Lake Worth Psychiatry provides comprehensive treatment options for individuals experiencing mood disorders, utilizing mood stabilizers as a key component of therapy. Mood stabilizers are psychiatric medications designed to help control fluctuations between depression and mania, aiming to achieve a neurochemical balance by moderating brain activity. These medications are primarily used for treating Bipolar Disorder and are also prescribed for individuals with Schizoaffective Disorder. Additionally, mood stabilizers may enhance the effectiveness of other treatments, such as antidepressants, or be used to manage severe irritability, anger, anxiety, impulsivity, or self-harm behaviors in patients with borderline personality disorder.
Types of Mood Stabilizers:
Lithium: A naturally occurring element (Li++) recognized as a “gold standard” for treating acute mania and for the maintenance of bipolar disorder since its FDA approval in 1970. Lithium is effective in managing bipolar mania and, in some cases, is combined with other medications to treat bipolar depression. Regular monitoring of kidney function through blood tests is necessary when on lithium.
Commercial brands of lithium include:
- Eskalith
- Lithobid
- Lithonate.
Anticonvulsants
Initially developed for seizure control, certain anticonvulsants serve as mood stabilizers. Commonly used anticonvulsants include , with brands like:
- valproic acid, also known as valproate or divalproex sodium (Depakote and Depakene)
- lamotrigine (Lamictal)
- carbamazepine (Tegretol)
All require routine blood work.
Other off-label anticonvulsants include:
- oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
- gabapentin (Neurontin)
- topiramate (Topamax)
It’s important to understand that mood stabilizers differ in their effects; for instance, lithium is particularly effective against mania, while lamotrigine is favored for its antidepressant properties. The term “mood stabilizer” may be somewhat misleading, as these medications do not prevent normal mood variations but rather aim to mitigate extreme mood episodes—both the “high highs” and the “low lows”—associated with conditions like bipolar disorder. The goal is to maintain a more stable emotional range, although some fluctuation in mood is natural and expected.