Do you want to know more about Bipolar disorder? We will discuss in this article about the Bipolar disorder: causes, symptoms. Also we will discuss about bipolar disorder treatment in Kathmandu Nepal.
What is bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder, also called manic depression is a type of psychiatric disorder that is characterized by the episodes of depression, where the patient feels low and mania, where the patient feels abnormally elevated mood.
Bipolar means having two extreme poles literally. Happiness and sadness are the two poles of emotions and experiencing it in abnormal intensity affecting day to day life and activities leads to diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder.
Symptoms of bipolar disorder
The mania and depressive phase have different type of symptoms:
Mania
It is a condition of bipolar disorder characterized by elevated mood or irritable moods leading to fluctuations in thoughts, emotion and behavior. Other symptoms are:
- Increase in energy
- Over talkativeness
- Increased activity level. Sometimes,
- Involve in doing harm to others
- Buying things more than necessary
- Spending excessive amount of money
- Making foolish plans
- Driving recklessly
- Patient at some time may also have delusion and hallucination, form of psychotic symptoms.
Depression
Depressive episode is characterized by low feeling for most of the times in a day. Other symptoms are:
- Decreased self-confidence
- Feeling of worthlessness and hopelessness
- Lethargy and fatigue
- Not having interest in pleasurable and enjoyable activities
- Disturbed sleep and poor appetite
- Suicidal ideations and activity.
What are the causes of bipolar disorder?
The causes of bipolar disorder are:
- Genetic: Family history of bipolar disorder or any of the psychiatric illness makes one susceptible for the bipolar illness in the offspring
- Environmental: Birth related problems, early life trauma and childhood stressors may also contribute to the development of bipolar disorder in later life.
How do you diagnose bipolar disorder?
Your psychiatrist use the diagnostic criteria set by World Health Organization’s International Classification of Disease-10 or DSM-5 to make a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. If above mentioned symptoms are present for a definitive period of time, then it is called bipolar disorder.
Are there any investigations for bipolar disorder?
There are no specific investigations to diagnose the bipolar disorder. No definitive blood investigation or neuroimaging would help you diagnose the bipolar disorder; they would just help you to rule out other conditions if you have any.
Blood investigations and CT-Scan or MRI of brain can be done as per the suggestion of your doctor.
What is treatment of bipolar disorder?
The treatment of bipolar disorder is by following methods:
- Medicine: Mood stabilizers group of drugs like Sodium Valproate, Lithium are used. Sometime antipsychotics are also used if the patients have psychotic symptoms. Always take the medicines after consulting your doctor.
- Psychotherapy and counseling: This is only useful after the acute phase of illness subsides. It involves improving our daily lifestyle, behavior, maintaining our sleep patterns, ways of handling and managing the stress.
How long should medicine taken for bipolar disorder?
Medicine for bipolar disorder should be taken at least more than one year in case of first episode. If there are multiple episodes of illness then the medicines need to be taken life long.
Treatment for Bipolar disorder in Kathmandu, Nepal
If you are looking for the treatment of bipolar disorder in Kathmandu, Nepal, then Dr. Purushottam Adhikari’s Mind Clinic is the best place to be. Our expert psychiatrist will guide you by the use of medicines and later therapy so as to make you feel better and get rid of the bipolar disorder. Book the appointment with us today.