Seeing p-doc tonight

I will probably have my prescription for Lithium written tonight. Are there things I should ask the p-doc about it?

So far I have thought of:

1. What maintenance do I have to do?

2. How can I minimize weight gain without messing up Lithium levels

3. How much water do I need to drink per day?

4. What about electrolyte drinks?

5. How long will it take to notice results?

6. What are symptoms of toxicity?

Have no advice, sorry, but just want to say hope it goes well and thinking of you.

x

Because weight gain on all psychotropic meds for me is a huge problem, I've gotten my pdoc to hold off and not prescribe it just because of the weight. I hope that things go smoothly for you. And I hope that you start feeling better soon.

I havent actually gained a pound on Lithium but I do keep myself at about 1500 calories per day. The only other thing I would advise is the discussion about thyroid function. Lithium can cause most typically hypothyroidism which seems to be more common in females. It's happening to me now so I would just ask you to have that discussion with your doc. Good luck!!

Thanks everyone. We are actually going to wait a couple of weeks because I have to come off of Prozac first and switch to an antidepressant that won't react with Lithium and cause serotonin syndrome. I also have to get my labs done because I was taking about some other side effects I felt on Trileptal and she is concerned that my sodium levels may be low. (Hyponatremia)

I go back in two weeks.