Treatment of bipolar disorder.
Jeremy Stewart is a 44-year-old, white married father of three who sees you for a psychiatric evaluation. Jeremy is a professor at a local college, where he teaches art. He also has a small art studio close to campus where he paints. As his psychiatric nurse practitioner, you diagnose Jeremy with bipolar I disorder.
Questions
When treating a patient for bipolar disorder, you have several medications from which to choose. You decide to start him on lithium.
Provide evidence showing why lithium is a good choice for the treatment of bipolar disorder.
Describe appropriate dosing.
Describe how lithium works at the synapse. Why must blood levels of lithium be monitored? When should Jeremy’s first lithium check be? Why? Discuss what happens if levels are too high or too low.
Describe the education you would provide Jeremy as he starts on lithium.
Identify one research or evidence-based practice article to support your responses and include the citation (with a link if available).