What is the difference between an antipsychotic and a mood stabiliser?!


Question: What is the difference between an antipsychotic and a mood stabiliser!?
When I first became ill I was prescribed Risperidone (Antipsychotic), I reacted badly to it and stopped taking it!. Within a couple of weeks I hit a major depression, I saw my doctor again and he prescribed me a mood stabiliser (Depakote) & an antidepressant Citalopram!.

What is the difference between an antipsychotic and mood stabiliser!?Www@Answer-Health@Com


Answers:
Anti-psychotic drugs are sometimes used to treat people with bi-polar disorder during a manic phase because of the powerful tranquilising effects!. Use is generally brief and carefully monitored as they have lots of unwanted side effects, including that they can precipitate depressive phases!.
Mood stabilisers are the standard treatment regime for bi-polar and need to be taken continuously for the duration of the disorder!.
Sometimes when a person first presents with an illness, it is not always possible to differentiate immediately between the diagnoses because there is no definitive test for mental illness!. Initial treatment can be a bit 'trial and error' until the medication is found which that person best responds to!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

Think of psychosis as a disorder or perception and bipolar (which is what mood stabilizers are usually for) as a disorder of emotion!.

Anti-psychotics are hardcore!. You are probably better not taking them they!. They get right into the grains of your brain and wrench them apart!.

Mood stabilizers are like souped up anti-depressants!. And for most people with bipolar, treating the mania and depression will get rid of the psychotic symptoms!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

My son is Autistic and takes several kinds of anti-psychotic drugs and they don't "wrench his brain" they act as "mood stabilizers" because without them he wouldn't sleep and would probably have me in the mental institution already!. Some people can't take them because they are not the appropriate drug for their disorder!.Maybe the risperidone(one if my sons pills) wasn't right for your type of illness!.Try asking your doctor the difference he will be the best one to tell you the difference than us answers peeps!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

Stay away from anti-psychotics, like Seraquel!. Not sure how to spell it, but it is linked with giving people diabities!. Make you really "zoned out" and just sit around all day!.

A mood stabilizer is I believe similar to Welbutrin which worked wonders for me! I have not taken my medication for about 5 days now since I'm trying something different---alternative ways of helping me without drugs and so far, it's working!.!.!.

but for the most part drugs like Zoloft (used for OCD) and Welbutrin (used for depression) works wonders!. I started on Zoloft in 2003 and the other in 2007!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

Mood stabilisers just treat mood swings - some antipsychotics can also treat mood swings but also have properties that treat psychotic symptoms - such as hearing voices or paranoia!. Some antipsychotics are licenced as mood stabilisers in bipolar so you don't have to have psychotic symptoms to take them!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

Not a lot for some but for others- quite a lot!.Www@Answer-Health@Com





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