Bipolar disorder: understanding your treatment options
Medical professionals Dr. Domenick Sportelli and Dr. Jen Caudle speak to Hannah Blum, author and advocate, and Mike Lardi, mental coach, both of whom are living with bipolar. The panel discusses the nuances of the symptoms and treatments for bipolar.
Transcript
I felt like for a really long time when it came to treatment, I was a diagnosis and not an individual.
[MUSIC PLAYING] Dr. Sportelli, I'd love if you could
talk a little bit about treatment options and just sort of walk us through what some of the options are and how they range.
DOMENICK SPORTELLI: When someone's in acute mania, we need to slow that down, and we do have some psychopharmacology ways to do that.
And pretty much the gold standard at this point is a mood stabilizer. The other option would be a group of medications called
antipsychotics, and I know they're called antipsychotics, but they do help with bipolar quite a bit. These medicines also can bring down that manic episode
and give you a firmer footing and a foundation to work on the other aspects of your life. The pills, the medication helps.
There is no doubt that it helps. But you have to change your lifestyle. We know that exercise helps when you're
in a depressive phase, 20 or 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise each day, getting outside. Having family support and peer support
and surrounding yourself with the right people who are educated about bipolar disorder works, so we do have a lot of options.
HANNAH BLUM: The treatment that is worked for me is getting on medication. But that journey getting to medication took way too long.
So part of my treatment and the way in which I work with my doctors, it's really a collaboration
where I have a voice. For treatment options, medication, I experimented. I was very assertive with my doctors.
If I wasn't feeling it, I went back in. And if I didn't feel that they were seeing me and listening
to me, I found someone else. And now I have found that team, and it's great. One of the biggest things is for treatment is peer support
and support groups. I go to support groups three times a week. And I need my-- you know, my people.
And they're like a reflection to me because we have this bond. And when you can see other individuals like you that
talk about it, that is really what has helped me on my journey and accepting it and getting
and staying on medications. But then again, of course, also lifestyle and all of that. But I think that community is something
that is part of treatment, and that's pivotal to your success as someone living with a mental illness.
Right. MIKE LARDI: Unlike Hannah, I was not forward about my choice in health care and physician
early on. I was very passive about that early on. I didn't have the capacity to be in my own corner for that.
I lucked out, and I got reassigned to a doctor who really was on top of it, cared a ton,
was willing to explore things, ask questions. And I'll tell you, one thing I learned from interacting with her is that you just
have to arrive at a place in your mind-- and again, this is that mindset, where you need to believe and actually act as though you are your doctor's best patient.
You pay attention. If something's not working, you communicate. You try, try, try. And you just keep it all moving.
Like you always keep the appointments booked. You always touch base. If you're not going to make it, you always book the next appointment. It's like so beneficial to put that effort
into that relationship because it's going to trickle down into everything else.
bipolar disorder
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