Mental health in Omaha, NE
Bipolar Disorder Treatment in Omaha, NE
Bipolar disorder causes highs and lows that go beyond everyday mood swings, and it is often first mistaken for depression. Care at ORIGEN Healthcare starts with a careful evaluation and a plan you shape together.
- Board-certified psychiatric NP (PMHNP-BC)
- Children, teens and adults
- Care in English, Russian and Farsi
- Most major insurance plans
- Who
- Children from age 2, teens and adults
- Visits
- In person in Omaha
- Insurance
- 8 plans, including Medicare and Medicaid
- Languages
- English, Russian and Farsi
Care for the highs and the lows
Maybe you have been treated for depression, and something still doesn't add up. Maybe there were weeks when you hardly slept and felt unstoppable, and then a crash. Or maybe someone you love is going through this.
Bipolar disorder is a long-term condition, and it can be treated. At ORIGEN Healthcare in Omaha, NE, bipolar disorder treatment starts with a careful evaluation. Then you and your provider build a plan together. Visits are in person at our Omaha clinic, in English, Russian or Farsi.
How care at ORIGEN helps
- A full evaluation of your mood history over the years
- Care from Nazira Usmanova, DNP, PMHNP-BC, a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner with more than 14 years of clinical experience
- A medicine plan made with you, with follow-up visits and lab checks when needed
- Brief psychotherapy alongside medication management
- Teamwork with your therapist and, if you want, your family
- Help checking your insurance benefits before your first visit
Dr. Usmanova has changed my life. She has shown so much care and attention to me as a human being that I have a restored faith in medicine. She changed not only my medication but my outlook on life.
What bipolar disorder is
Bipolar disorder is one of the mood disorders. It causes mood episodes: stretches of days or weeks when mood, energy, sleep and behavior change in ways that aren't usual for the person.
Mania is a high or irritable mood with a surge of energy. Sleep feels unneeded, thoughts race and choices can turn risky. Severe mania can need hospital care, and some people lose touch with reality. Hypomania is a milder high. It can feel good, which makes it easy to miss, but people around you can often see the change.
Depression in bipolar disorder brings low mood, emptiness or loss of interest, with changes in sleep, energy and appetite. On a bad day, getting out of bed can feel like too much.
Types of bipolar disorder
The type depends on the kind of highs a person has had.
Bipolar I disorder
At least one episode of mania. Episodes of depression are common too, but they aren't needed for the diagnosis.
Bipolar II disorder
Episodes of hypomania and of depression, without full mania. The depression is often the hardest part to live with.
Cyclothymic disorder
Milder highs and lows that come and go for years. They never reach full episodes, but they still wear on work, school and relationships.
Signs to talk about with a provider
This isn't a test. If some of these sound familiar, bring them up at an evaluation.
- Stretches of days when you feel unusually up, wired or irritable
- Needing much less sleep without feeling tired
- Racing thoughts, talking fast or jumping between ideas
- Spending, driving or other choices that seem out of character later
- Periods of deep low mood, emptiness or loss of interest
- Depression that keeps coming back
- Feeling wired, agitated or unable to sleep after starting an antidepressant
- A parent, brother or sister with bipolar disorder
Why it is often first seen as depression
Many people with bipolar disorder are treated for depression first. People ask for help when they feel low. A high can feel like a good stretch, so it may never come up at a visit.
The difference matters, because the treatment isn't the same. Tell your provider if your depression keeps returning, or if an antidepressant ever left you revved up, pacing the kitchen at night.
How bipolar disorder is diagnosed
There is no blood test or scan for bipolar disorder. The diagnosis comes from a careful psychiatric evaluation.
Your mood history
Your provider asks about highs and lows over the years: when they began, how long they lasted and how you slept.
Family and health history
Bipolar disorder can run in families, so relatives' mental health matters. So do your medicines, past treatment and any alcohol or drug use.
Ruling out other causes
Thyroid problems, some medicines, substance use, ADHD, anxiety and trauma can look like parts of bipolar disorder. Lab tests may be ordered when needed.
Clear answers
You hear what the evaluation found and your options, in plain words. With your OK, a family member can join and share what they've seen.
Treatment options for bipolar disorder
Your provider explains each option and its side effects, and you decide together.
Mood stabilizers
Medicines such as lithium, valproate and lamotrigine help even out mood and lower the chance of new episodes. The choice depends on your history.
Certain antipsychotic medicines
Several newer antipsychotic medicines are used for mania, bipolar depression or both, and to keep mood steady. The name can sound alarming, but here they work as mood medicines.
Antidepressants, used with care
Antidepressants are not used on their own in bipolar disorder, because on their own they can set off a high in some people. If one is part of your plan, it is paired with a mood medicine and watched closely.
Brief psychotherapy
ORIGEN offers brief psychotherapy alongside medication management: focused time on your patterns, early warning signs and what to do if an episode starts.
Your therapist and family
If you see a therapist, your provider can work with them. With your OK, a partner or relative can learn the early signs and help with the plan.
Sleep and routine
Regular sleep and steady daily routines help protect mood, and lost sleep can set off a high. If sleep is a struggle, insomnia treatment can be part of the plan.
Follow-up and lab monitoring
Follow-up visits check how you feel, how you sleep and how the medicine is working, and medication management adjusts the plan with you. Your provider explains how often to come in and which tests you need.
Some medicines need lab tests. Lithium and valproate need blood tests to check the medicine level, and lithium also needs kidney and thyroid checks. Some antipsychotic medicines call for checks of weight, blood sugar and cholesterol.
Tell your provider about side effects, and don't stop a mood medicine suddenly on your own: that can bring on a new episode. If you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or could become pregnant, say so early: some bipolar medicines aren't safe in pregnancy.
Care for teens and adults
ORIGEN sees children from age 2, teens and adults. Bipolar disorder often begins in the late teens or early adult years, and in young people it takes extra care to diagnose. Irritability, big moods and poor sleep can also come from ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use or the normal stress of growing up.
For a teen, the evaluation looks at patterns over time, and parents are part of the plan. For a younger child with intense moods or outbursts, every possible cause is looked at first. See child and teen psychiatry.
Adults may come after years of treatment for depression, after a first episode, or to find a new provider for a long-standing diagnosis.
When to get help right away
Don't wait for an appointment if any of these happen.
- Thoughts of suicide or of ending your life: call or text 988, any time, day or night.
- Someone has been hurt or is in danger: call 911.
- Signs of severe mania, such as days without sleep, reckless acts, or hearing or believing things others don't: call or text 988. Call 911 if anyone is at risk.
- Signs of a serious reaction to a medicine, such as new confusion, unsteady walking, slurred speech, or a rash with fever or blisters: call 911.
Questions patients ask
How can I tell if it is bipolar disorder or depression?
Only a careful evaluation can tell. A key question is whether you've ever had a high: days of extra energy, little need for sleep and an unusually up or irritable mood. A family member's view can help too.
Will I need medicine for the rest of my life?
Bipolar disorder is a long-term condition, and ongoing treatment is often advised to help prevent new episodes. Which medicine, and for how long, is decided with your provider and reviewed over time. Please don't stop a medicine on your own.
Is Spravato® a treatment for bipolar disorder?
No. Spravato (esketamine) is for adults 18 and over with treatment-resistant depression, and it is not a treatment for bipolar disorder. If you have bipolar depression, your provider talks with you about the options used for bipolar disorder.
Do you see teens with bipolar disorder?
Yes. ORIGEN sees children from age 2, teens and adults. ADHD, anxiety, depression and normal teen moodiness can look like bipolar disorder, so a teen's diagnosis is made with extra care. Parents are part of the plan.
Can I keep seeing my therapist?
Yes. Your provider can work with your therapist so that therapy and your medicine plan support each other. If you would like to find a therapist, ask at your visit.
Does insurance cover bipolar disorder treatment?
ORIGEN works with Aetna, Anthem, BlueCross BlueShield, Medicare, Medicaid, Optum, Oxford Health Plans and UnitedHealthcare. Coverage depends on your plan and the service, and our team checks your benefits before your visit. Self-pay is possible too: see insurance and costs or call for pricing.
Your provider
Nazira Usmanova, DNP
Doctor of Nursing Practice, Board-Certified Nurse Practitioner, with more than 14 years of clinical experience. She sees children from age 2, teens and adults, and speaks English, Russian and Farsi.
- Psychiatric Mental Health NP (PMHNP-BC)
- Pediatric NP (CPNP-PC)
- Adult-Gerontology NP (AGNP-BC)
“True healing comes from listening, understanding, and walking alongside my patients in their journey to wellness.”
Nazira Usmanova
What patients say
4.9from 55 Google reviewsWith all of my different medication and mental health needs she always has a solution and she always knows how to offer support. Even if one medication works she has a secondary option or even a third option to replace what if something doesn't work.
I cannot recommend ORIGEN Healthcare enough. From the moment you walk in, you feel truly heard and supported. Dr. Nazira and the entire team are incredibly professional, compassionate, and thorough in their approach to mental wellness. They take the time to create a personalized plan that actually works.
She always makes me feel heard and that she is truly listening to what I am saying. She is extremely flexible and offers telehealth appointments which is great as I am a nurse also and my schedule is busy. Her office staff are always welcoming and quick to respond when I have any questions or send patient portal messages.
Insurance we work with
We work with most major insurance plans. Coverage depends on your plan and the service, so our team checks your benefits with you before your visit.
Insurance and costs
Take the first step toward feeling better
You don’t have to figure it out alone. Tell us what is going on, and our care team will call you to find the right visit.