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Is Epilim Effective For Bipolar Disorder?
Hi, may I answer your health queries right now ? Please type your query here...my husband suffers from biopolar disorder, he used to take camcolit but now the hospital is out of stock, so they gave him Epilim. Is it okay. He had an heart attack in may 2010
Fri, 17 Oct 2014
Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic. Thanks for your query.
I understand that you are concerned about the change in your medication for Bipolar disorder. Let me explain about your medication to help you understand better about your medication. Camcolit is Lithium carbonate which is a mood stabilizer. Epilim is Sodium Valproate, which is an antiepileptic and also a mood stabilizer medication. But both have different mechanisms of action and have different dosing regimes.
So, though Epilim can be used as an alternative medication for Camcolit, the dose adjustment has to be done carefully, so that there is no risk of relapse during the medication change over. Epilim does not have any specific cardiac effects, but if your husband is taking any medication for his heart problem, then it needs to be checked whether there are any potential interactions between Epilem and his cardiac medication.
Wish you all the best.
Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar MBBS., DPM., MRCPsych.(U.K.)
Consultant Psychiatrist
I understand that you are concerned about the change in your medication for Bipolar disorder. Let me explain about your medication to help you understand better about your medication. Camcolit is Lithium carbonate which is a mood stabilizer. Epilim is Sodium Valproate, which is an antiepileptic and also a mood stabilizer medication. But both have different mechanisms of action and have different dosing regimes.
So, though Epilim can be used as an alternative medication for Camcolit, the dose adjustment has to be done carefully, so that there is no risk of relapse during the medication change over. Epilim does not have any specific cardiac effects, but if your husband is taking any medication for his heart problem, then it needs to be checked whether there are any potential interactions between Epilem and his cardiac medication.
Wish you all the best.
Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar MBBS., DPM., MRCPsych.(U.K.)
Consultant Psychiatrist
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Thanks for your query, Epilim is an approved medication for bipolar disorder, Epilim can cause heart rhythm disturbances, you need to consult your cardiologist about its use in view of past history of heart attack
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