[January]

Hello friends,

Many of you know that I had to quit taking lamictal because I broke out in a horrible allergic rash and blisters years after I started taking it. My pdoc was going to have me use my xanax instead of taking any bp meds, but my friends noticed I am not doing well.

My pdoc started me on trileptal, but after three doses, I woke up with my face swollen and discolored again. So much for the trileptal.

Have any of you tried lithium? Have you had similar experiences? Any information and advice will be most appreciated. I go back to the pdoc on Thursday.

Cheers!

Jan

[Dolfin]

Jan,

I am on Lithium, and after years of trial and error with SSRI's, Lithium has been a godsend. I was apprehensive at first about taking it, but now that I have been on it for 5 months, it's showing no signs of pooping out on me like other meds in the past.

IMO, Lithium is probably one of the best meds for BP, at least for me anyway (not to mention, it's been around a long time, so it has well-documented results). I noticed a change within the first week of taking it. I hope it works for you too, if your pdoc decides to put you on it.

((((((((((Jan))))))))))

Much Love,
Dolfin

[January]

Thanks Dol!

Can you tell me if it's caused weight changes, skin problems, anything of that nature? How often do you have to have your blood levels checked?

Three days of trileptal has given me a huge apetite, and I just don't have one anymore. If I stayed on this stuff, I'd gain all my weigh back and more!

Hugs,

Jan

[darkeyes]

Lithobid, was great, titrated very gradual, and all was fine, no fatigue, little weight gain, nothing like Depakote, that made me gain a lot and made me fatigued.
Lithobid was good. My brother has been on it for over 30yrs and has done just fine
His BP is Bipolar-I, I being (Bipolar-II) who tend to have more deep depression than Bipolar-I's, was switched to the Lamictal.
Though it's over 2 yrs of being on Lamictal, I though I was having some rashing over the last 2 months, turned out it was happening while our water conditioner was broke and we were just having our unprocessed well water, which is so hard with minerals, you can't get any suds from soaps, etc. well what was happening soap wasn't rinsing well and now that the processor is fixed the rashing has lessened.
Now I hope if a rashing starts from the meds. it won't be bad enough to quit the meds., starting new ones can be frustrating being that they don't always work the same for everyone.
I hope and wish you well with any med changes you may have to use.
Take care,
DE

(((((((((((( Jan, and everyone here )))))))))))))

[Dolfin]

Jan,

I am actually losing weight since going on Lithium, and haven't noticed any skin problems. Some of the downsides are: reduce/eliminate caffeine intake and in the first month or so an almost unquenchable thirst or dry mouth.

Since going on Lithium, I've cut all soda/pop out of my diet and really cut back on the coffee, but I haven't been able to totally give it up nor do I think I ever will LOL. But, I have drastically increased the amount of water I drink (about 80 oz. a day) which I think is also helping with the weight loss (4 months, 25 lbs - and counting!!)

I get my levels checked every three months, and after my next draw, since I'm doing so well, my doc is going to every 6 months unless I run into problems. I'm still on my starting dosage of 900mg/day.

Those are the only side effects I've experienced, but as we all know, every body is different. Good luck with your pdoc. Lithium isn't as bad as I thought it would be

Huge Hugz and Much Love,
Dol

[Topher]

I'm BP I. On lithium for about 23 years. Before that it was a trip into the psych ward about every year or so. I tried Lamictal this year in hopes of getting a little mood elevation from dysthymia. Nothing happened either good or bad. So I quit.
I'm glad you have received some benefit from lithium, Jan. I hope it continues to keep you level.

[January]

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((DE)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thank you for the great information. I'm so sorry about the well water! I was raised in the country and we had iron and sulfa water on one of our farms. It was nasty when the water conditioner broke down! I really feel for you over the soap problem!

I hope you get to stay on the lamictal, too. It's a really good drug. The rash just got to me. The pdoc says my system is just so sensitive to chemicals now that I can't take it, but while it lasted, the lamictal really helped me.

I am beginning to have real hope over the lithium. Thank you for sharing such good news about it.

Many hugs,

Jan

[January]

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Dol)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thanks, Dol. Now 'm not nearly as afraid as I was. I'll tell her I'll take the lithium. I had flatly refused, which was a first for me in almost six years of therapy.

Just three days of trileptal made me so hungry I was amost ready to chew on the cabinents! I ate more food in those three days than I would have normally in a week! It was amazing. It must be about out of my system today because I'm not hungry and my face wasn't swollen this morning.

I'll keep plenty of water on hand for the lithium and I need to get off caffiene again anyway. (I was off it but with the med changes and colitis, I have the energy of a tired snail, so I indulged in caffiene.) 'Most boo on my part.

Again, thank you so much! You have helped me feel so much better.

Many, many hugs,

Jan

all of the replies about lithium give me hope. i'm on depakote and lamictal and i've gained a ton of weight. all i want to do is eat. when i'm not eating, i'm thinking about it! i'll talk to my psych doc at my next appt. she suggested that we drop the depakote and try something else,last week. thanks, guys. xoxo pat

[BamaSurvivor]

Lithium has helped me a great deal. My pdoc put me on one 100mg pill a day and I did fine with that... Then she increased it to two 100mg pills a day, and I ended up with lithium toxicity. She knocked it back down to one and I've did fine on it since then... Been taking it for quite sometime now, and was very frightened to take it for awhile after my lithium toxicity incident, but no problems have arose since then. I get my lithium level checked once every three months as well. I've noticed no signs of skin problems on it and no weight gain problems... Probably because I had decreased my sweet drinks and replaced them with water. One thing you need to be aware of is you don't need to change your salt intake... Increased salt intake can cause some problems from what I understand, so keep it level.

[darkeyes]

Actually, it is not to increase your salt intake, but decreasing it can be a problem, my brother tends to salt his food, I don't, we thought he shouldn't use salt if food is already salted, but he said his pdoc told him not to stop using salt.
I do not remember how it goes, Larry Hoover could probably explain or look up stuff by "Mougens?" I'll get back to you if interested, my mind can't remember the pdoc/researcher's name. Anyhow, reducing salt (sodium) intake can be a problem, something to do with the body/brain grasping or bonding onto a sodium (molecules) upsets the balance,
"Larry, help me with this", y'all know Larry Hoover and his expertise right?
So that is where the salt intake/reduction thing comes in.
100mg per day? wow, that is really low and shouldn't present any problems. I had been on a total per day 900mgs (300mgs 3x a day) then gradually was lowered to 1 (300mgs) per day, then switched.
It is an excellent med for Bipolar disorder, hs the longest track record, if prescribebd properly, titrated gradually, the risk of side effects can be mild or nothing.
I wish you all lots of luck with meds and/or treatment, we can get through this
Oh, some of the books I listed at the top have explanation on Lithium and sodium intake, I am sure there are some med sites on the internet that can explain some things you may want to know about.
Take good care now,
DE

(((((((((( Bama )))))))))))

[BamaSurvivor]

((((darkeyes))))

I didn't mean to decrease your salt intake, I've just heard that you need to keep a level salt intake... Not to increase too much nor decease too much because both could create problems.

Yeah, I didn't get lithium toxicity until I was put on 200mg... My body just couldn't tolerate even that much. So we went back down to 100mg and I've did fine with it since. Of course, I'm on other medications too that work with lithium.

[darkeyes]

Gotcha
I hope the combo of meds. turn out to be just what agrees with you.
I hope coming here also is of help to you as well as others.
This is for you,

((((((((((((((( Bama )))))))))))))

Glad to see you

Sincerely,
DE

[BamaSurvivor]

Yes, these meds have been godsent... I'm on a combination of Provigil, Abilify, Lithium, and Seroquel and combined they work great together.

((((((((((DE)))))))))) Good seeing you too.