What if I'm Only Getting Some Relief From the Bipolar Medications?

For most people with bipolar disorder, medications provide only partial relief. But can you get better results from bipolar medication treatment?

Gold Standard for Treating Bipolar Disorder (part 8)

The goal of all medication treatment for bipolar disorder is a maximum reduction of symptoms. In a perfect world, this would be the case. In reality, most people find that while they can definitely get relief from many of their symptoms, there are still many that remain. There is also the chance that symptoms will get worse when you're faced with a life-stressing trigger. (Trigger management will be covered later in this section.)

If you feel that you're not getting enough help from your medications, especially when you think of the side-effects you're experiencing, it's time to talk to your medications healthcare professional. It may be that different doses or a complete medication change will offer better results, but as always, it's important that you keep track of your moods and how well you think the medications are working so that you can have a productive discussion with your doctor about your medication efficacy.

next: How Can I Get the Most from My Medications? (part 9)