New to Lithium. What do I need to learn?.

Hello friends,

I just started Lithium Carbonate Ezkalith 15 days ago.
I had a blood test when I was at 600 mg.
I'm at 900 mg. Which is the target dose for now.

I notice my extremities get cold and have a slight tremor
in my left hand. I had some lose stool last night.
Had a boat accident yesterday which would have
been a crisis before and I'm calm. So I think is working.

I'm planning to stay on it. My doctor is not providing much
info, so I wish to learn from your experiences.

Thank you for your help and for reading.

I loved it, but my body did not. I have Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism and it was a risk to start it due to the issues it can have with your thyroid. I felt stable but after a month it really started wrecking my body. Thyroid levels changed a lot and I started swelling everywhere. It was so disappointing!

My biggest problem with it is that even with a sub-therapeutic level in my blood I had a tremor, and I feared it would get worse if I continued/upped the dose...and I wasn't liking how it made me feel either, so I was only on it for about a month.

I've had no tremors but a lot of dehydration. As for mood, I have honestly no idea if it's helping or not because with the absence of hypomania I've been left with an awful prolonged depression.

I only know about blood tests and a girl in my support group has horrible tremors.

Isn't it suppose to help with depression?

I've started on Lithium few days ago,

SingDanceRunLife & Hashi/bipolar mom - do you take other medications instead of Lithium then?

I've been on it for almost a month now. No tremors but I constantly feel thirsty and I think it is also making me feel foggy and distracted during the day.

Yes. I've taken a whole host of other medications. I'm currently fairly stable on Latuda. I do better with APs than lithium and anticonvulsants.

Lithium may be the gold standard of treatment but I found it made me feel dull. I remember feeling drugged while on it but everyone's experience is different. I don't remember tremors being an issue for me. The blood tests are a pain and all the initial adjustment to find a therapeutic level without damaging major organs was annoying.

My personal favorite mood stabilizer is lamictal which I have been on for like 7 years ever since the Depakote fizzled out and stopped working.

I've been on several since my dx this past June. I was on Lithium as mentioned, then Depakote. I didn't have any side affects from Depakote, it just didn't work. We then tried Latuda about a month ago and I had HORRIBLE Akethisia! I thought my husband was going to have to check me in somewhere! I've been on Lamictal throughout all of this for about 8 years. I love Lamictal but I'm concerned it might not be working for me anymore. I'm now on Gabapentin but I've only been on it two weeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I have a thread going right now about it. Below (my signature) has my cocktail that I currently am taking.

I'm not too fond of Lithium either. But the lamotrigine is not working anymore, after 5 yrs.

Lithium levels my moods out, especially the extreme mixed states that put me in danger. It also comes with side effects like tremors and thyroid issues(which can be corrected by Thyroxine). If it didn't work so well I would go off it but it has been a miracle drug for me. I am just too unstable without it.

I learned it numbed me out which was good at the time. I learned to buy plus sized jeans for the 50 lb weight gain. I learned it's a way to have the most boring trip ever to Vegas. Lol. But it could help you, our bodies are all different, hope it bring you some relief.

Gave me bad acne.
Hasn't helped much with my moods.
Made me very dehydrated.
My highest does was 1600mg.
I had slight weakness and trembling with it, but as my dose reduced that went away.

Hopefully, you will have better luck than me with it! I am currently on 600 mg a day, and I hope to be off of it soon.

I've been on lithium for 12 years and I love it. It's helped to stabilize me and I've never experienced tremors from it. However, if I take more than 600mg a day, I break out in acne. So for me, a lower dose of lithium (600mg or less) is perfect and I use it in conjunction with an antidepressant.

Best of luck to you.

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i've been on lithium for over 5 years now and my blood levels have been fairly regular. I had lots of tremors at first, but then i increased my water intake, and ever since then I've drank so much water every day. Can't go out without a water bottle or I'll have to buy something/have some at a friend's house...I don't view this as negative because i've gotten used to it but also because I know that without the water I'll get a headache and shaky. Water is really good for you and your skin - another issue i have had w the lithium is acne, but my dermatologist has helped w that.
FYI, i've heard from several doctors that lithium is good for working against suicidal thoughts. good luck! be mindful of your body and mind.

EDIT: make sure to drink LOTS of water in the summer/hot climates because if you sweat easily like myself, you will become dehydrated and extremely cranky.

jules77 how has he helped you?

I have acne for ever since I know myself, don't want to make it worse :| didn't know that Lithium may cause anything like that.

Do you recall how fast Lithium started to help?
I'm sinking down feeling more depressed everyday, I wonder when will it help

I think it stated helping (slowly) after the 1st week. I'm still far away from being out of my depression, however, I'm doing thing, like cooking, that I wasn't doing before.

BTW, I'm @ 900 mg and don't have acne.

sorry about your acne! i didn't realize the connection until my dermatologist made the connection. lithium can cause some skin issues for people, but not everyone. I've tried a lot of different creams and antibiotics, but i currently take Amnesteem, which is the same as "Accutane", but that is a long process. definitely talk to a doc about your skin cause it could be med related or not, but it definitely took a toll on my self esteem so getting it figured out.
Lithium took a long time for me because a lot of other meds were making things worse and I was not willing to work out my probs. I am doing well now, however.

I am on week 3 of the lithium and I have to get a blood test but I'm at 600mg and have noticed some dehydration issues as well as forgetfulness and moments of confusion which I hear can be normal. So far it's the only medication that has kept my mood leveled. I missed a dose one day and once for two days and I immediately started to creep into hypo mania. I don't know if I'm the only one who noticed this but the drug takes a while to start working but it takes no time at all to stop working.

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Huh I'm also on week 3-4 of Li at 600mg. It's good to hear that confusion/forgetfulness is normal as I have also experienced some of that at work and it's been throwing me off a little bit. Ive heard from you and others that it can start hypo mania creeps if you miss a dose, I've come really close to forgetting doses a couple of times... guess I'll have to watch out for that.

I had the same problem. Lamictal stopped working, and I've been on Lithium for about a year and a half. Lithium, for the first two weeks was hell. I was so sick.
The nausea is gone (mostly), but the thirst never ends. My tongue is always so dry it feels sore.
I have thyroid issues, and my meds are constantly adjusted because of the Lithium.

I don't like Lithium, but it works for me

That is similar to me right now. I am on 900 mg and I am still very depressed and I am also very lethargic and sleep all of the time. I am not sure of what to do to change this because Lithium did help me when I was first put onto it. I do no want the side effects though.

I was on 900 mg. I had to lower it to 600 mg two days ago, because extreme problems with my bowels. Since lowering it it, those problems are almost gone.
I have a card under my sleeve. I never stopped the Lamotrigine.
Lithium is great for mania. And good for depression. Lamotrigine is great for depression and good for mania. Maybe you need to add something else.