What is Bipolar II?

Bipolar II disorder is a bipolar spectrum disorder characterized by at least one hypomanic episode and at least one major depressive episode; with this disorder, depressive episodes are more frequent and more intense than manic episodes.

What is it like to have Bipolar II?

Common Symptoms Patients' Latest Severity My Current Severity  
Severity
Severe
Moderate
Mild
None
Excitability None Mild Moderate Severe
Flight of ideas None Mild Moderate Severe
Grandiose thinking None Mild Moderate Severe
Irritability None Mild Moderate Severe

What do patients take to treat Bipolar II and its symptoms?

Commonly prescribed and frequently used treatments

Treatment name Efficacy Overall rating of side effects # of Evaluations
Lamotrigine
(Apo-Lamotrigine, Lamictal ODT Green Titration Kit, Lamictal XR, Lamictin)
42
Individual Therapy
(Meditation - Reflection, Mentalization Based Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Individual Therapy, Drug Treatment Centers)
34
Lithium Carbonate
(Lithosun, Teralithe, Maniprex, Lithionate)
30
Quetiapine
(Cobalt-Quetiapine, Qusel, Ketipinor, Ratio-Quetiapine)
19
Bupropion
(Voxra, Voxra, Budeprion SR, Zetron)
7
Aripiprazole
(Amirozole, Zedan, Abilify)
7
Duloxetine
(Yentreve, Cymbalta)
6
Divalproex sodium
(Apo-Divalproex, Valtas OD, Divalproex sodium ER, Depakote)
6
Escitalopram
(Loxalate, Seroplex, Es Pramcit, Lexamil)
5
Sertraline
(Eleva, Lustral, Tolrest, Daxid)
4
Ziprasidone
(Geodon, Zeldox)
3
Oxcarbazepine
(Oleptal, Trileptal)
3

These charts show data from Bipolar II patients' latest treatment evaluations

Who has Bipolar II at PatientsLikeMe?

<20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+
Current Age
Distribution of females vs. males
Gender
75% Females
25% Males
Age at first symptom
Age at first symptom # of patients Proportion
0-19 yrs 760
20-29 yrs 296
30-39 yrs 129
40-49 yrs 62
50-59 yrs 8
60-69 yrs 0
70+ yrs 1
Diagnosis status
Diagnosis status # of patients Proportion
Diagnosed 1427
Not Officially Diagnosed 214

These charts show data from Bipolar II patients who have completed their condition history