Older People Dealing with Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is unpredictable due to the fact that it can be developed at any age. Generally, it becomes evident in young children and young adults. However, it can develop in the elderly as well. The late onset of bipolar is different than younger diagnoses of bipolar in so many ways that it affects the treatments they may use. Generally, bipolar in the elderly is characterized as less genetic condition, which would include a less severe course of the illness. This can make it very hard for psychiatric wards and even doctors to diagnose bipolar disorder. Sometimes, it can take numerous times for them to be diagnosed.

Mania, depression, and maintenance are the three categories they have to treat, and no one person is the same or can be treated by the same drugs. Therefore, the FDA has approved ten different drugs for bipolar treatment in older adults. The drugs they have approved are Lithium, Divalproex, Carbamazepine ER, Lamotrigine, Risperidone, Olanzapine, Quetiapine, Ziprasidone, Aripiprazole, and Olanzapine-Fluoxetine. They have found that the drugs used in children and teens do not work the same for the elderly. Sometimes, they can even make the symptoms worse. It can lead to longer hospital stays due to medications not working.

When bipolar disease affects the elderly, it can sometimes be connected with another health problem. It can be connected to cardiovascular disease or early dementia, among other things. Bipolar can be harder to diagnose in the elderly due to other health problems they may have.