Thursday, January 15, 2009
I am finally changing my meds to try something new. I'll be taking Lithium. Does anyone have experience with it? Any nasty side effects? How does/did it work for you?
Thanks in advance for your reply!
~Cathy
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New to Lithium
Husband's frustration
1/16/09 2:25pm
It's my "drug of choice" actually though, I have a love hate relationship with it.
It is the only stabilizer thus far that I've managed to "tolerate" the adverse effects of and it's the only reason why it's the one I return to when needed.
I take it when I have the suicidal depressions. Otherwise, I don't. Now - most will harp on me about that and insist I take it consistently but I and my pdoc are working this and he knows....
I tend to have to go very low and very slow. I have GI issues with it and at first I do get the hand tremoring though that tends to go away after several days on it. You do have to drink LOTS of water on it cause it clears through your kidneys and will mess them up if you don't PLUS it will build up in your blood stream and you don't so want that to happen.
It also is known as a weight gainer for most (not all) folks who take it. I do gain weight on it. There is also the possiblity of Diabetes Insipidus while on it... you'll want to check that out.
I had Lithium toxicity once... not pretty. So, I've learned to stay low and slow and drink. It was due to the dosage being too high and yet not as high as others tend to take. I'm very med sensitive.
Each person's level is different and anything - anything - can mess up the level so... you got to go to your blood draw appointments like clockwork. Also, watch other drugs you take in combo even if prescribed by other MDs cause other drugs will mess up the Lithium levels.
It is good for my suicidal depressive episodes in that it pulls me up out of the suicidal impulsivity phase of the blackness. Yet, it tends to leave me wading in the blackness overall. This could be because I can't reach the standard therapeutic level without becoming very physically sick and therefore, I stay at the "bottoms".
It is the first and I believe, still only drug solely and completely for Bipolar. It's been around nearly 50 years now, I think and so it's been studied quite exclusively for years and years.
All meds work differently for each person and all have different effects and affects on each person. Yet, none of us know how the med is going to affect and effect us until we actually try it.
Talk with your pdoc over concerns about side effects and what not and work with him/her while on it. Follow their direction, get the blood draws, and monitor your side effects.
Good Luck..
1/16/09 3:39pm
When I first started taking it I was so thirsty I could not stop drinking to the point that I thought something was very wrong. It goes away and is the most tolerable medication there is for me. It doesn't help me with depression at all, but does help me with the manic episodes and rages. Oh, and I do get a small rashes on my scalp everytime I take it but the pdocs say it is rare. It is different for everyone. It is important for me to take the extended release tablets and not the regular lithium tablets because I have had no weight gain on extended release. The doctor told me that with extended release weight gain is less likely. Regular lithium put an enormous amount of weight on me within weeks. Although extended release doesn't add weight to me, it does make it difficult to lose any extra I have. Anyway, I think it is one of the best meds out there for bipolar.
1/17/09 12:41am
Thank you for your responce. I will be on the look-out for the thirst and I'll be careful about the weight gain possibilities. I'm trying to LOSE weight right now, so I'll be especially careful. Also, thanks for the info about needing to keep up with my blood draws. I had no idea that Li could be so complicated and I admit that I am a little scared to try it. But if it can keep me from the low-lows and the high-highs, I'll feel like I am doing better.
Not looking forward to the hand shaking, because I sew and it makes it impossible to sew when my hands shake during manic episodes.
Thanks again,
~Cathy
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Lithium was my first drug. I started taking it in my 19 day hospital visit last year. In my experience the first couple of weeks are the most difficult. Tremors. I shook alot. I had one toxic episode, but that was because I wasn't drinking enough water. DRINK water! Then for 6 months it went fine. Mentally I felt better, more stable.
For as scary as Li seems... it is the only "natural" drug out there. Salt really.
Recently it has messed with my face as acne and scaring can occur. I felt like I had a 14 year olds skin again, but this time the bumps hurt. They were big and red.. and embarrasing. I was taking off Lithium in November... and my face has improved drastically.
I would prefer lithium over some of the other drugs out there, I just am one of the unlikey ones that have had some of the bad side effects.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for your honest and informative answer. I appreciate it very much.
~Cathy