SashaSue Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Pdoc has just about convinced me to try lithium again. I think she's probably right about this one, but nonetheless, I'm completely terrified to take it. So, I'd love to hear some happy lithium stories? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarie Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Well... where to begin counting - or should I say rehashing - the ways? Lithium was one of the first meds I tried. I was in the gray between hypo and manic with a raging hurricane noise in my head only I didn't really know it was there until shortly after I got to serum level .9. What still is and may remain one of the most wonderful experiences of my life happened. Overnight, quiethead happened, silence, space between my ears, fantastic, amazing, truly moving. Then Lithium blew out my intestines and I had to d/c immediately. Over the next three months I titrated up very slowly. Other than some acne that other meds contribute to as well, I have no side effects that I can readily attribute to Lithium - no tremor until serum level around 1.2, no thirst, no anything. I don't think I've had any weight gain, but Depakote added a bunch of pounds and I can't be certain that Li didn't slip a few in (don't think so, though). I also don't believe but can't absolutely know that Li is not causing some cognitive dulling. I know I have a little, I think it's Tegretol, but shrug, can't know for sure. That's my most objective assessment. Lithium is my favorite med. How can you not love a med that grows new neuronal connections? It helps with depression, I know that for sure. It helps with manicy stuff. It did not help me with rapid cycling or mixed states. Tegretol took care of those. Lithium isn't scary, Sasha. You get routine blood work to monitor for any potential problems. Once your level stabilizes, that blood work is only every few months. No biggy. It's good stuff. Try it. You'll like it. Seriously. And, if not, you discontinue like any other regular old med. Oh-oh, I hear there are rocks you can buy with Lithium naturally occuring in them. How cool is that? I mean, what other med can ya wear dangling natively from your sexy little ears? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 There is nothing to be afraid of. Call you doctor and tell him you are ready to start! Lithium probably has a lower side effect profile than many of the AD's. Cymbalta just kicked my ass (actually my head) last week when the pharmacy couldn't get me refills for 3 days. My 'ole pal Lithium would never do that to me. The first 3 weeks were the worst for me. On start up or restart, it is a bit sedating for a few days, but not nearly so much as Paxil, Cymbalta and Seroquel were. It upset my gut a bit too. A little nausea (so I took it meals and nibbled on soda crackers and soda between), a little diarrhea but not anything to complain about. It does cause tremors, that improve with time. I have metoprolol beta blocker for when I need really calm hands (which is also good for anti-anxiety for social/work events. Word recall may get a bit worse. You will probably experience increased thirst, and you need to drink lots of water anyhow to flush your kidneys. I've been on it 4.5 years, and told my pdoc she would have to pry it out of my hands, when she suggested changing for no apparent reason. Lithium takes effect quickly 3-5 days, and it really puts a floor under my emotions and makes me feel 'solid'. The bloodwork is no big deal. Once you get established you go 3-6 months between tests. I've been over a year (oops) presently. Get on the train! a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 I know the blodtests will keep track of the big, bad,kidney & thyroid issues. But honestly, I'm pretty scared of all the wait gain, acne, cognitive dulling stuff too. IDK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 I know the blodtests will keep track of the big, bad,kidney & thyroid issues. But honestly, I'm pretty scared of all the wait gain, acne, cognitive dulling stuff too. IDK. Granted I'm 48, but the only acne that shows up is the first couple weeks after starting up. YMMV. I don't think it is a given that lithium is going to make you look like your are 16 again. In fact my acne only shows up on my back and shoulders, and is a minor irritation. Weight gain, hasn't been a problem. I packed on 25lbs with Paxil. When I switched to lithium, it might have been maybe 3lbs. I didn't see any significant change and no food cravings like with Paxil. a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarie Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 I know the blodtests will keep track of the big, bad,kidney & thyroid issues. But honestly, I'm pretty scared of all the wait gain, acne, cognitive dulling stuff too. IDK. I think the weight gain is overblown. I mean, yeah, some have that problem, but many don't. Acne has been a life long problem for me. Lamictal contributes, Tegretol contributes. See, this is my vulnerability. I know that when I started, I did not think I had any cog dulling. I know for certain that Lamictal at or over 200mg kicks my head. I know that when I raised Tegretol to 300mg, I got incredibly dumb. I still doubt that Lithium is causing me any of this problem. Besides, YMMV. Find out for yourself. Even worse case scenario, it's not like it will do anything you haven't already lived thru... and I don't mean ADs making you crazy. Those don't factor into this cause Li wouldn't be that bad even on it's worst behavior. I think you will be pleasantly surprised and wonder why you dug your heals in so long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
december_brigette Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hi Sasha, first let me address AM - some of us, ok me, are afraid of everything. secondly - i get the acne on my arms & back during the entire duration. while on Li has been the only time ive had such acne. i wash with neutrogena acne body wash (the problem is that i havent been showering like a regular person). Im on my 2nd try to lithium. I love it. it wipes most of my anger & rage far away. the first try ended because i was preggers. so far so good on this 2nd try. i get a bit nauseous - but i have to remember to drink water. and its so cheap!! i paid $1.23 for this month's dosage. plus, it has such a long history that if anything happens - i think the predictions would probably be correct. all happy all happy and my side effects are fixed. db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sorrel Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Lithium is the only med I am taking right now. I take Zyprexa during episodes but for the most part it's just lithium and that's been sufficient. So I am definitely a lithium responder. I have had no weight gain, cognitive dulling, emotional flattening, or GI effects. I do have a tremor. It's been ameliorated somewhat by taking a larger dose at night and smaller in the morning, instead of even. It's not a big deal. Also, I am very thirsty almost all the time, but whatever, that's what large water bottles are for. You have to be careful about dehydration. I have had some bad experiences with exercising heavily or sweating a lot in hot weather. But it's my own fault, since I wasn't careful about drinking lots of extra water. Whatever -- it's worth it for stability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 You guys have all made me feel much, much better about this. Thanks. Another question: I'm starting it tonight, and wondering what start up is like, because I really don't remember, beyond all that delightful throwing up, which hopefully won't be happening this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sorrel Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I had no "start-up" issues at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 That's what I like to hear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamless Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I vaguely recall some mild headache for the first few days. I was very much against lithium. Took a year before I caved in to my pdoc's suggestion. Now I wonder what the fuss was all about, the only thing I notice is the need to drink more water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaRufina Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 When I started lithium, I may or may not have gained like 2-3 lbs. It could have just been water weight. But since then I've lost weight. I've lost about 12 pounds [give or take a couple, depending on the weather, maybe?]. My face is usually ok unless I get bad about using face wash and such [which actually I have been lately so I'm breaking out, of course], but even then, it's not breaking out anywhere near what it used to when I was having problems a time before I was on lithium. So lithium isn't giving me "acne problems". I haven't noticed cognitive dulling. I really can't say that I have. I'm actually doing pretty well in school, even if I FEEL like I'm frustrated with it, my grades aren't showing it, so I must be doing ok cognitively. All in all, I've been pretty ok, personally. So, all those things won't necessarily happen. I was terrified of weight gain and such too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mechante Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I like lithium. I had tremor for a little while when I started up, but it was mild. I've been on it for 4 years and a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 So far so good. I'm having trouble with remembering to drink enough water, but other than that no big problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naturegirl Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Hi everyone... I am new, so if this is in the wrong spot please feel free to fix it! I am not diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but I have pretty severe drug-resistant depression. My psychiatrist just started me on lithium, and I have been feeling crappy ever since. I read the posts above, and didn't notice anyone mentioning confusion as a side effect. I have been feeling naseous and head-achey, and pretty disoriented since I started the lithium. I have only been on it for 2 weeks, and am only on 600mg a day, but I don't notice a mental difference. I have been wondering if it is worth it to continue taking a medication that doesn't help my mood and that makes me feel physically crappy. I am worried that if I stop taking it, though, that it will be like giving up on medication treatment; I have always thought that if nothing else worked, that lithium surely would. If this isn't helping, I don't know what else I should try.... Any advice would be really really appreciated! Hi everyone... I am new, so if this is in the wrong spot please feel free to fix it! I am not diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but I have pretty severe drug-resistant depression. My psychiatrist just started me on lithium, and I have been feeling crappy ever since. I read the posts above, and didn't notice anyone mentioning confusion as a side effect. I have been feeling naseous and head-achey, and pretty disoriented since I started the lithium. I have only been on it for 2 weeks, and am only on 600mg a day, but I don't notice a mental difference. I have been wondering if it is worth it to continue taking a medication that doesn't help my mood and that makes me feel physically crappy. I am worried that if I stop taking it, though, that it will be like giving up on medication treatment; I have always thought that if nothing else worked, that lithium surely would. If this isn't helping, I don't know what else I should try.... Any advice would be really really appreciated! Oh, and I am a technological idiot, which is why I managed to post that twice.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 My psychiatrist just started me on lithium, and I have been feeling crappy ever since. I read the posts above, and didn't notice anyone mentioning confusion as a side effect. I have been feeling naseous and head-achey, and pretty disoriented since I started the lithium. I have only been on it for 2 weeks, and am only on 600mg a day, but I don't notice a mental difference. I have been wondering if it is worth it to continue taking a medication that doesn't help my mood and that makes me feel physically crappy. For a lot people, that amount would result in a fairly low blood level, which may or may not be enough to really do much mood-wise. I'm not hugely familiar with how it's normally used for non-BP depression, but I was under the impression that it's usually used as an add-on for other meds that aren't working well enough, and not so much on its own. I am worried that if I stop taking it, though, that it will be like giving up on medication treatment; I have always thought that if nothing else worked, that lithium surely would. If this isn't helping, I don't know what else I should try.... Any advice would be really really appreciated! That's really hard to say without knowing what you've already tried. There's a pretty decent-sized stack of things even without getting into the really off-label stuff, and I have no idea what you've been through already. There are a whole bunch of SSRIs, Wellbutrin, the SNRIs like Effexor/Cymbalta/Pristiq, Remeron, a whole heap of tricyclics, MAOIs/RIMAs, Strattera, Lamictal, various stimulants, possibly some other ACs or APs...and that's at least a couple dozen meds, just off the top of my head. Without knowing more about you and what has/hasn't worked in what ways, it's hard to suggest a direction to head next, but there's a whole crapload of stuff out there, some specifically approved for MDD and some used off-label because they sometimes help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Thank you all for the good news stories about Lithium. I am about to trial my teenager on this med -- and needed to hear good news stories from real-life BP survivors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy10 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Hi everyone... I am new, so if this is in the wrong spot please feel free to fix it! I am not diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but I have pretty severe drug-resistant depression. My psychiatrist just started me on lithium, and I have been feeling crappy ever since. I read the posts above, and didn't notice anyone mentioning confusion as a side effect. I have been feeling naseous and head-achey, and pretty disoriented since I started the lithium. I have only been on it for 2 weeks, and am only on 600mg a day, but I don't notice a mental difference. I have been wondering if it is worth it to continue taking a medication that doesn't help my mood and that makes me feel physically crappy. I am worried that if I stop taking it, though, that it will be like giving up on medication treatment; I have always thought that if nothing else worked, that lithium surely would. If this isn't helping, I don't know what else I should try.... Any advice would be really really appreciated! Hi everyone... I am new, so if this is in the wrong spot please feel free to fix it! I am not diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but I have pretty severe drug-resistant depression. My psychiatrist just started me on lithium, and I have been feeling crappy ever since. I read the posts above, and didn't notice anyone mentioning confusion as a side effect. I have been feeling naseous and head-achey, and pretty disoriented since I started the lithium. I have only been on it for 2 weeks, and am only on 600mg a day, but I don't notice a mental difference. I have been wondering if it is worth it to continue taking a medication that doesn't help my mood and that makes me feel physically crappy. I am worried that if I stop taking it, though, that it will be like giving up on medication treatment; I have always thought that if nothing else worked, that lithium surely would. If this isn't helping, I don't know what else I should try.... Any advice would be really really appreciated! Oh, and I am a technological idiot, which is why I managed to post that twice.... Hi, It's only recently, increasing to 900mg, that my serum level has increased to 0.7 and, I am sure, has resulted in a lifting of the suicidal depression that haunted me for months. It didn't as much beforehand when my level was at 0.5, in spite of a slight improvement in mood. I started Li in mid-Jan and only went up to 900mg three weeks ago. It does take time. Thinking back to what my psych said, it takes longer to act on the depression than it does on mania, which I believe may be true for quite a few drugs. She said she thought it would be therapeutic at 0.7 ish and she was, gulp, right. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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