Adult Nurse Practitioner Exam Prep

Answer - C - Bipolar disorders are treated with mood stabilizers, such as lithium carbonate (reduces suicide in bipolar). Lamotrigine, a mood stabilizer, is found to best in preventing depression. Agitation in bipolar disorders is commonly treated with antipsychotic drugs.

Monotherapy of antidepressants in bipolar disorders causes an increased incidence of rapid cycling between mania and depression. Monotherapy of mood stabilizers does little with treating depression in this disorder. That is why a combination therapy of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers show significant changes in ameliorating the symptoms.