Treatments for bipolar depression

Key points about treating bipolar depression

• Antidepressant drugs work for bipolar depression. But they can set off bouts of mania. That means your mood swings in the other direction and gets too high.
• To stop your mood swinging into mania, you will probably need to take another drug too. For example, you may need to take lithium as well as your antidepressant.
• If you need to take an antidepressant, a type called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) is probably the best choice.
• A drug called Lamotrigine can also work well.

Treatments for bipolar depression

Which treatments work best for bipolar depression? We've carefully weighed up the research and divided the treatments into categories. You can find out more about each treatment by clicking on the links below. Talk with your doctor to decide which ones are best for you.

Treatments that are likely to work

• Antidepressants: These drugs are used to treat depression. There are many kinds. Some brand names are Prozac and Seroxat. More...
• Lamotrigine: This is a drug that is often used to treat fits (seizures). But some doctors prescribe it for bipolar depression, too. The brand name is Lamictal. More...
• Quetiapine: This is a type of drug called an antipsychotic. The brand name is Seroquel. More...

Treatments that need further study

• Lithium: This is a medicine that doctors sometimes give to treat bipolar depression. Brand names include Camcolit, Li-Liquid, Liskonum, and Priadel. More...
• Talking treatments: Treatments like counselling and interpersonal therapy help you talk about what is happening to you. More...
• Valproate: Doctors sometimes prescribe this drug to treat bipolar depression. The brand name is Depakote. More...