Read the package leaflet
Do side effects trouble you? Read the package leaflet carefully to know which side effects can occur and what you can do.
Lost the package leaflet?
You can find it again in the medicines information of your country. In English, MedlinePlus describes medicines by active substance.
Which side effects can you get?
Examples of side effects of mood stabilisers are:
- Weight gain
- Nausea
- Tremor (such as trembling hands)
- Skin irritation
- Problems with liver and kidneys
- Tiredness
- Listlessness
- Stiff muscles
- Sometimes depression and suicidal thoughts
Take care with valproate (valproic acid): according to the Dutch national formulary this medicine may not be used by girls and women who can become pregnant. It gives a raised chance of birth defects and developmental disorders in the child. Do you use valproate and can you become pregnant? Discuss this with your doctor and do not stop on your own.
Looking up and reporting side effects
Most countries have a national centre for the safe use of medicines, where you can look up side effects per medicine and report side effects yourself. Ask your pharmacist which centre this is in your country.
Read also about lithium poisoning.
Do you need help now?
PsychosisNet offers information. We do not offer a chat, a helpline or crisis support. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call the emergency number in your country. If you are thinking about suicide, or you need to talk to someone now, see Need help now? for helplines by country.
Prof. dr. Jim van Os, Chair Division Neuroscience, Utrecht University Medical Centre. Jim works at the interface of ‘hard’ brain science, health services research, art and subjective experiences of people with ‘lived experience’ in mental healthcare.
Jim has been appearing on the Thomson-Reuter Web of Science list of ‘most influential scientific minds of our time’ since 2014. In 2014 he published his book ‘Beyond DSM-5‘, and in 2016 the book ‘Good Mental Health Care’. In 2026 he published 'Wat psychisch lijden is'.
Want to read more?
Blogs by Jim van Os can be read here
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