Conditions and symptoms
What Is Bipolar I Disorder? Why Medicine Labels Mention It
Bipolar I disorder · say it: by-POH-ler WUN dis-OR-derAlso written: bipolar 1 disorder, bipolar disorder type I, manic depression (older term)
Short answer
Bipolar I disorder is a long-term mood condition in which a person has had at least one episode of mania, often with periods of depression too.
What it means
Bipolar I disorder is a long-term mood condition. A person with it has had at least one manic episode: a period of unusually high or irritable mood, more energy, less need for sleep and sometimes risky behaviour. Many people also have periods of depression in between.
It appears on medicine labels in two ways. Mood stabilizers and some antipsychotics list it as a condition they are approved to treat. Antidepressant labels mention it as a warning, because an antidepressant taken on its own can sometimes set off mania in a person with bipolar disorder, so prescribers are asked to check for it first.
Bipolar II disorder is different: it involves hypomania (a milder high) and depression, but never a full manic episode. Neither is the same as everyday ups and downs in mood.
Where you may see it
- The 'Indications' or 'What this medicine is used for' section of mood stabilizer and antipsychotic labels
- Antidepressant leaflets, in warnings about screening for bipolar disorder
- Psychiatry clinic letters and discharge summaries
📄 How it looks on a report
Before starting treatment with an antidepressant, screen patients for a personal or family history of bipolar disorder.
🙅 What it does not mean
- Seeing bipolar disorder on a label does not mean you have it, or that the medicine is only used for it.
- Bipolar I is not simply 'worse' than bipolar II; the difference is whether a full manic episode has happened.
- It does not mean normal mood changes or a bad temper.
🎯 Check yourself
Which of these is the right meaning of “Bipolar I disorder”?
🗒️ Questions to ask your doctor
💊 Medicines whose labels mention “Bipolar I disorder”
Plain-English explanations of each medicine, from its official FDA label.
- Fluoxetine
a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), a type of antidepressant medicine
- Lamotrigine
An anti-epileptic (seizure) medicine and mood stabilizer. The label describes it as an anti-epileptic drug of the phenyltriazine class that is chemically unrelated to other anti-epileptic drugs.
- Lithium Carbonate
A mood-stabilizing agent, which the label describes as a medicine used to treat bipolar I disorder
- Olanzapine
An atypical antipsychotic, a prescription medicine used for certain mental health conditions
- Quetiapine
An atypical antipsychotic medicine
- Risperidone
an atypical antipsychotic medicine
🔗 Read more from trusted sources
- “Bipolar I disorder” on MedlinePlus ↗
US National Library of Medicine
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