And for many one bad experience leads to the idea that no medication will be helpful.
Side effects of stopping bipolar medication.
Sometimes these bipolar disorder medication side effects make people stop taking their medication.
Don t stop taking your antidepressant medication.
Just like someone with type 1 diabetes will always need insulin a person with bipolar disorder will likely need to take medication for his whole life.
Many mild to moderate side effects go away within the first weeks to months of taking medications.
All medications for bipolar disorder have a risk of side effects.
In fact there are many justifiable reasons to stop a bipolar medication including dangerous side effects.
This can lead to serious complications.
Speak to your doctor before you go off your medications or reduce your dose.
These medications even out the troughs and the peaks of mood swings to keep you on a more even keel.
Medications should be combined with nonpharmacological treatments such as.
When we talk about the negative side of taking medication for bipolar disorder it s usually about the side effects.
Side effects are the number one reason people with bipolar disorder stop taking their medications.
This is an unfortunate decision as many side effects can either lessen over time or be managed with medication dosage changes adding a new drug or switching.
Side effects of quitting medication.
Other treatments may include antipsychotics or antidepressants.
But stopping medication can make someone rapidly worse possibly manic or suicidal.
Weight gain sexual dysfunction memory problems etc.
Unfortunately there are many side effects of bipolar medication that people find intolerable.
There may be a slightly increased risk of serious possibly fatal side effects such as stroke heart failure fast irregular heartbeat pneumonia when this medication is used by older.
Sometimes several drugs have to be tried before the right combination of drugs is found.
There are better ways of dealing with bipolar medication side effects.
The most effective treatment for bipolar disorder is a mood stabilizing agent.
It s never safe to just stop taking bipolar drugs cold turkey.