episodes. Examples of mood stabilizers include lithium (Lithobid), valproic acid (Depakene), divalproex sodium (Depakote), carbamazepine (Tegretol, Equetro, others) and lamotrigine (Lamictal).
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A preliminary open trial of nefazodone added to mood stabilizers for bipolar depression.