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An Update on Treatment of Bipolar Depression



An Update on Treatment of Bipolar Depression

Each month The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation hosts a Meet the Scientist Webinar featuring a researcher discussing the latest findings related to mental illness. In August, 2020, the Foundation featured Dr. Andrew A. Nierenberg of Harvard Medical School.

Description: Bipolar depressive episodes are the main burden for people with bipolar disorder. People with a history of mania experience bipolar depressive episodes or symptoms about a third of the time, while those with a history of hypomania can experience them more than half the time. Antidepressants in general have not been shown to be better than placebo, yet they remain the most common treatments. Dr. Nierenberg will review other existing and potential treatments, including ECT; non-invasive brain stimulation (rTMS); ketamine and esketamine; lamotrigine; and cognitive behavioral therapy and family-focused therapy.

Learn more at https://www.bbrfoundation.org/event/update-treatment-bipolar-depression

 
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34 Comments

  1. @lisahandley7959 on

    We are not lazy although it appears we are incredibly lazy and dirty. It's humiliating how do you explain to someone that you literally cannot get up and take a shower it sounds absolutely ludicrous people lose a lot of respect for you and I lost all respect for myself having a messy house and a dirty body is a great way to get thrown out of a family. The fact that I can't work is another way to get thrown out. Fact that I can't always meet obligations is another way to get throw out. Talkin too fast is another way to get thrown out. Looking and acting like you're on drugs do to your mental illness yet another way to get thrown out. Acting overly emotional is it guaranteed getting thrown out

  2. @lisahandley7959 on

    I find it interesting that I've never met a bipolar person that wasn't sexually abuses. TRAUMA!!!!!!!! FIX THE ROOT CAUSE WHICH IS TRAUMA. PLANT MEDS ARE GOING TO SAVE SO MANY LIVES.. SORRY, IM MANIC HA

  3. @Aftabalam-h4b on

    Sir i was taking sodium valporate EPIVAL 500 B.D & SYMBYAX 6/25 NIGHTLY +QuitiaPINE 200mg &ALPRAZOLAM 0.5 mg while on mixed episode.
    Accidently i missed SYMBYAX at 5-6 th day of treatment i missed SYMBYAX (olanzapine +fluoexetine 6/25) at night and i took missed dose At MORNING 10 o clock.
    What happened was DESTRUCTION for me.
    1:DROWSSINESS associated with take of EPIVAL Suddenly disappered.i CONTINUED TO TAKE EPIVAL for next week but it did not EFFECT.
    2:I continued taking whole medication on 7th Day of taking SYMBYAX some ANTIDEPRESSANT effect started to show BUT on 9TH day mixe episodes began ONSET OF MANIC EPISODE so i stopped taking SYMBYAX
    3: MANIC EPISODE stopped BUT HERE another DESTRUCTION APPEARED
    4:on third day of stopping SYMBYAX suddenly antidepressant effect continued to shade Off.
    Then doctor prescribed me only SYBYAX &QUITIAPINE +ALPRAZOLAM but SYMBYAX never showed ITS Effect as ANTIDEPRESSANT & neither it triGGERED MANIC EPISODE
    SO Its effect is NULL ON Me both EPIVAL and SYBYAX are null EFFECT ON me NEITHER POSITIVE mood STABLIZING & ANTIDEPRESSANT neither SIDE EFFECTS LIKE WEIGHT GAIN, DIZINESS Etc .
    I LOOKS Like my brain has become DESENSTIZED to ALL mood STABLIZERS & ANTIDEPRESSANT.
    i would like to present me as VOLUNTEER on research why MEDICATION FAILS in BIPOLAR COMMUNITY.
    If i can take NiCOTIMIDE RIBOSIDE
    where its is avaiable and how to TAKE IT.
    PLEASE Help me AND HUMANITY In this case .
    I am currently DEPRESSED and taking alprazolam and QUITIAPINE 200 MG NIGHTLY my GMAIL IS
    aftab58024@gmail.com

  7. @bubbercakes528 on

    Big Pharma wants us on pills for the rest of our lives. I have had bipolar disorder for over 20 years and have never been on lithium. I feel normal most of the time although I have gained weight and I cannot hold a job. I cannot manage any stress. I sure wish somebody could come up with a better solution. I feel like a bum because I’m the only person in my family who does not work. My ex-wife supports me thank heavens.

  8. @Raven28615 on

    A lot of people on the net are saying that microdosing psilocybin or LSD can help mood very well also but its needing a lot of research from Doctors😉

  10. @sicilyny5375 on

    Bipolar surfaced early on, with depression coming on like a fast moving train, hitting hard, never a precedent. By 13, I knew something was wrong, but back then(1972-6)
    little to nothing spoken of.
    Mania was in different forms always followed by deep dark havens of depression. I was 50 when diagnosed, finally. Note*** I'm a psych nurse since 22 and since 50, depression is 90%.

  17. @adrianafonseca8830 on

    I just got better after the psychiatrist prescribe Lamotrigine. I was taking lithium but it wasn't enough to prevent the severe depression that I have. So now I take paroxetine + lamotrigine. But I gained weight, unfortunatelly. Although I prefer to get weight than to ever have that kind of depression again. It was awful and it was traumatic.

  18. @Nicole-bk2pj on

    I can’t find a way to get medical help for full coverage at 63 to function need information if I can get coverage by disability for this COVID in 2023

  19. @dmtdreamz on

    You are loved and cherished. You have nothing to fear. There is nothing you can do wrong. If I had to boil this entire message down to one sentence, it would run this way: You are loved. And if I had to boil it down further, to just one word, it would (of course) be, simply: Love.

  20. @jims9168 on

    Response rates do not look great–around 50%. Some of us with bipolar do not get much help from medication. Although the meds do not work, we do get their side effects like weight gain. I gained 100 pounds and as a result lost my self esteem. Eventually, my psychiatrist got me stable–but only after I stopped drinking. Many of us with bipolar try to self medicate. Drinking made me feel good for a while, but the pills didn't. Eventually, I got off meds and have done well for many decades.

  22. @SwimminWitDaFishies on

    Psychotherapy ONLY helps if the person consciously WANTS to help themselves. Otherwise, it's just a money mill for the therapists. When you express "concern" to the affected family member, it may often be viewed by that person as "judgment" and as a consequence, they will withdraw, avoid, and cut off communication with the "concerned" family member. I know this firsthand as fact.

  23. @lso2930 on

    I’ve never felt torture like I felt when I tried Latuda. Akathisia felt like death was trying to rip itself out of my body. (TMS was the only thing that proved helpful for me.)

  25. @jasonmilocco2927 on

    i started fell depressed with suicide thoughts at 37, treated with effexor venlafaxine arounf 75mg , at 41 was diagnosticated bipolar type 2, treateated with 900mg Depakin or Depakote, some issues still with sleep use trazadone 50mg, smoker, fighting everyday, ill be 42 last of august big hug to all

  28. @Lonta54 on

    Maybe it's just me and I'm being picky, but it seems Mania gets no help. I don't have many depressive episodes or symptoms. I have Mania every Spring and Summer. Help us with Mania

  33. @colinmiddleton9444 on

    Interesting, but why don’t you include all the other nasty side effects of the antipsychotic drugs. I know of many people who get truly horrific side effects from antipsychotics and they frequently cause sexual dysfunction as well and yet you don’t seem to know about this?