Abstract Background Bipolar disorder is an lasting illness, which may require treatment throughout the patient?s lifespan. Patients will spend 3-5 times more days in a depressed incident than in the manic phase. Due to this variability in episodes polypharmacy is used regularly in practice, though the evidence to do this remains quite limited. Polypharmacy is the use of multiple drugs to treat a single condition. Many positive and negative outcomes can occur from this practice. ASHP (The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) as an organization attempts to increase the degree to which pharmacists help individual hospital inpatients achieve the best use of medication. With the increasing use of polypharmacy to treat bipolar disorder, …show more content…
The direct association between increasingly limiting definitions of BPD and the indicators of clinical validity, including number of episodes, chronicity, symptom severity, impairment, comorbidity, and treatment,1,34-?36provides evidence of the underlying dimensional nature of bipolar illness. For example, the severity of work impairment increased from 19.8% for subthreshold BPD to 47.5% for BP-II to 62.3% for BP-I, and the severity of manic/hypomanic episodes rose from 31.5% for subthreshold BPD to 55.4% for BP-II to 70.2% for BP-I. Likewise, the mean age at onset ranged from 18.2 years for BP-I to 20.3 years for BP-II to 22.2 years for the subthreshold BPD subgroup, and the estimated average numbers of lifetime episodes were 77.6 for BP-I, 63.6 for BP-II, and 32.0 for subthreshold BPD. Although these retrospective estimates may reflect recall prejudice to some extent, they are still within the range of estimates reported in prospective studies and family studies.37,38?Since the mean age at onset of BPD occurs at one of the most critical periods of educational, occupational, and social development, its consequences often lead to lifelong disability. Not only does the disorder begin at an early age but affected individuals spend an average of a decade of their lives in episodes of
This paper discusses pharmacology and terminology related to “Pharmacology” which is the branch of medicine concerned with the uses, effects, and modes of action of drugs“ pharmacology. 2015. In Merriam-Webster.com. The study of different classes of drugs, routes of absorption, and drugs have effects on those consuming them. There are drugs that are necessary for illnesses and healing but, there are medicines that cause concern regarding interaction and harming the body.
According to the documentary, medicine is the most commonly used intervention mechanism to elevate and dull symptoms of bipolar disorder (2016). Of all the medicine used to combat bipolar disorder, lithium, is considered the “gold standard.” It has been shown to be the most effective and consistent and treating symptoms, however, only 30% of patients benefit from using lithium (2016). Other medications can be used, but have varying levels of effectiveness in patients. It often takes years for patients to find the right mixture of medication to help combat symptoms. For some patients with bipolar, medication is useless at fighting symptoms (2016). For example, the video followed Gary who was desperate for treatment and who was thought to be medication resistant. He elected to participate in Electro-convulsive therapy (ETC), which induces remission in 80% of patients and has been known to be rapidly effective for those with bi-polar disorder. For Gary, the treatment was used to apply electric current to the brain. This current changed the way neurons connect to one another in his brain and even stimulated the
Bipolar Disorder (Formerly known as Manic Depression) is a mental illness linked to alterations in moods such as mood swings, mania, and depression. There is more than one type, Bipolar I and Bipolar II, and the subcategories are divided by the severity of the symptoms seen, such as cyclothymic disorder, seasonal mood changes, rapid cycling disorder and psychosis. Age of onset usually occurs between 15-30 years old with an average onset of 25 years old but it can affect all ages. (Harvard Medical School; Massachusetts General Hospital , 2013) Bipolar disorder affects more than two million people in the United States every year. (Gardner, 2011)
Geddes, J. R., & Miklowitz, D. J. (2013). Treatment of Bipolar Disorder. The Lancet, 381(9878), 1672-1682. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60857-0
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mood disorder characterized by periods of mania, depression, or a mixed manic-depressive state. The condition can seriously affect a person’s reasoning, understanding, awareness, and behavior. Acco...
The severe mood fluctuations of bipolar or manic-depressive disorders have been around since the 16-century and affect little more than 2% of the population in both sexes, all races, and all parts of the world (Harmon 3). Researchers think that the cause is genetic, but it is still unknown. The one fact of which we are painfully aware of is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. Because the symptoms of bipolar disorder are so debilitation, it is crucial that we search for possible treatments and cures.
Hopkins, H.S. and Gelenberg, A.J. (1994). Treatment of Bipolar Disorder: How Far Have We Come? Psychopharmacology Bulletin. 30 (1): 27-38.
For the future, a yearlong study of at least 10 bipolar drugs are being conducted and compared to figure out the best combinations (Kluger and Song, 2002). Brain scans are also being completed to determine which lobes and regions are involved in Bipolar Disorder (Kluger and Song, 2002). A blood test that allows bipolar disorder to be spotted just as simply as high cholesterol is a process in the making (Kluger and Song, 2002). A blood test will finally eliminate years of incorrect diagnoses, along with misguided treatments (Kluger and Song, 2002).
Bipolar disorder is characterized by mood swings to both ends of the emotional spectrum or ‘pole’ (book cite). It ranges from major depressive disorder to manic episodes that can last for days to weeks in length (book cite). When the subject goes into major depression, it is obvious, because they take less pleasure in activities they used to enjoy or refrain from doing any activities at all. Manic episodes give the subject a god like viewpoint on everything and are characterized by extreme happiness. During a manic episode the subject often refuses to believe facts that other people are telling them and in extreme cases believe they are a mythical god or a different person altogether. Another sign of mania is fast speech and incomplete sentences. In order to be classified as bipolar disorder the clinician must identify one or more manic episode in the history of the patient (Rivas-Vazquez, et al). The treatment of bipolar disorder is varied and has had mixed results.
Crowe, M. (2011). Feeling out of control: A qualitative analysis of the impact of bipolar
It is a fact; the older adult population is living longer. While many older adults are fit and healthy, others are frail and weak requiring necessary medication. It is more important than ever for all of the healthcare community to be conscious of safe prescribing and the proper use of medicine when taking care of older adults.
Although genetic factors are considered the most important for the development of bipolar disorder, “episodes that develop after the first one appear to be more heavily influenced by environmental stress, sleep disruption, alcohol and substance abuse, inconsistent drug treatments, and other genetic, biological, or environmental factors” (Milkowitz, 2010, p. 74). Patient M had already suffered two similar episodes of strange behavior and her family history includes mood disorders and states of depression.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Bipolar disorder is the condition in which one’s mood switches from periods of extreme highs known as manias to periods of extreme lows known as depression. The name bipolar comes from the root words bi (meaning two) and polar (meaning opposite) (Peacock, 2000). Though often bipolar disorder is developed in a person’s late teens to early adulthood; bipolar disorder’s early symptoms can sometimes be found in young children or may develop later on in life (National Institutes of, 2008). Bipolar disorder has been found to affect both men and women equally. Currently the exact cause of bipolar disorder is not yet known, however it has been found to occur most often in the relatives of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder (National Center for, 2010).
Mrs. A is a 71-year-old widow with CCF and osteoarthritis who has recently been exhibiting quite unusual behavior. Her daughter is concerned about her mother 's ability to remain independent and wishes to pursue nursing home admission arrangements. She fears the development of a dementing illness. Over the last two to three months Mrs. A has become confused, easily fatigued and very irritable. She has developed disturbing obsessive/compulsive behavior constantly complaining that her lace curtains were dirty and required frequent washing. Detailed questioning revealed that she thought they were yellow-green and possibly moldy. Her prescribed medications are:
BPD is a complex disorder in a sense that the symptoms such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse may cause a misdiagnosis thus overlooking BPD completely (Biskin & Paris, 2013). This personality disorder has also been known to occur simultaneously with anxiety disorders, eating disorders and bipolar mood disorders (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2014). In addition, the prevalence of BPD decreases in older individuals (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).