What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder, also referred to as bipolar affective disorder or manic depression, describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or more depressive episodes.

How do members experience bipolar disorder?

Top 5 symptoms reported by people with bipolar disorder*

*Reports may be affected by other conditions and/or medication side effects. We ask about general symptoms (anxious mood, depressed mood, fatigue, pain, and stress) regardless of condition.

Top treatments taken by people for bipolar disorder*

*Data from patients with bipolar disorder, who have ever reported treatments, ordered by their reporting frequency during the last 5 years.

Compare treatments taken by people with bipolar disorder*

Treatment
Perceived effectiveness
Side effects
Total evaluations
Tried for
Treatment

(Lamictal)
Perceived effectiveness
for bipolar disorder (7 evaluations)
Side effects
chest pain headaches 1 more
Total evaluations
8
Tried for
bipolar disorder (42)
Treatment

(Depakote)
Perceived effectiveness
for bipolar disorder (6 evaluations)
Side effects
tiredness increased whole body joint ache
Total evaluations
6
Tried for
bipolar disorder (18)
Treatment

(Lithium Carbonate ER)
Perceived effectiveness
for bipolar disorder (1 evaluation)
Side effects
Total evaluations
1
Tried for
bipolar disorder (18)
Treatment

(Talk therapy)
Perceived effectiveness
for bipolar disorder (2 evaluations)
Side effects
morning sleepiness
Total evaluations
2
Tried for
bipolar disorder (10)
Perceived effectiveness
for bipolar disorder (4 evaluations)
Side effects
Total evaluations
4
Tried for
bipolar disorder (8)

*Data from patients with bipolar disorder, who have ever reported treatments, ordered by their reporting frequency during the last 5 years.

Who has bipolar disorder on PatientsLikeMe?

Age

Age Proportion # of patients
<20 109
20s 1,127
30s 3,818
40s 6,897
50s 8,169
60s 5,141
70+ 1,486

Distribution of sex

Sex

Sex Proportion # of patients
Male 4,530
Female 22,202