Lithium or Effexor causing extreme fatigue and not caring about anything?

[Christian82]

Hi everyone,

I have not posted in a few weeks and the last time I did I was asking about Lamictal. Then, I went to the hospital for a week and while I was there I was put on Lithium 900mg (at night, before bed) and 37.5mg Effexor (in the morning). Luckily for me, my suicidal ideation that I had before/ in the hospital has pretty much gone away... but instead I feal chronically fatigued and totally blah. I can easily sleep 14-16 hrs per day and even when I wake up I feel totally exhausted and I have to force myself to do even the smallest things.

Does anyone know if it's the Lithium or the Effexor that is causing my "blah" and exhausted feelings? I really need to do something soon, as I can barely get out of bed...

[resonance]

Have you had your lithium levels checked recently? I know that when I'm getting toxic I start being really drowsy. How much water are you drinking a day?

[MiaB]

I agree with resonance - I get really ill when I'm toxic, but I have heard of it showing up as extreme lethargy. I need to drink at least 3 litres of water/day to stay safe with the med.

good luck - I hope you resolve this fast.

[Christian82]

I agree with resonance - I get really ill when I'm toxic, but I have heard of it showing up as extreme lethargy. I need to drink at least 3 litres of water/day to stay safe with the med.

good luck - I hope you resolve this fast.

Thanks for the posts everyone. I just had a blood test performed on Wednesday, the results were faxed to the pdoc and when he comes back from his vacation after the new year, I expect he'll lower my lithium down a bit. I'll post another thread in the depression forum to see if anyone has had extreme apathy with Effexor.