Before ERISA, some defined benefit pension plans required decades of service before an employee's benefit became vested. It was not unusual for a plan to provide no benefit at all to an employee who left employment before the specified retirement age (e.g. 65), regardless of the length of the employee's service.
1 Whether you have bipolar I or II disorder, you'll typically need mood-stabilizing medication to control manic or hypomanic episodes. 2  Examples of mood stabilizers include lithium (Lithobid), valproic acid (Depakene), divalproex sodium (Depakote), carbamazepine (Tegretol, Equetro, others) and lamotrigine (Lamictal). The medication Symbyax combines the antidepressant fluoxetine and the antipsychotic olanzapine. 2  It works as a depression treatment and a mood stabilizer. 3  Symbyax is approved by the Food and Drug Administration specifically for the treatment of depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder.
Typically, treatment entails a combination of at least one mood-stabilizing drug and/or atypical antipsychotic, plus psychotherapy. The most widely used drugs for the treatment of bipolar disorder include lithium carbonate and valproic acid (also known as Depakote).ther antiepileptic drugs, such as gabapentin, oxcarbazepine, or topiramate, are regarded as experimental treatments that are not well-established, but may sometimes have value for symptoms of bipolar disorder or other conditions that often occur with it.