[tototoo]

Hi y'all,

Long time since I've posted. Hope everyone is well :-)

Based on the following, could it be possible that I have Lithium toxicity? Thanks for any advice and support!

• I am drinking 1 ½ - 2 gallons of Gatorade, Powerade every day.
• I have tremors in my arms and hands sometimes severe shaking.
• I have balance problems: start to fall then catch myself.
• Was in a car accident Nov. 23 resulting in whiplash
• 2 herniated discs, 1 compressing my spinal cord. Was thinking this and car accident was the cause of above symptoms.
• Age 51, new severe arthritic symptoms in my hands, fingers locking, sudden onset last two weeks.
• Backdrop of long-term musculoskeletal problems.
• Spent a year (2003) misdiagnosed as having Pulmonary Hypertension then Idiosyncratic Tachycardic Syndrome: a year of rapid heart rate and spiking blood pressure, all to find out that I am sensitive to the norepinephrine effects of Effexor. It raises the average person’s heart rate 4 beat/min. I am an outlier.
• Believe I have an undiagnosed connective tissue disorder
• PT alarmed by my hand tremors/shaking day before yesterday. Mentioned lithium as culprit (which I had stopped taking for 2 days because of thirst and excessively dry skin). Convinced me to keep taking it until a pdoc revaluation.
• New intermim pdoc, psychiatrist, (NP left) impressed by tremors yesterday, mentioned Lithium as cause. Doesn’t suggest blood test or take me off of it.
• 2 days that I went w/o Lithium I did become more depressed, but I think it could be situational or coincidence.

Please see my post from Dec. below. I did go back to my NP about blood testing and she insisted again that at 300 mg I didn’t need blood tests. When I had asked how lithium works, she said it has something to do with norepinephrine. I reminded her about my sensitivity to Effexor and she said Lithium wouldn’t affect me in the same way.

Current meds:

Psych: Citalopram (Celexa) 40 mg 1x/day, Lithium Carb 300mg 1x/day, Trazodone 100mg as needed for sleep, Clonazepam (Klonipin) 1 mg 2x/day and few extra/month for sudden anxiety attacks. Promethazine (Phenergen) 25 mg as needed for anxiety related nausea and sleep.

Orthopedic: Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) 10mg 2x/per day as needed for back pain. Hydrocodone 5-325 2x/day as needed for pain.

[QUOTE=tototoo;2098398]

[Confusedinomicon]

Tell your doctor you WANT the blood test.

Call the office and INSIST.

I take Lithium and have never experienced your side effects to that degree. I would be ALARMED and INSIST on the bloodtest even if the doctor thinks you're fine. You know your body BEST. And you know your feelings best!

[Anneinside]

I was once toxic. I had diarrhea, vomiting, large muscle tremors, loss of cognitive function (couldn't look up a number in the phone book b/c I didn't know the alphabet; when doctor asked my DOB I didn't know it), inability to walk unassisted.

Your symptoms don't sound toxic... here are symptoms from a website:

ACUTE TOXICITY
After taking too much lithium you will have symptoms such as:

• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Stomach pains
• Vomiting
• Weakness

You may also have some of the following nervous system symptoms, depending on how much lithium you took:

• Coma
• Hand tremors
• Incoordination of arms and legs (ataxia)
• Muscle twitches
• Seizures
• Slurred speech
• Uncontrollable eye movement (nystagmus)

[sb7777]

Yep, I agree with Confusedinomicon: get your lithium levels checked via blood test. Just ask your pdoc to give you a Rx. If you wanted to be on the super-safe side, you can ask your pdoc to also include a kidney function test (creatin, etc) on the blood work script.