How long do I have to continue medicine for bipolar disorder?

Question

Hi doctor, I suffered from bipolar disorder four years back. At that time I was told to take Risperidone and Lonazap. I continued medicines for about one year and slowly stopped them as told by my doctor. Then again one year back I faced same bipolar disorder again but this time it was more severe. The doctor recommended 1000 mg Dicorate along with Risperidone and Lonazap. Now for last three months, I am taking only Dicorate 500 mg and I am absolutely fine. Please let me know how long I have to continue the medicine and am I going to face same problems to stop taking the medicine.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and understand your concerns about the ongoing medications and bipolar disorder. As per the available literature, individuals with bipolar disorder need long-term treatment as discontinuation of medication often brings further new episodes. Since you already suffered from two episodes in last four years, I do not feel you should discontinue medication as long as your doctor says so. I would also like to inform you that decision to discontinue medication depends on multiple factors such as severity of symptoms, duration of the index episode, the disruption caused during the episode, the time taken to receive medication and their effect on symptoms as well as side effects. Many of these information are not available to me in regard to your case and I think it will be an injustice if I speculate the duration of treatment without proper information.