Mood Stabilizers Flashcards
The 3 mood stabilizer classes used to treat bipolar disorder are
Lithium
anticonvulsants
atypical antipsychotics
Give 3 examples of anticonvulsants used to treat BPD
valproate
carbamazepine
lamotrigine
Which mood stabilizer is the “gold standard” treatment?
Lithium
Define bipolar disorder
BPD is a severe biologic illness characterized by mood. Providers have to be able to treat 2 disorders at once, both depression and mania
Describe patterns of mood episodes associated with bpd
Bipolar I disorder- patients may experience manic or mixed episodes, and usually depressive episodes too
Bipolar II disorder- patients experience hypomanic or depressive episodes, but not manic or mixed episodes
What is the therapeutic index of Lithium?
Narrow
What side effects should patients be aware of when taking Lithium?
fine hand tremor polyuria mild thirst mild nausea weight gain
Due to it’s narrow therapeutic index, how often should Lithium levels be checked?
Every seven days for the first few weeks
Once every three months after stabilization
Why should the patient be instructed not to alter (increase/decrease) their sodium intake when taking Lithium?
The kidneys cant differentiate between Lithium and sodium, therefore toxicity can be a result of altering sodium.
What are two other physiological concerns for patients taking Lithium?
hypothyroidism
renal impairment
Valproate is a good drug choice for what patients?
rapid cyclers
What component of bpd does valproate treat?
manic only; there is no antidepressant effect
There is a black box warning associated with valproate? What is the warning?
Pancreatitis
Hepatoxicity
Valproate falls into which pregnancy category?
Category D
It may cause neural tube defects
