Aclient with bipolar disorder has been taking lithium carbonate for the past 2 years. recently, the client has been experiencing a recurrence of manic symptoms approximately once a month. the client’s psychiatrist has added clonazepam to manage the client's mood swings. which statement should the nurse include in medication teaching?

Answer and Explanation:

      Clonazepam helps stabilize moods by reducing the overstimulation of chemical messengers in the brain. It has pharmacological properties like anticonvulsant, sedative,  muscle relaxants and anxiolytics. As with other benzodiazepines, it is believed that these effects may be mediated by  mainly by GABA-mediated postsynaptic inhibition, although additionally research has shown that clonazepan acts  on serotonin too.  

 Lithium carbonate is indicated for the treatment of manic episodes in bipolar affective disorders; in the maintenance treatment of individuals with bipolar affective disorder, reducing the frequency of manic episodes and the intensity of these conditions; in prophylaxis of recurrent mania; prevention of the depressive phase and treatment of psychomotor hyperactivity.

Clonazepam is used to treat psychological and neurological disorders, such as epileptic seizures or anxiety, due to its anticonvulsant action, muscle relaxation and tranquilizer.  

  One of the reasons why the doctor also prescribed clonazepam is due the long treatment of the litium. Sometimes, our body get used to the treament, and the usual medicine could be inefective and its necessary to get another medicine to get a better result.

  For the treatment of acute mania, there is no single drug that is sufficiently effective in the clinical routine for all patients. Benzodiazepines, such as clonazepam, are associated with lithium to control agitation and this combination is more effective for the treatment of acute mania.