FDA Approved Bipolar Disorder Drugs

Here is an interesting list- the FDA (federal drug administration) has to ok a drug for use with bipolar disorder before a drug company can advertise that the drug can be used for bipolar disorder. Here is a list of the approved drugs with their initiation dates. I will write more on this topic in the next few days:

FDA: Acute Mania
       *   1970: Lithium
      *   1973: Thorazine
      *   1995: Depakote
      *   2000: Zyprexa
      *   2003: Risperdal
      *   2004: Seroquel
      *   2004: Abilify
      *   2005: Geodon
      *   2005: Equetro (Tegretol)

FDA: Acute Bipolar Depression
            * 2004: Symbyax
                 (Prozac-Zyprexa combo)
         * 2007: Seroquel

FDA: Maintenance (for use in managing bipolar disorder in general)

            * 1974: Lithium: both
         * 2003: Lamictal:
                         depression
         * 2004: Zyprexa: both
         * 2005: Abilify: both

This list can be a bit confusing- especially when it comes to how the drugs are categorized- I will go through this information step by step in future blogs!

Julie

nichol

April 7, 2009 at 1:00 am

julie, i feel back to the fun fat brigade; okay not “fat” but u know the drill . . . the only bipolar med i have found that works for me is seroquel (i have not tried invega and geodon-thats it) and u know this stupid weight dance. i am the most stable i have ever been and bod looks good, but u know what starts to happen on seroquel (weight climbs as dose does). any suggestions? is there hope here? if i am still better than i have ever been in my life, there is always hope . . .
nichol

tehenita

June 12, 2009 at 9:43 am

Hi Julie, I was reading the list of meds, and what they were approved for at such,and such a date. As a teen I was in a couple of hospitals in the early 1970’s. I was given thorazine. I don’t know if I was ever diagnosed with anything then. I was diagnosed a year, and a half a go with BP2 at the age of 48. Would you think that if I was made to take thorazine back in the 70’s, that they thought I was BP, or could I have been given that med for other reasons. I always wonder what my diagnosis was then, but I have no way to find out. Thanks for all the books you’ve written, and all the blogs, and info you give to all us beepers!!!! Best wishes to you!!!

Hi Tehenita,

Thorazine! Whew. That is a strong drug with a lot of side effects- it was a miracle when it came out though and all of the drugs now are based off of it. We call them atypical anti psychotics as they have less side effects. There are so many reasons you could have been given the drug- suicidal thoughts- agitation, to make you quiet and less trouble- to calm down a mild manic episode that was not known to be mania, etc. If you can ask your parents- I’d ask what symptoms you had and why they ok’d the thorazine- they may have not understood what it was- they may not have been asked! It was SO different back then. It was so different when I was diagnosed in 1995. Bipolar II is still underdiagnosed- so we are lucky to have a diagnosis!

I’d be interested to know what you find out. I’m going to add this as a blog post- it’s an interesting question!