Psychiatric conditions affect your mood, thoughts, and behavior. Medications treat different psychiatric conditions including:
- Bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Schizoaffective disorder
These conditions affect the mind differently. You may be prescribed a medication that can treat all of these conditions.
What is bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder makes your mood go up and down very quickly. If you have bipolar disorder, you might have mood swings and act differently than usual. If these mood changes make it hard to live a normal life, talk to your healthcare provider and get help. The two moods that you may experience include:
- Mania – feeling extremely happy and experiencing risky behavior
- Depression – feeling extremely sad and empty
These moods will last for at least 2 weeks. They will change quickly to the opposite mood. Your healthcare provider may treat you with medicine and therapy.
What is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia has several symptoms. Symptoms may include combination of:
- Hearing things that are not there – auditory hallucinations
- Seeing things that are not there – visual hallucinations
- Having strange thoughts
- Having trouble thinking clearly
- Having trouble talking in a way that makes sense
- Moving your body in a strange way
- Having a hard time showing your feelings
If you have symptoms like these, get help from a healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider can help with medications and therapy.
What is schizoaffective disorder?
Schizoaffective disorder causes a combination of symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. If your healthcare provider diagnoses you with schizoaffective disorder, you most likely have experienced hallucinations and changing moods. Some symptoms of schizoaffective disorder include:
- Hearing things that are not there
- Seeing things that are not there
- Having trouble talking in a way that makes sense
- Mania
- Depression
What medications might my healthcare provider prescribe me?
Two different groups of medications treat these conditions called typical antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics. Both of these medications may be dispensed by a specialty pharmacy.
Typical antipsychotic medications dispensed in a specialty pharmacy include older medications such as:
Atypical antipsychotic medications dispensed in a specialty pharmacy include medications such as:
- Abilify Maintena® (aripiprazole) – given once a month
- Aristada® (aripiprazole lauroxil) – given once a month, every 6 weeks, or every 2 months depending on the strength
- Invega® (paliperidone): available in 3 different doses
- Invega Sustenna® (paliperidone palmitate) – given once a month
- Invega Trinza® (paliperidone palmitate) – given every 3 months
- Invega Hafyera® (paliperidone palmitate) – given every 6 months
- Perseris® (risperidone) – given once a month
- Risperdal Consta® (risperidone) – given every 2 weeks or once a month
A healthcare provider gives you each of these medications. They can give you the medication in the office, or they may allow you to get it in a pharmacy from a pharmacist.
What to expect:
Your treatment for these conditions is usually long-term. Having the support of loved ones and caregivers can help to get you care.
To learn more about bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, there are several resources listed below:
References:
Who can help with bipolar disorder? RANZCP. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.yourhealthinmind.org/mental-illnesses-disorders/bipolar-disorder/who-can-help
Schizophrenia. RANZCP. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.yourhealthinmind.org/mental-illnesses-disorders/schizophrenia
Schizoaffective disorder. NAMI. (n.d.). Retrieved 27 March 2023 from https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Schizoaffective-Disorder