A patient with rapid cycling bipolar disorder is not responding well to lithium. The pa-tient tells the nurse, It feels as though I'll never get well. I get better, and then I get worse.
The reply that is based on knowledge of current therapy would be:
a. You're feeling very discouraged aren't you?
b. It's not all bad, is it? Sometimes you like being high.
c. Another drug, valproic acid, is proving effective for rapid cycling.
d. If your kidneys hold out, the lithium will eventually control the symptoms.
Question 2
A patient who has received lithium for 3 weeks to control acute mania has the following symptoms: coarse hand tremor, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, and mild confusion. The pri-ority nursing action should be to:
a. Administer prn Cogentin to relieve the symptoms.
b. Provide reassurance that the symptoms are transient.
c. Obtain a stat lithium level; hold lithium pending results.
d. Assist the patient to decrease the sodium in their daily diet.
When using an interpreter, the nurse should pose questions directly to the patient, not the interpre
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