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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Lithium Or Depakote Help In Treating Manic Episodes?

my husband of 32 years has had what appears to be a manic episode brought on, I believe, by extreme stress and frustration at work. He has some symptoms of mania but he is not bipolar and is 58 years old. His behavior is completely unusual and he is not himself. One of my concerns is a physical abnormality such as a brain tumor or blood clot. He had a CT scan at the ER because I was at my wits end, I took him because his doctor was not available that day. CT scan showed nothing but should I pursue an MRI? It has been a month since the first symptoms started. His primary doctor put him on Lexapro for anxiety but we saw a psychiatrist who said Lexapro may not be the best thing, it may cause more energy and that is not what my husband needs, he is going non-stop and is not sleeping very many hours. The psychiatrist recommends maybe Lithium or Depakote and is in the process of sending his report to the primary care doctor. What else can I do? Or what other type of doctor can I see? Should I see a neurologist?
Mon, 31 Aug 2020
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General Surgeon 's  Response
Hello,

The manic episodes do present with hyper functioning of the body systems with variety of clinical manifestations. Lithium has proven role in hyper-manic episodes of mania conditions to take care of acute episodes as well as remission phase once the acute phase is well controlled.

However, there are potential side effects over kidney and other body system and the same has to be discussed with his treating doc before commencing the therapy. The best person to treat him would be an expert neurophysician doctor.

Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Bhagyesh V. Patel, General Surgeon
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Can Lithium Or Depakote Help In Treating Manic Episodes?

Hello, The manic episodes do present with hyper functioning of the body systems with variety of clinical manifestations. Lithium has proven role in hyper-manic episodes of mania conditions to take care of acute episodes as well as remission phase once the acute phase is well controlled. However, there are potential side effects over kidney and other body system and the same has to be discussed with his treating doc before commencing the therapy. The best person to treat him would be an expert neurophysician doctor. Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Bhagyesh V. Patel, General Surgeon