Bipolar Disease
Mood disorders such as bipolar disorder or also known as manic-depression have been closely studied and researched for many years. Due to the inability to find one or any specific gene that contributes to this disorder it has been a long and difficult journey into the understanding of manic-depressive illness. With the contributions of many scientist and researchers slowly the understanding and treatment of bipolar disorder is becoming more clear. The use of lithium and other forms of treatment such as the integration of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy have facilitated substantial results in the lives of patients and families living with this disorder. Without the continual research into such mood disorders such as manic-depressive illness assumptions may become fact, which will in turn misconstrue the meaning behind this disorder. And the Different Aspects of Treatment A growing body of research has indicated that as many as three million people in the United States are estimated to suffer from Bipolar Disorder or also known as Manic-Depression (Bower,2000). This condition is marked by periods of severe depression interspersed
(2000), The longitudinal course of bipolar disorder. Until the patients achieves a satisfactory blood level, it would be appropriate to measure serum lithium levels every one to two weeks; after that the levels should be measured every two to three months for the first six months of treatment and at least every six to twelve months thereafter (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). At the beginning of the treatment, patients should receive a physical examination and laboratory analysis to include a complete blood count and thyroid and renal function tests (Dunner, 2000). Since then lithium has become established for the treatment of acute mania and for maintenance treatment for patients who have bipolar I and bipolar II disorder. These different moods swings are mainly controlled by the drug Lithium. Lithium is administered orally to those patients who are willing to take it. The individuals who have this disorder have wayward brain chemicals and genes gone bad which seem to bully people back and forth between weeks of moderate-to-intense euphoria and comparable spells of soul-deadening depression. Due to these reasons, the integration of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy has been recommended by the American Psychiatric Association which aim to increase the patients adherence to medication, decrease the number of hospitalizations and relapses, to enhance social and occupational functioning, and most importantly to improve the patient's quality of life (Hirschfield, Clayton, and Cohen, 1994). Bibliography References American Psychiatric Association.
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