Even doctors have a hard time diagnosing bipolar disorder. What distinguishes bipolar disorder from unipolar depression is that the affected person experiences states of both mania and depression.
Here’s a few other reasons why manic depression is so difficult to diagnose:
1. Often bipolar is inconsistently expressed among patients because some people feel mostly depression and experience little mania whereas others experience predominantly manic symptoms, with much less depression.
2. Plus, when manic depression shows up early in life, the first few episodes are much more likely to be depression, rather than mania, which usually shows up later in life. Therefore, the patient will be diagnosed with depression instead of manic depression.
Since a diagnosis of bipolar requires some sort of manic episode, patients are often first diagnosed and treated only for major depression, rather than bipolar depression.
The severity of the mania determines how the disorder is classified. Usually, mania is characterized by a distinct period of an elevated mood, generally appearing to be euphoric. Many people report needing very little sleep while going through a manic episode, and some can go for days without sleeping, while at the same time experiencing a lot more energy.
A milder form of mania is called hypomania, and it’s characterized by such things as undue optimism and a decreased need for sleep, while appearing to be quite hyperactive. Generally, hypomania does not inhibit functioning like mania.
To be diagnosed with manic depression (now called bipolar disorder) a person would be expected to have at least three of the following seven symptoms:
1. An unrealistically high sense of self esteem, along with grandiose thoughts and feelings
2. Sleeping is greatly reduced
3. Talks fast and frequent
4. Thoughts are too fast to process
5. Easily distracted and difficulty focusing
6. Dramatic increase in social or work-oriented activities
7. Poor judgment, as manifested by uncontrollable spending sprees, increased sexual indiscretion, and misguided financial decisions.
The classic tool for working with manic depression symptoms, lithium has been a lifesaver for many who suffer from manic depression. Various antidepressants are frequently combined with lithium. Lithium is not tolerated in a good percentage of affected individuals.
Lithium increases brain levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, and this helps relieve manic depression symptoms. Valproic acid and Lamictal are two other mood stabilizing medications used to relieve manic depression symptoms.
Antipsychotic medications are also used to help alleviate manic depression symptoms, in cases where lithium and other mood stabilizing drugs are not enough.
Zyprexa, an antipsychotic medicine, is approved by the FDA for schizophrenia, acute mixed or manic episodes of bipolar disorder, and maintenance treatment in bipolar disorder.
Zyprexa can cause extremely unpleasant side effects such as diabetes, severe anxiety, tardive dyskinesia, (where your muscles spasm uncontrollably – sometimes irreversibly) and excessive weight gain. Loss of libido is another common side effect from taking Zyprexa.
Besides Zyprexa, other antipsychotics such as Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel and Geodan are also prescribed for bipolar disorder.
Symbyax is classified as an antidepressant, but it’s actually a combination of Prozac and Zyprexa. Like all other drugs, especially those used to treat mood disorders, Symbyax comes with potentially serious side effects, such as fatigue, loss of libido, and weight gain.
5-Hydroxytryptophan (5_HTP) is an alternative to prescription antidepressants that has been shown in scientific studies to be as effective without the debilitating side effects so common with depression medications. To reduce manic depression symptoms, 5-HTP can be combined with lithium.
Hair samples of manic patients contain elevated levels of the heavy metal vanadium. Upon recovery, the vanadium levels fall into the normal range.
By comparison, depressed people have normal vanadium levels in hair samples, while their blood levels of vanadium are elevated. Their levels also return to normal upon recovery.
Vanadium appears to play a major role in determining mood. By reducing vanadium levels, one double blind scientific study was able to produce significant improvement in manic depression symptoms. Their secret? They found a common nutrient present in many foods alters the chemical structure of vanadate to the less harmful vanadyl.
To find out how they did it, go to this site on manic depression symptoms.
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