Lithium users

What's the typical med increase on these meds my dr started me out at 300 MG then said would increase it to 600 MG a day soon after.. what's most people's dosage change.time frame? And how was it administered? 1 pill every 12 hours roughly?

What's the medication that you're taking? And what is it for? (sorry, I'm new here)

depend on your blood work.

One person might hit the target range at 300mg a day, another might need 1200mg and other might need 1600mg, etc.

I take 600mg twice a day, morning, night. My last level was 1.1

Just curious if it was.normally twice a day at the same time or twice a day at different. Times.. which.im guessing

I just take it when i wake and when it gets dark. it has a 24 hour half life

my pdoc started me on 400mg and went up by 400mg every week, doing blood work weekly to find theraputic levels.
i was taking non-extended release tablets (camcolit) taken once daily around 10 pm with blood work usually at 10 am to get the peak level reading.

i used to take 1200 mg daily to be at a .6 /.7 level
i would take 1600 mg daily when in an episode to even out around .8
but everyones body cheimstry is different... some people are between .6 and .8 at just 600 mg!

I take 500mg in the morning and 250mg in the evening. Not sure what my serum levels are but on 1000mg a day i was 1.2 and my doc thought it was too high as I did have more side-effects. The pdoc did say it was best to split the dose to have the higher coverage during the day when I need it.

I started 300mg at night. I am on the extended release though. Now I am on 900mg at night. So much has happened since I started I cant really remember how I did the increase. I remember dropping from 900 to 600 at one point but then we went back up.

With no history of mania or hypomania, Princess was started on 900 mg (2 x 450mg doses, 12 hrs apart) and was upped to 1200 mg (600mg twice daily) --- and mind you, no regular lithium blood levels checked thereafter.

I recall but two blood level checks ... One after 3 months ... Another after 4 months (the lab lost the results. Go figure.). I was not at all well monitored on this drug that was never appropriately prescribed for me at a time during which I had never been bipolar before and was not in depression at the time.

However I was being 'maintained' prophylactically against recurrence of depression on Cymblata which was working well for me. At the same time that I was put on the high dose lithium (Princess is petite, btw, and highly-sensitive to psych meds) --- Cymbalta was immediately removed, cold-turkey --- and in addition to lithium 1200 mg, I was put on an antipsychotic med (!?!), Zyprexa --- again with no history of ever being even close to psychotic. Deeply, totally debilitating depression, yes; never SI, nor any self harm nor harm to others; just compeletely shutdown.

I cannot stress enough the vital importance of regular lithium blood level checks; and double-check that the lab results were actually received and read by your rx'ing doctor and your PCP as well, as part of your treatment team.

It was in fact my PCP who caught that the lab results were not sent to her and in fact lost by the lab. As well it is my PCP who suspected that much of my physical ills might be in fact high-dose lithium related.

A subsequent lithium blood level taken 4 months later ordered by my new pdoc here where I am relocated, showed overly-high lithium blood levels; he phoned me promptly at 6pm on a Friday upon receipt of the results and initiated a tapering of the lithium, calling in a new 450 mg. rx of time-released lithium to be taken twice daily; also reinstated Cymbalta as I was in deep, debilitating depression.

Princess is now some 3 months later ever so much better as a result of now being off lithium and back on Cymbalta. My physical health I am slowly regaining. Restoring the health of my hair, skin, nails, teeth is a long, hard, everyday ongoing process.

Mind you, I am in no way saying that lithium is a 'bad med'. Not at all.
Rather mine was a case of it simply being inappropriately rxd for me and not well monitored properly with blood lithium level checks.

Good luck to you. I hope that it works well for you.

I have been taking 300 mg 3x a day. 8am, 2pm, and 8pm. Haven't had a change yet.

I started at 300, 600, 900 then was increased to 1800 when I went through a major depression. My levels were being checked. I take an AP so
and I also take another mood stabilizer. I am now taking 600 MGS of Lithium

does anyone else take the extended release?

Yep is take extended release. The regular ones made me nauseous after I took them

It all depends on your Lithium blood levels. It's typically quick effective for treating both depression and mania...good luck!

I had been taking lithum 300mg twic a day for two weeks now. I don't see any improvement I am still in major depression.

2 weeks .. take a bloodtest. Dr. Most likely adjust it

Yep. blood test! Mine was really low after 2 weeks and Dr upped it a bit!

Started off at 300 mg, and increased to 900 mg in 3 days (hospital). After blood test, increased to 1200 mg (current dosage).

Our daughter was diagnosed at 14 and is now 15. She was started on 300 mg. Three days later they went to 600 and a week after that, 900. At that point she was a therapeutic level and has remained that way, so they stopped at that, so far! She takes one 300 mg. tablet in the morning and 2 at bedtime.

Nancy

just restarted saturday
600 mg - probably up to 800 this week