Is it Possible for Lithium to Stop Working in Less Than a Month?

Hello there,

I was on Latuda 120 mg for a few months during the summer, and it had not worked for me. I became severely depressed. I then switched to lithium 900 mg on July 31st, and my pdoc told me that I should notice a slight improvement within 5 days. Quite a bit of time passed by and I saw no improvement. I then booked an urgent appointment on August 13th, and my pdoc prescribed Pristiq (an antidepressant) with the lithium. My mood suddenly improved on August 15th. I don't think Pristiq could have fixed things that fast, so I am assuming that the lithium took longer than expected to work.

Starting September 2nd, I have noticed low moods again, sometimes getting quite severe.

So, my question is, could lithium stop working in such a short amount of time?

I remember lithium taking nearly a month to really kick in for me the first time.

Yeah, I noticed that it took some time to start working... but can it stop working? My mood improved and then went down again :S

The same thing happened to me with the lithium. It seemed like it started working so well almost immediately and now so many of my symptoms are back. I'm also having pretty bad side effects and some toxicity so today, doc lowered me from 1500mgs to 1200 and upped my seroquel instead. Since I've only been on the lithium for three weeks, she says it's too early to tell if it's gonna work for me or not and I need to give it more time. I hope it starts working soon. I feel like I was teased for a week of being mostly symptom-free. Good luck!

Lithium's efficacy is based on its blood serum level in your body, and although you mentioned dosages, you didn't mention whether your pdoc checked your blood to confirm that the lithium serum is at a therapeutic level. Without that blood test your pdoc doesn't know whether your lithium dose is sufficient. Ask.

As well as what Lefty above said...are you also on another medication that would help other than an Anti Depressant? My Pdoc who is highly involved in studies and current research actually said no one diagnosed Bipolar should ever be on an Antidepressant (again, all docs have their opinion but he is highly informed). So did your doctor take you off the Latuda or keep you on it ? Normally, as stated in the material they give you that rarely anyone reads, Lithium is supposed to be paired with another BiPolar/AntiPsychotic (Latuda, Serpquel, etc). May be something you bring up with him when you see him next.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Would that be antidepressants only? Because it will drive a bipolar affected person manic with chaotic mood swings, but used in conjunction with a stabilizer it's alright, bearing in mind a person should reach stability first before being administered the AD.

In my experience, I stabilize on the depressed side, then a little AD is used to bring me up to baseline. If I used stabilizers only....I wouldn't use stabilizers.

It's normal for meds to start to quit working as the body becomes accustomed to them. You just should consult your pdoc. Good luck.

Thank you for your response! My psychiatrist took me off the Latuda. I will ask him about this next time I see him. I appreciate your support