Expert: Ivan Goldberg, M.D. - 6/21/2005

Question
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Followup To
Question -
My girlfriend is bipolar and is currently in the midst of a relapse.  She was first hospitalized when she was 15, then again at age 23, she is now 24.  She is currently psychotic and was psychotic during her last episode and it took several weeks to break the psychosis.  Unlike many people with bipolar disorder, she accepts that she has an illness, she is fully compliant with meds, she doesn't drink, do drugs, etc., goes to therapy, and wants nothing more than to be stable.  I work in the psychiatry field and have heard that once a patient has relapsed and been psychotic three times that it is almost guaranteed that they will relapse and experience psychosis again even if they are fully compliant.  Is there any hope in breaking this cycle?
Answer -
There is evidence that the more manic or depressive episodes you have, the more likely you are to have still more> That. does not mean that people who have had 4 or 5 episodes never become stable. It does mean that such people often need to be treated with two or more mood stabilizers simultaneously.

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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In your experience have you had success in stopping recurring episodes all together?  What period of time between episodes would you call a "success"?  

Answer
It is often possible to totally block episodes of bipolar disorder. To accomplish that usually requires a combination of mood stabilizing agents . . . at least two and sometimes three or four.

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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