[eowiitb]

Hi Everyone. I took lithium for about six months. The dosage varied but i never went above 900mg. I stopped taking it 3 months ago. Im not on any other meds. I noticed i still have an annoying hand tremor. Its not severe. But it is annoying, especially for typing at a keyboard. My pdoc said it should have disappeared after a few days but could not answer if it was permanent or not. I also dont feel as creative as I used to be. I feel unusually apathetic as well. Here are my questions:

Is this tremor permanent?
How long does it take to go away?
Are there any other permanent side effects people have noticed, like apathy and less creativity?
And most importantly, when will this annoying tremor go away???

[Ruftin]

(((eowiitb))) I have never read that Lithium causes permanent hand tremors, apathy or less creativity. Your bipolar could be causing the apathy and decrease in creativity. Were you taking any other meds for your bipolar disorder. If so look for side effect of tardive dyskinesia?

[~Christina]

Yep Lithium has left me with a tremor. Its not 24/7 but very noticeable at times.

[Trippin2.0]

More than THREE years later, I still have a tremor, not always very noticeable, but some days it can get very bad, especially if I'm having a rough time.


It's like a tell tale sign now.


I was also told its not permanent, but apparently pdocs don't know as much as they pretend to.

[eowiitb]

Thank you everyone. I didnt want to take lithium, but my pdoc stated with lithium, "everything is reversible". Im upset that i may have to live with a hand tremor for the rest of my life now. If anyone had a tremor heal completely overtime, please let me know. I could use some good news.

[Hexagram]

Originally Posted by eowiitb

my pdoc stated with lithium, "everything is reversible"

Lithium gradually lowers your glomerular filtration rate, a measure of kidney function. Once your kidney function decays past a certain threshold, you have to stop taking lithium and regroup on an anticonvulsant or other substitute. This happened to me. Please ask your pdoc for me how that's "reversible".

[eowiitb]

I'm sorry to hear about the kidney damage. I just got my blood test results and aside from the tremor it looks like I'm hypothyroid now because of the lithium. All of these possible side effects were hidden from me. I hope that heals? I'll be honest, I'm kinda scared to go to pdocs. Since lithium didnt work out, she suggested ECT like its harmless. No discussion of side effects. Just "we can try ECT" Honestly, what's with their fetish to fry brains? They seem to outright lie to their patients. It's sad that my car mechanic spends more time and care on my car engine than my pdocs on me. I hope I recover. I don't want to have a permanent hand tremor and be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life. I feel some pdocs don't treat their patients with care. They are just in too much of a rush for some reason. I'm typing this with a lithium hand tremor I never asked for and now I'm obese with low thyroid. I'm in worse shape than before I started. How can we trust pdocs??

[eowiitb]

Thank you for replying. I still have a tremor even after 4 months after I stopped Lithium. I am very stressed by it. How bad is your tremor? Did it improve after a while?

[~Christina]

Mine has yet to improve and its highly unlikely that it will ever go away per my Pdoc at this point.