Bipolar disorder management: Choosing the right treatment with evidence and real-life impact
bipolar disorder. One drug is prescribed, but you have heard another drug is better. What are your next steps? Do you seek evidence? And if so, what type of evidence would you consider?
Around 2 per cent of the adult population have a bipolar disorder. It can create high levels of suffering, carry suicide risks, and persist for decades.
Management options vary, and if you search for information online, it's easy to become overwhelmed by the many different views and interpretations of «the evidence» obtained from clinical trials.
Some medications can be extremely helpful for stabilising mood, but they can often have side effects.
Certain medications may be more beneficial for certain types of bipolar disorder, but how do you know which «type» you or a loved one has?
Clinical specialists, including psychiatrists, often rely on guidelines authored by professional organisations to evaluate the evidence for treatments.
However, there is minimal agreement between many of the current guidelines. A new approach is needed that places emphasis on «real-world» effectiveness and respects the observations of people with bipolar disorder.
Two types of bipolar disorder
As far back as Hippocrates, bipolar disorder has been known to the medical community.
Originally called «manic-depressive psychosis», it is now known as bipolar I disorder. In the mid-1990s, bipolar II disorder was defined.
Although this second «sibling» has always existed, it was previously viewed as more of a personality style, and frequently given the label of «cyclothymia».
Both bipolar I and bipolar II are marked by pronounced mood swings. During «highs», individuals feel energised and «wired».
They talk more, spend more, and require less sleep but don't feel tired.
