Quote:
Originally Posted by hamster-bamster
Your story is rather sad and rather representative - Lithium is the last medication to try whereas it really should be the first to try (and, if necessary, discard, but at least try first) since it remains the gold standard of bipolar treatment. There is no money in Lithium, for one, and, many pdocs prefer to prescribe newer drugs that they keep reading about. Probably that explains why you are going to try it a whole 8 years after being diagnosed.
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They don't prescribe lithium the same reason they don't prescribe Haldol first for psychosis, despite it being the most effective anti-psychotic: because it's very dangerous. The long-term risks of lithium can be catastrophic, even when levels are monitored. I know several people in my bipolar support group who've ended up in kidney failure from long-term lithium. If anything, I feel doctors remain too loose in prescribing lithium (Depakote also).
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Things That Make Me Mentally Interesting:
Bipolar II, ultra-rapid cycling with transient psychotic features
ADD, inattentive type
Separation Anxiety and possible PTSD
Stuff That Helps:
Zyprexa, Stelazine, and Dexedrine
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