Need some info on Lithium pls

Hi all, I had an assessment today and they have confirmed that I do have Bipolar, it was always on the cards but now it is official. They have taken me off Sodium Volproate and have upped my Seroquel from 25mg to 200mg and am to continue to take my prozac untill my mood lifts and then I have to stop taking it, they are also thinking about putting me on Lithium but first I need to have some blood tests and an ECG on my heart. I just wanted any info on peoples experiences with Lithium and any advice pls!

Thanks, take care all!!

I take lithium and find it to be very helpful in stabilizing my mood. Expect to be thirsty all the time. You'll live with a drink in your hand (and as a result take many trips to the restroom). At higher doses, I had hand tremors that were bothersome but not so bad that I needed to stop it. I'm at a lower dose now with no side effect other than thirst.

You'll have bloodwork done every now and then to check that you lithium level is within therapeudic range.

I took Lithium for a while. I was constantly thirsty and running to the bathroom. I also had a tremor. You will have to have frequent blood tests until they are sure that you are in the therapeutic range.

A bad story: After I had been on it a while, when the pharmacy refilled my prescription they gave me 600mg capsules instead of 2 300mg capsules. Since I was depressed and not thinking, I didn't read the bottle and continued taking 2 capsules a day. I had very bad diarrhea and large motor tremors enough so that I actually threw a cup of coffee. I happened to be with my case manager at a restaurant and she told me to look up the number to the hospital at the payphone. I found that I couldn't do it -- I had forgotten the alphabet. She took me home to pack and then to the emergency room. By the time the doctor came into the examination room I couldn't remember my date of birth and couldn't walk unassisted. I was hospitalized for a week and on an IV for about 5 days. Very scary.

The reason for the story... read your prescription bottles every time they are given to you. You might have a different dosage of capsules so you will need to adjust how many capsules you take.

I took Lithium for a while too and I couldn't get to a high enough dose where it would help me. When I raised my dose to 600mg per day, I was termoring so badly that I couldn't even eat because I would miss my mouth. Fortunately this happened while I was inpatient, so they were able to give me something for the tremors and then get me off the Lithium and on to Depakote. I am on a great med cocktail now that has me feeling stable for the first time in a really long time.

I was on lithium from the time I was diagnosed (2007) until May of this year. I was at 900 mg/day. When I was first put on it I had very bad hand tremors and was given a med (can't remember the name, but it may have been propanol??) and that cured it. I eventually was able to get off that and the only time I had hand tremors was when I got even slightly dehydrated. I agree with everyone else I drank a lot of h20 when on it, but I find the same thing with the meds I'm on now (lamictal/wellbutrin).

Lithium is a very cost effective med and by far the cheapest med I have ever been on. There are many med options/combos for bipolar and for me it has been frustrating trying to find the right med combo, but it's worth the effort. Good luck and keep us posted!

I was on lithium 15 years ago. I was on 900 mg/day. The doctor had me try taking it all at once, because I had an issue remembering to take it, but it made me nauseous, so she changed it to 300 3x/day, and I was fine.

My hands did shake for 3 weeks, which was very annoying. It was hard to hold a cup of coffee, and I would get so frustrated I'd sit on my hands. But, that does go away. After about 3 weeks I didn't shake anymore.

The main problem I had with lithium is difficulty concentrating. I was in college at the time, and taking accounting. We only had 50 minutes of class time to take tests. Although I had studied (sometimes for 10 hours straight) and knew the material, I got in the low 80s on a couple of tests because I couldn't finish them. I would read the same sentence 5 times and have no idea what I just read. I could still read the words, but nothing would compute. So, I went through the disability office and through VESID and got separate testing times. It took me 3 hours to finish a test, but I got 100s the rest of the semester.

Lithium was given to me in the hospital where I was sent after cutting myself. That was when I was diagnosed as bipolar, rather than my previous diagnosis of clinical depression with panic disorder. At the time I was self-medicating with alcohol (on top of anti-depressants). After being put on lithium my mood improved, and I lost the desire to drink. Despite the side-effects, lithium saved my life.

I can't be on lithium anymore because my doctor said it would react with my RA medicine and hurt my kidneys, so I'm on Seroquel XR 200mg.

Only good news to report about my experiences with Lithium. Lithium literally saved my life. We tried almost everything to get me out of my treatment resistant depression. I had been taken off Lithium in March 2010 because of a potential thyroid nodule. Shortly after that, I went from bad to worse. I finally was able to get out of bed and get a thyroid scan that had been ordered a few months back. It was negative - no thyroid nodule. I was hospitalized (again) and during the last 4 out of 17 days spent in the hospital, my doctor who was considering ECT as a last ditch effort, put me back on Lithium. It was like a miracle!

I have fine tremors in my hands and what they call "intentional" tremors when I try to do something like spoon rice onto a plate. Those are pretty bad - but I am on a sizeable dose 1050 mg. and my lithium level is 1.0 - so next week I am going down to 900 mg. I do get thirsty, so I drink up when I am thirsty. My pdoc said I do not have to drink any more than what my thirst calls for. I have not experienced any increase in appetite and I have lost 11 pounds (because I am happier and have more energy). My pdoc said that the typical weight gain is water retention and varies between 2 to 4 lbs. in any given day. I don't have any swelling in my feet or ankles except for the 2nd day that I was back on Lithium. It disappeared the next day. But, my pdoc did warn me to NEVER let any doctor give me a diuretic (water pill) with Lithium as it can cause the kidneys to hold onto the Lithium and cause damage to the kidneys. Just thought I'd pass that one on.

I wish you the same miracle! Hugs, Laurie

it's quite an effective drug and very inexpensive. i wanted to be on it due to the cost, but had a side affect...happens to some...my taste buds were affected. i couldn't stand it so sadly had to go off it. but i've known many ppl who have never had the taste buds affected, so i'd go for it if i were u. hopefully it won't affect u. i'm acutely sensitive to any type of med.creates a bother sometimes.

thanks everyone. I have an appointment for blood test and ecg on friday at the crack of dawn! I'm a little concerned about startin on lithium if it comes to it. I've heard bad things about it