Side effects
With the right drugs, mild side effects improve and your body adjusts to the drugs. In severe cases, it is important to talk to your doctor or mental health professional to help manage the situation.
Patients are advised not to stop taking their drugs, because it can cause withdrawal effects or the symptoms may exacerbate or return. In some cases, you can become very depressed, have suicidal thoughts or go into a manic or hypomanic episode. If you think your medications should be changed, then see a doctor.
Medications and pregnancy
There are several drugs used for bipolar disorder that are associated with birth anomalies and can go through breast milk to your baby. Valproic acid and divalproex sodium should not be prescribed for pregnant women. In some cases, birth control drugs may become less potent when used with certain bipolar disorder drugs.
There are other treatments that are given, depending on the needs of the patient. During electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), the electrical current moves through the brain, deliberately causing brain seizures. This causes some alteration in the brain chemistry that reverses the symptoms of mental conditions.