Guide To The Side Effects Of Mood Stabilizers

Drowsiness

Drowsiness can occur alongside a great number of mood stabilizers. In addition, drinking alcohol with a mood stabilizer increases the side effects of both. Patients are more likely to experience dizziness, drowsiness, and nausea when combining alcohol and mood stabilizers than consuming either on their own. In most cases, the drowsiness wears off after the patient has taken the mood stabilizer for a few weeks or months. If the tiredness is impairing the patient's day-to-day function, they need to talk to their doctor about it. The mood stabilizer shouldn't be leaving patients feeling tired, weak, empty, or like they don't have enough energy to get through the day. Patients shouldn't feel like they have to nap in the middle of the day to function, or like they need to drink caffeine to get by. Caffeine can have a negative effect on bipolar disorder to begin with, so it's best to limit it. If patients are taking a new medication that might cause drowsiness, and they don't yet know how it affects them, they should be careful driving their car or doing other potentially dangerous activities.

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