Bipolar Disorder

Question 1

What is bipolar disorder?

Answer 1

disorder characterized by periods of mania or hypomania and periods of depression

Question 2

What is the difference between bipolar 1 and bipolar 2 disorder?

Answer 2

bipolar 1 - depression and mania

bipolar 2 - depression and hypomania

Question 3

What is mania?

Answer 3

state of abnormally elevated mood - impairs social or occupational functioning:

• feelings of euphoria
• lack of restraint
• impulsivity, decreased inhibition
• decreased attention and concentration
• increased energy/hyperactivity
• inflated self-esteem, delusions of grandeur
• irritable mood
• more talkative, pressured speech, flight of ideas
• decreased need for sleep

Question 4

What is hypomania?

Answer 4

similar to mania but less severe, doesn’t impair social or occupational functioning

Question 5

What are care focuses for someone with bipolar disorder?

Answer 5

• self care
• safety (because they are impulsive)
• sleep hygiene (often sleep deprived)
• nutrition and fluids (often can’t sit still, forget to eat)
• regular exercise helps, also side effect of meds is weight gain

Question 6

What type of medication regimen will someone with bipolar disorder receive? Is the treatment long term or temporary?

Answer 6

• mood stabilizer and an antidepressant
• patient may be able to stop using medication, but if they have had more than two manic episodes they will likely use medication long-term

Question 7

What type of drug is lithium?

Answer 7

• mood stabilizer
• narrow therapeutic window = need to check serum levels for toxicity
• it is a salt, if the patient is dehydrated it will be more concentrated and have a greater effect

Question 8

What type of drug is divalproex sodium?

Answer 8

• anticonvulsant, used as mood stabilizer
• may work by increasing GABA
• associated with birth defects
• baseline liver function tests and complete blood count