Lithium side effects-when?

[Guest Ahalo]

I recently started Lithium so am just now ramping up to 600mg with a target dose of 1200mg. Ive heard about all the side effects and was curious at what does did they kick in for people? Ive been mindful of drinking etc but have felt no side effects yet except for mildly softer stools. The side effects are what always concern me the most so just wondering when they usually appear. Thank you! Ps i have also had some vivid dreams. Not sure if its from the med though

[pinkiemarie]

I don't remember when my side effects appeared. It was probably around 1200mg which is the highest dose I've taken. I had tremors, which faded after about a year, and nausea, which also faded after about a year. The only side effect I still have is the increased thirst which is pretty strong.

[netsavy006]

I had side effects from the beginning but they went away over time. These were tremors and severe thirst. But a good side effect I got was less anxiety which did stay with me, which I liked. I'm at 900mg per day.

[Guest]

I was at 1250mg and the tremors were mostly held in check by the Inderal. At 1500mg I'm finding my hands seem to shake a lot more than they used to though. It could also just be increased anxiety as I have been very stressed lately.

[6un6silent6]

I bounce between 900mg and 1200mg depending on my levels and mood, the biggest problem I've had is tremor which has been kept in check with Propanolol (Inderal) 10mg QD. Beyond that nausea occurs when I increase doses but seems to go away pretty quick. I have to watch my diet very carefully as I put on about 20lbs since starting a higher dose 4 months ago. I was eating carbs left and right. I've dialed my diet down and dropped about 5 lbs in two weeks.

Lithium is not as scary as I thought it would be. Good luck!

[zenbean]

Lithium is not as scary as I thought it would be. Good luck!

You have no idea how reassuring that is, along with the comments above. I started lithium less than a week ago and really had to talk myself into it, I was so worried about it. But so far, so good - of course I'm now on a very low dose, just starting to titrate up - but all I've had so far was a little nausea the first few days, and that's gone away. Also a lot of fatigue, but I think that might be due to the fact that I've been having trouble sleeping for the last couple of months and just seem to be starting to catch up. Anyway, thanks for the info, everyone.

[Why Did You Grow a Beard?]

I started gaining weight when I was on 600mg of Lithium. Tremors followed. I was eventually on 1500mg, which really messed with my cognition and motor skills.

[Guest Ahalo]

Thanks for all the replies. So far im very lucky i thinnk. Ive been up to 1200 for over a week and the only thing i notice is that me stools are softer. Its not a pain at all or anywhere near diarrhea level. No trmors. No nausea. No increased tiredness. And i think its working. When i do get worked up about something i come down almost right away. Moments of depression are few and far between.

So im pleased so far.

[6un6silent6]

I started gaining weight when I was on 600mg of Lithium. Tremors followed. I was eventually on 1500mg, which really messed with my cognition and motor skills.

My cognition is affected as well, but it's starting to wean a bit and it's helping me become more stable. So in a way it's worth it.

[Why Did You Grow a Beard?]

I started gaining weight when I was on 600mg of Lithium. Tremors followed. I was eventually on 1500mg, which really messed with my cognition and motor skills.

My cognition is affected as well, but it's starting to wean a bit and it's helping me become more stable. So in a way it's worth it.

I'm glad it's helping you.

Lithium did nothing for me at all from what I could tell. The bad outweighed the good by a longshot. When I was inpatient one of my many times I heard one of the clinicians say the Lithium effectiveness split is 60/40. I suppose I'm in the 40% it doesn't work for.