Abilify, Aripiprazole is an atypical antipsychotic medication often prescribed to treat mania and manic episodes in bipolar disorder. This drug is also used to treat schizophrenia. It has its positive and negative side effects.
If your doctor suggests that you take Abilify, you may have a few questions on the side effects —positive and negative— of taking Abilify for bipolar disorder.
Here’s a list of Abilify side effects:
Positives of Abilify
1. Relief of Manic symptoms. For many bipolar patients that take Abilify, the manic symptoms of bipolar disorder are improved within several days. The relief varies from person to person.
2. Reduces manic relapse. While Abilify is known to relief manic bipolar episodes, it also helps reduce the instance of manic relapse. The bipolar medication also stabilizes manic or mixed moods.
3. Won’t effect cholesterol or blood level. During a clinical trial of Abilify, both those receiving the bipolar medication and the placebo had the same experiences regarding cholesterol and blood level. Therefore it doesn’t play a factor in effecting either.
Negatives of Abilify
1. Sense of restlessness. Bipolar patients taking Abilify may feel an inner sense to move. This is known as akathisia. They can also experience involuntary body movements. This can also lead to the inability to stay asleep.
2. May make one feel sleepy and tired. This medication is known to make a small percentage of bipolar disorder patient feel sleepy. Wait until you know how this medication affects you before you drive or operate hazardous machinery.
3. Can cause weight gain. A very small percentage of people taking Abilify experience a minor gain in weight while on the bipolar medication.
Other Abilify side effects include headache, nausea, constipation and vomiting. Anyone experiencing these side effects as well as a decrease in mood should contact their doctor for analysis and a possible adjustment in dosage.
Xanax, also known by its generic name alprazolam, is an anti-anxiety medication from Pfizer. Your doctor may want to prescribe this medication for your bipolar disorder. It is a benzodiazepine sometimes used to alleviate anxiety and sleeping difficulties for bipolar patients.
Here is a list of the positives and negatives of using Xanax, alprazolam, medication for bipolar disorder.
Positives of Xanax
1. Xanax helps with anxiety. Anxiety can coexist with bipolar disorder as mentioned in this previous article: Bipolar Disorder and Panic Attacks. The biggest benefit of taking Xanax is that it is expected to greatly reduce the instances of anxiety in bipolar disorder.
2. Helps bipolar patients sleep. People with bipolar disorder may have difficulty sleeping at times. Taking Xanax as prescribed by a doctor can help a bipolar person get the sleep they need. Getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis also reduces irritability.
Negatives, Side Effects of Xanax
1. Xanax can cause clumsiness, drowiness in patients. Clumsiness, drowsiness as well as slurred speech are common symptoms of Xanax medication. You may find that you feel unsteady from taking this bipolar drug. You may also feel drowsy and experience slurred speech while taking this medication. 
2. Xanax can cause depression. While it helps with anxiety, some people experience depression while taking this medication.
3. Xanax is not recommended for pregnant women. Doctors advise pregnant women not to take this anti-anxiety medication because of the high risk of birth defects to a fetus. The only way that it can be prescribed to a pregnant woman is if the risk of going without the medication is greater than using it.
Other common side effects of Xanax are dizziness, lightheartedness and slurred speech. Other less common side effects include stomach cramps, changes in sexual desire, increased thirst, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting and headache. Check with your doctor if you experience any of these negative side effects while taking this medication.
Continue reading about Xanax, Alprazolam for Bipolar Disorder: Benefits and Side Effects
The drug Lamictal Lamotrigine is often used to treat bipolar disorder as a mood stabilizer. There are some benefits to Lamictal, as well a some side effects. You’ll want to be aware of both.
Here’s a list of positives and side effects you’ll find useful if you’re considering taking Lamictal to treat your bipolar disorder. And as always, consult your doctor about the use of bipolar medications.
Benefits of Lamictal:
1. Helps prevent mood swings. For those looking for relief from bipolar depression and bipolar mania, Lamictal can help keep mood swings at bay for longer periods of time. GlaxoSmithKline, the company that produces this bipolar medication, states that 37 percent of patients that received the drug did not need additional bipolar treatment for mood episodes over a course of a year.
2. Lamictal boasts long-term stability. You may want to consider Lamictal if you’re looking for a long-term bipolar medication solution since there is currently no cure for bipolar disorder.
3. No blood monitoring needed. Since there is not need for blood monitoring with Lamictal, this cuts down on the number of doctors visits needed.
4. Doesn’t cause weight gain. Bipolar patients will not gain weight from taking this bipolar medication. 
Side Effects of Lamictal:
1. Could cause blood or liver problems. There have been numerous reports of blood problems and liver problems with Lamictal. Symptoms of these problems are weakness, fatigue, severe muscle pain, unusual bruising or bleeding and frequent infections.
2. Could cause a rash. Those that experience rash with this bipolar medication may be affected within the first two months of starting Lamictal. A rash may become a serious enough reaction that would require hospitalization. There is no way to tell if this will happen though. A serious rash is more likely to occur in children than in adults.
3. Other side effects of Lamictal are headache, dizziness, sleepiness, vomiting, insomnia, double vision and lack of coordination. If you are currently taking Lamictal medication for bipolar disorder and are experiences these side effects, consult your doctor.
Continue reading about The Side Effects and Benefits of Lamictal Lamotrigine for Bipolar Disorder
Lithium, a mood stabilizer, is one of the most common medication treatments for bipolar disorder. It helps lessen the frequency and severity of mania. It also helps with bipolar depression.
Here are the pros and cons of taking lithium to treat bipolar disorder:
Pros
1. Lithium stabilizes ones mood. This bipolar disorder medication impacts a person’s central nervous system and helps a bipolar person better control their emotions. This helps slow down the ups and downs of bipolar mania and bipolar depression.
2. Lithium reduces suicide risk. When taken properly, lithium helps reduce suicide risk in a bipolar patient. It also prevents manic episodes. It is a major plus to stick with this medication as prescribed, because the bipolar suicide risk is about 15 percent. Any decrease in suicide risk, the greater chance at survival.
3. Sometimes lithium can be taken alone. For some bipolar patients, a doctor may find that they can use lithium alone as their bipolar medication treatment. This reduced the number of medications one has to worry about taking daily streamlining the treatment process.
Cons
1. Lithium takes one or two weeks to work. One down side to taking lithium to treat bipolar disorder is that it takes a week or two to work its way through the system. If you have been prescribed this medication, continue to take it to give it a chance to work for you.
2. It can affect kidney function. Bipolar disorder patients on lithium treatment will have to take regular blood tests because the medication can affect kidney function. It works best if it remains at a consistent level in the body. A bipolar patient on lithium is also encouraged to drink at least eight glasses of water and to have some regular salt intake.
3. Lithium has its side effects. There are a number of side effects that can result from taking lithium. About 75 of people may experience side effects with some decreasing as the drug works its way throughout the system. These lithium side effects include- diarrhea, vomiting, weight gain, hand tremor, increased thirst and urination, poor concentration, muscle weakness, hair loss, drowsiness and decreased thyroid function.
Those that experience side effects from lithium should consult a doctor before changing the dosage. Give the medication some time to work through your system. You may be pleased with how well it works for you to manage your bipolar disorder, or you may not. It is worth a shot.
Continue reading about The Pros, Cons and Side Effects of Lithium to Treat Bipolar Disorder
Lots of people with bipolar disorder have wondered at one point or another- Can bipolar disorder be cured? Will I have bipolar disorder forever? Since the depression and mania episodes in this disease can wreck havoc on a person’s life, they look for a bipolar cure.
While there are a variety of ways to treat and manage manic depression, to date there is no known cure for bipolar disorder. Researchers are working everyday to solving the manic depression puzzle.
Some people have very few mania and depression episodes without treatments, while others have symptoms throughout their lifetime. To be completely free from bipolar symptoms after diagnosis is rare. There are some people that go for extended periods of time feeling well and being symptom-free, but there is always a chance for another mania or depression episode to reoccur. This is why it is wise to maintain treatments despite feeling well. It is better to be cautious. Your health deserves it.
There are some people that claim to be cured or healed from bipolar disorder, but they can not know for sure as they could have an episode at any time in the future. It is best to think that these individuals have learned to manage their disorder in a way that allows them to be symptom-free. You should strive to be symptom-free instead of searching for a miracle bipolar cure. Perhaps one day there will be a break-through cure for bipolar disorder.
Since there is no cure yet for manic depression, it is best to maintain a treatment plan your therapist suggests. This will include medication, counseling and a self-management plan you find works for you.
If you’re looking to live a full life despite your manic depression diagnosis, I would suggest reading The Bipolar Advantage by Tom Wootton. It promises that you’ll look at your life differently.