Lithium---

[Penny Century]

I *just* started lithium.

I was wondering...

Do you love it?

What changes did you notice?

How quickly does it start working?

What is your serum level?

How much water do you drink a day?

All these new school meds just weren't cutting it so i'm druggin' it old style... but I'm a newbie and want to know what's up with it.

[Silver]

I adore it.

Started it while hypomanic... OK, manic, in retrospect. I had a quieter brain within 2 days, clear improvement in function within a week (as in I was able to return to desk-work), was able to return to full work part time within 2 weeks.

I noticed that it was quiet in my head, without the ongoing blender-o-thoughts; that I was suddenly and mysteriously able to get my paperwork done; that I was not snarling continually; that the ongoing suicidal ideation resolved.

I stick to a minimum of 2L/fluid/day, more if I'm working outside in the cold or hot.

I was at a SL of 0.6-0.8 for a long time (6 years, aggregate) with increases to 1.1 for depressive/hypomanic episodes.

This year I've spent a lot of time at 1.0 and up, and up to 1.5 for a time.

The longer I'm on it, the more effect I notice.

I've had to d/c it abruptly because of a little go-round with nephrogenic DI, and I am being a complete pest to nephro about retrialing it. This is one of those drugs they'll have to pry out of my fingers. I'd like to stay married and employed.

[MiaB]

I was wondering...

Do you love it?

No, because the constant thirst REALLY upsets me, as do the numerous trips to the toilet in the middle of the night b/c of all the water I drink. I feel absolutely frantic if I don't have water around me at all times. The shaky hands are also excrutiatingly embarrassing, as is the "word loss" - ie trying to figure out what I mean to say and being unable to do it. Similar things happen when I'm typing - eg, I'll write "fact" instead of "face"

What changes did you notice?

Honestly, I'm not really sure. It was added at a time when my pdoc was tweaking my cocktail, so it was difficult to figure out, for example, whether it was the trileptal or the lith which was doing something. However, I still have up and downswings, and recently had a breakthrough to psychosis despite being on the lithium.

How quickly does it start working?

Sorry, my addled brain can't remember!

What is your serum level?

0.6 at last count. Doc tried to increase the dose, but I went toxic - horrible experience.

How much water do you drink a day?

approx 4 litres (sorry Silver, but I simply can't imagine a lith patient getting away with just 2 litres). If I don't keep hydrated at all times I develop a crashing headache.

All these new school meds just weren't cutting it so i'm druggin' it old style... but I'm a newbie and want to know what's up with it

Sorry to have been so negative, but those are my honest responses. I really dislike it but pdoc wants me to stay on it for a while longer.

[Penny Century]

All these new school meds just weren't cutting it so i'm druggin' it old style... but I'm a newbie and want to know what's up with it

Sorry to have been so negative, but those are my honest responses. I really dislike it but pdoc wants me to stay on it for a while longer.

no need to be sorry, sucks that it isn't working.

the thirst thing is getting to me a bit... but i'm trying to ignore it. have dry mouth from dexedrine anyway so i'm already used to thirst, etc. being an issue.

[resonance]

I wouldn't say that I love it, but it does something really useful for me. It was the first med I was put on for bipolar (actually, shortly before being diagnosed bipolar) and it didn't appear to help with rapid cycling, depression, or anxiety. But it does make me almost never have suicidal or self-injurious thoughts. I was reminded of this recently when I was lowered from 1200 to 900 due to cognitive issues and I had a weird resurgence of those thoughts despite being not at all depressed and only normally anxious.

I drink 2-3 liters of water a day.

[nalgas]

the "word loss" - ie trying to figure out what I mean to say and being unable to do it. Similar things happen when I'm typing - eg, I'll write "fact" instead of "face"

[...]

It was added at a time when my pdoc was tweaking my cocktail, so it was difficult to figure out, for example, whether it was the trileptal or the lith which was doing something.

Just curious, but have you determined for sure that that's the lithium and not the Trileptal? I suppose it could be either for different people, but one of the biggest/most noticeable side effects I got from Trileptal was stuff like that happening all the time. I would randomly substitute words in weird ways like that or leave words out completely here and there, and I forgot how prepositions worked. It was pretty hilarious in retrospect, but it's kind of annoying sometimes when it's actually happening.

[mrsloony]

I was kind of a zombie for the first couple of weeks but follwing that-

it turned out to be the best antidepressant ever ( and i'd tried alot!) It really worked as described a mood stabilizer even though at that point i was still considered majpr depressive disorder

.I had some almost manic and mixed episodes a couple years later which responded well to higher dose

[MiaB]

Just curious, but have you determined for sure that that's the lithium and not the Trileptal? I suppose it could be either for different people, but one of the biggest/most noticeable side effects I got from Trileptal was stuff like that happening all the time. I would randomly substitute words in weird ways like that or leave words out completely here and there, and I forgot how prepositions worked. It was pretty hilarious in retrospect, but it's kind of annoying sometimes when it's actually happening.

well, I was on trileptal for about 6-8 months before a med shuffle that added WB instead. I can't recall exactly why, but it had to do with extreme dizziness from a high trileptal dose- to the extent that I could barely walk straight and was bumping into walls and the like. Eventually the pdoc decided that the WB was inducing mania, so she dropped that and introduced the trileptal/lith combination (along with seroquel and lamictal, which have been in my cocktail for ages now).

So the assumption that was made by pdoc was that it was the lithium - she told me that it would go away eventually as my brain would "learn different pathways". It hasn't gone away though, despite the fact that I've been on the lith for nearly a year now. It really drives me round the bend b/c as part of my work I have to write a lot of detailed reports, and have to double and triplecheck AND sit with a dictionary and a thesaurus to make sure that I am making some sort of sense.

(and you have no idea how long it took me to write this simple little post! Still, the trileptal thing is definitely worth exploring further, so thank you for offering up the suggestion)

[Loon-A-TiK]

Do you love it? it was pretty good while i was taking it

What changes did you notice? i just felt my moods become way more anchored

How quickly does it start working? it was working in a couple of weeks

What is your serum level? 900 for me

How much water do you drink a day? more than a gallon!

i took Li when i was in college, after college, and years later during an umployed time when i was in the work force.

it's a really good med and does really work well for a lot of people. of course there are people who like it and don't, but i think overall it has its share of fans. one of my good friends who is also bipolar has taken it for 20 years and hardly ever has problems.

the only problem i had with it (and this was a huge problem being a college student) was that it made me ULTRA-STUPID. i mean dumber than a whole pile of rocks. really stupid. i've talked about some of the weird things it did to me here before.

hopefully, that was just what it did to me and it won't make anyone else stupid.

[tsaylor]

This is my firts post. A was diagnosed BP in 2001. Cannot take antidepressants, make me manic. I was on lamictal a long time and kept me stable but I started getting a rash and was taken off of it. Doc has always pushed lithium and I always refuse but my choices are becoming more and more limited. On seroquel now, he wants me up to 200 mg and I cant function over 50-mg....too tired and whats worse is it messes up my gi system (cant go to the bathroom if you know what I mean).

Seriously considering lithium...afraid of weight gain and other side effects. I dont think the pill itself will cause the weight gain as long as I continue to eat healthy and exercise. I know when people are thirsty they tend to eat instead or drink sugary drinks. I guess the only way my questions will be answered is if I experience it myself as we are all different. Just hoping to get some positive feedback on the drug so I know all side effects aren't bad.

I could always go back to seroquel if necessary but I'd rather move on.

[zsepthenne]

Do you love it? I have a love/hate relationship with it.

What changes did you notice? I have always suffered from paranoia that made it miserable to leave the house. As soon as I discontinue my lith it comes right back. I am calmer in general, not agiatated. I think I usually have mixed moods. But heck I don't know.

How quickly does it start working? I was manic when I started but had some relief in 2 days, but not really stable for a couple of weeks with other meds. I nodded off like a junkie. I couldn't close my eyes without nodding off.

What is your serum level? 0.6 when I'm at 600mg, right now I'm only at 300mg and titrating up on Lamactil.

How much water do you drink a day? At 600mg I tried my hardest to drink at least 4 of the 16.9oz bottles. I still drink about 3 bottles as I've heard some say to stay hydrated with lamactil.

I think I could've avoided the 20lbs I have gained by some prevention. I didn't watch what I ate and I didn't exercise. Some of it is just water weight, I'd guess maybe 5-6lbs, as that's what I lost right after I went off it. The constant peeing calms a bit, but you'll be doing the midnite, and 3am, shuffle to the bathroom, Or more. I also didn't have my dose too high, I couldn't tolerate 900mg at all. I'd rather add another med and keep the lithium low. Be careful in the sun or when exercising. You sort of have to take little breaks. Good Luck!

[MiaB]

How are you feeling after a week Penny?

[Newtonium]

I know I'm late posting, but I'm just adding this as a caveat:

I thought lithium would provide the final cap of stabilization--well, it fucked up my thyroid real good, thus fucking up my mood and everything else. Finally, after being off of it for about 1.5 months, I'm starting to get my rhythm back again.

Be very careful of this stuff if you have thyroid disease/or a history of thyroid disease in your family. It can and will wack your thyroid out and trust me that is HELL!

Sorry to be so negative but that's my experience. I know, I know, lithium has been a miracle for every single person on the planet but me, but I still have to rain on everyone's parade. Sorry!

[isis]

i took valproate for 6 months and was so depressed that when i started lithium i was SO excited to be on something new, but.. the first two weeks were fantastic, a combo of being slightly manic from a lower level of meds, and increasing lithium i just felt better and better.

until i got to a stable level and suddenly got toxic, and never really recovered. i was sick constantly for 3 months. it just seemed to hate me... couldnt figure out how to fix it, tried everything with eating/drinking more/less changing times etc.

while i was on it, even though i was sick, had to drink at least 3L otherwise crushing headache. but then, i started just having the headaches no matter how much i drank.

so now im on lamictal. i would have stayed on lithium because mentally i felt very good. much happier, much more energy, but unfortunately i was just too physically unwell.

[ShadowCat]

Hi Penny

Do you love it? (past tense)

No I hated it and the feeling was mutual

What changes did you notice?

Feeling nauseous straight away, lowered energy and constant headaches. Feeling so nauseous I constantly felt like I was about to vomit. I did vomit a couple of times. Tremors. Getting instant Hypothyroid (which I am hoping has gone away by now). Diahorrea, really bad. Got to the stage I could hardly walk due to such low energy. Lost about 20 pounds in 7 weeks (nausea + appetite loss and diahorrea). True I wasn't depressed like on Sodium Valproate (known to me as the permadepression drug)and I didn't gain weight and it sorted out my mixed ep quickly. But no tolerance for it.

How quickly does it start working?

It did stabilise my mood in under 2 weeks. But. Its a biiiig but - it wasn't worth it.

What is your serum level?

I think it was about 0.8-0.9 but even when I cut it down I was still basically permatoxic.

How much water do you drink a day?

About 3 litres+. It was never enough to prevent the headaches

[jmb252]

i LOVE LOVE LOVE lithium.

my pdoc in vt held off for almost two years before adding it to my cocktail. we tried pretty much everything else, and some weird off-label things. then he threw lithium at me thinking it wouldn't work. it did. it was the thing that finally lifted the lingering cloud of depression.

unfortunately, i decided to move to a different country a few months later. ran out of all my meds. got very depressed.

went back on almost everything a few weeks ago and i feel so amazingly better it's actually beyond words. i'd forgotten how sucky it was to be unmedicated.

because of the on and off thing, i've never had a serum level done.

before i was drinking about six liters of water a day. i haven't gotten back to that level yet. i drink a lot of water, but forget that i have to consciously remember to drink liters.

anyway, i love it and i hope to never be without it again.