FDA Warns that Some "Mood Stabilizers" May Cause Suicidal Ideation

The FDA now requires eight "mood stabilizers" used for the treatment of Bipolar Disorder to carry warning labels saying that they may cause suicidal ideation.  What does this mean and what are these medications?

The medications involved in the warning are medications typically used for treating seizures, commonly referred to as "antiepileptics" or "anticonvulsants".  They are:

• Depakote (divalproex sodium)
• Gabitril (tiagabine)
• Keppra (levetiracetam)
• Lamictal (lamotrigine)
• Neurontin (gabapentin)
• Tegretol (carbamazepine)
• Topamax (topiramate)
• Trileptal (oxcarbazepine)

The FDA reports that 1 out of 530 patients taking these medications for Bipolar Disorder will experience suicidal ideation or behavior.  What is suicidal ideation? 

Suicidal ideation means you are feeling suicidal and thinking of plans for committing it, but you have not yet decided to act upon it.  Suicidal behavior can mean an actual suicide attempt or a "pseudo" suicide attempt, such as cutting upon yourself without the actual wish to die.

Doctors having contested the report, arguing that the risk of suicide is much higher for patients with Bipolar Disorder who go untreated than that listed for anticonvulsants.  That is absolutely true - for patients who actually have Bipolar Disorder.  However, if you have been reading this blog or other internet resources on mental health you know that there is a serious concern in the mental health field about Bipolar Disorder being overdiagnosed. If you have actually have trauma, grief, Borderline Personality Disorder or any other issues which are misdiagnosed as Bipolar Disorder - and you are placed on any of the above medications - you can put yourself at risk of creating suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior where there was none before.  It's important to think for yourself, educate yourself, and make your own decisions about your mental health and any diagnoses which have been given to you.  Doctors and clinicians are only human.

Read the Diagnostic Criteria for Bipolar Disorder and see if this diagnosis actually applies to you.  If you truly have Bipolar Disorder, medication is the first line of treatment for the disease.  Bipolar Disorder has a heavy biological component and does not respond well to psychotherapy or other non-medicinal interventions.  However, if this diagnosis does not fit you, you might want to get a second opinion or look for other options. The medications used to treat Bipolar Disorder are serious medications and should not be taken without proper education and caution.

 

Comments

[school_dubl]

Happy New Year! Happiness and success in 2011.

[Donna]

I suggest you read Dr. David Healy's MANIA, Dr. Peter Breggin's TOXIC PSYCHIATRY and other works. None of the fraud diagnoses have one shred of medical, physical, scientifc evidence whatever by the admission of the authors of the bogus DSM who VOTE these so called diseases in with BIG PHARMA for greed and profit. I think some of your web site is good, but your are perpetrating fraud by claiming Bipolar or any other fraud mental label has any biological component never mind a heavy one. Where is your proof, evidence? In what medical articles have you found this information? None whatsoever!! See Dr. Fred Baughman and other heroes exposing the fraud of psychiatry! Shame on you!

[Kellen]

Hi Donna,

Thank you for the recommendations. I will look these books up. The DSM is starting to fall under serious scrutiny, especially with the heavy influence of the pharmaceutical industry on the field of psychiatry. From my experience with Bipolar Disorder it is currently overdiagnosed. People who simply have "mood swings" or are emotional are being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. And I believe this is a serious, serious problem.

However, I have also had clients who actually had Bipolar Disorder and without medication their lives were completely and totally destroyed. They committed felonies, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars they did not have, lost their housing and destroyed countless relationships. Some went so far as to commit suicide while in a seriously depressed phase. And I could see no external situation in their lives which caused these mood swings. Whatever we believe the cause of this illness to be, life without medications can be untenable.

For myself, I am starting to question the explanation that all mental health issues are strictly biological. However, I have seen illnesses run in families. So it has to be addressed whether it runs in families because of family patterns, or it runs in families because of inherited traits which make them more vulnerable to a certain mental illness.

In the end I think we will find there is a mixture of both nature and nurture. We are born with a predisposition toward certain things which can be exacerbated by environmental factors.

[Hotjobs]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, a cool site I like