Mood Stabilizers - SWEET INSTITUTE - Continuing Education for Mental Health Professionals https://sweetinstitute.com/category/diagnoses/mood-stabilizers-diagnoses/ The One Stop Shop for Mental Health Clinicians and Agencies Tue, 24 Feb 2026 12:26:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://sweetinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/cropped-Add-a-heading-5-32x32.png Mood Stabilizers - SWEET INSTITUTE - Continuing Education for Mental Health Professionals https://sweetinstitute.com/category/diagnoses/mood-stabilizers-diagnoses/ 32 32 Mood Stabilizers: Lithium: 10 Things All Clinicians Need to Know https://sweetinstitute.com/10-things-to-know-lithium/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-things-to-know-lithium Tue, 20 Mar 2018 11:31:19 +0000 http://sweetinstitute.com/2018-2-16-mood-stabilizers-lithium-10-things-all-clinicians-need-to-know/ “Ron continues to ask me questions about Lithium and the effects on his kidneys and thyroid. I have no idea what he is talking about, but I want to help.†Lily articulated these words to Dawn, as they were getting ready for the weekly talk on Mood Stabilizers. “There is a lot to know about Lithium, and we could spend days just talking about it. Let us dedicate this time to learning more, so you can be ready to answer Ron’s questions when you see him next,†Dawn replied with a smile. This is the fourth article in the series on Mood Stabilizers. I provided an overview, with an outline of five essential points to know about Mood Stabilizers, and I gave a brief description of ten of the most commonly used Mood Stabilizers. Lithium was one of them, the first known Mood Stabilizer, the oldest, and the most effective, and to which, this current article is dedicated. Like Lily, your patients and clients may have asked you several questions. Below are Ten things all clinicians need to know about Lithium. Lithium has been used long before our first antipsychotic In the mid nineteenth century, around 1843, Lithium carbonate was used for the treatment of bladder stones, and 16 years later, in 1859, it was recommended for the treatment of gout, kidney stones, mania, depression, and headaches. However, it was not until Dr. John Cade discovered its effectiveness for the treatment of symptoms of mania, in 1948, that it was first used to treat Bipolar Disorder. This information is important for us to remind our patients and clients that Lithium is one of the most studied of all our psychotropic medications. Its mechanism of action is partly simple and partly an enigma The messages carried to the cells (smallest structural and functional unit) of the brain travel and become intensified through ion transport (atom or molecule with a net electric charge). As you may know, there is an irregular increase in brain activity in mania, and Lithium interferes with the ion transport processes to decrease this irregularity of an increased brain processing activity. This is the clearest part related to the macro view of Lithium’s mechanism of action (how it produces its effect). However, the details of the micro view remain an enigma. This is good news for all of us and for our patients and clients with Bipolar Disorder, who have 10% risk of attempting and dying from suicide. If you remember, in our article series on Antipsychotics, Clozapine also has this property, and an entire article has been dedicated to it, as well. It may take weeks for Lithium to start working When our patients or clients arrive at the emergency room because of mania, for example, they will likely receive a dose of Haloperidol (Haldol) or Olanzapine (Zyprexa), because of the immediate effect, a property Lithium does not share. Lithium achieves optimal effectiveness when at a constant level in the body. This mostly happens only after a few weeks. As a consequence, it also means we should strongly recommend that our patients and clients not skip their Lithium dose, especially in the beginning of treatment. Lithium can affect the thyroid gland When our patients or clients take Lithium, they will need to have regular blood tests done for thyroid function. Baseline testing, before the first dose, is also recommended. The prescribing physician should be expected to help the patient or client pay attention to symptoms suspicious for hypothyroidism. This requires astute clinical attention, because many of these symptoms may simply be related to medication side effects or even underlying depression.  Blood testing and discontinuing the Lithium—should it be the culprit—should solve the problem. At times, the symptoms of hypothyroidism do not resolve even when Lithium has been discontinued. In this case, a thyroid supplement, like Synthroid would be the ultimate answer. Lithium can affect the kidneys This does not happen with short-term use of Lithium but only after many years, on the order of ten years or more. Nonetheless, there is a lot that can be done to prevent renal (kidney) involvement, and you can help your patients and clients have this conversation with their prescribing physician. Once again, obtaining baseline levels and paying attention to other prescribed medications and monitoring Lithium blood levels all provide measure for successful ways to decrease the likelihood of insult or damage to the kidneys. Lithium can cause weight gain “I heard Topamax makes patients and clients lose weight, while Lithium and Depakote results in weight gain.†Lily, the clinician, articulated these words to Dawn. While Topiramate helps with weight loss, its mood stabilizing effect is no better than placebo. Lithium causes weight gain, and it is a good mood stabilizer. How do we achieve a common ground? The good news, there are things that can be done to avoid the weight gain caused by Lithium. As stated above, Lithium can cause hypothyroidism, which causes weight gain, and taking measures to prevent hypothyroidism or control thyroid function can be a great way to prevent Lithium induced weight gain. Further, as I mentioned in a previous article, since increased thirst is a side effect of Lithium, many of our patients and clients respond by consuming sugary drinks. Reminding them to have plain water instead of sugary drinks will help them avoid weight gain and other physical health conditions that may come with sugar consumption, like diabetes. Lastly, the weight gain with Lithium tends to be slow, unlike that related to Olanzapine, for example, and it is less common in men. The weight gain is also more likely in patients or clients who were already overweight prior to starting Lithium. Like any weight gain from any other medication use, in general, lifestyle modification is key, and we can help our patient and clients in this area. Lithium can cause birth defects Women exposed to Lithium during pregnancy are twice as likely to have a spontaneous abortion. About 6 percent of them will have children born with cardiovascular anomalies, with an increased risk during the first trimester. The use of anticonvulsant […]

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]]> Mood Stabilizers: The Next Five https://sweetinstitute.com/mood-stabilizers-the-next-five/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mood-stabilizers-the-next-five Fri, 16 Mar 2018 11:00:00 +0000 http://sweetinstitute.com/2018-2-9-mood-stabilizers-the-next-five/ “I heard Topamax makes patients and clients lose weight, while Lithium and Depakote cause them to gain weight. Please tell us what we should know about Topamax.†This was Lily’s additional question for Dawn, who responded, “We can talk today about Topamax and a few more Mood Stabilizers.â€

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]]> Mood Stabilizers: The First Five https://sweetinstitute.com/mood-stabilizers-the-first-five/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mood-stabilizers-the-first-five Tue, 13 Mar 2018 11:00:00 +0000 http://sweetinstitute.com/2018-3-2-mood-stabilizers-the-first-five/ “I am starting to have an idea about the mood stabilizers. There are so many of them. How do I break them down to learn the basics about each one?† Lily posed this question to Dawn, who had started with an overview of the Mood Stabilizers.

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]]> Mood Stabilizers: The What: 5 Things all Clinicians Need to Know about Them https://sweetinstitute.com/clinicians-need-to-know-about-mood-stabilizers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=clinicians-need-to-know-about-mood-stabilizers Fri, 09 Mar 2018 13:05:00 +0000 http://sweetinstitute.com/2018-2-23-mood-stabilizers-the-what-5-things-all-clinicians-need-to-know-about-them/ Mood stabilizers are medications used in the field of psychiatry and neurology to treat conditions that affect the mood. They can help suppress the fluctuations between mania and depression.While mood stabilizers are often used for rapid and short mood changes, they should be used as a last resort.

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