Lithium Toxicity?

Hi it's my 3rd week on lithium, I felt much better last week but now depressed again...

I have a cloudy mind, meaning it's very hard to focus in class, to read or form a sentence, associations arise late, thinking is meh..

Last evening I was nauseous real bad, I threw up three times which hasn't happened for longggggggggggg-time.
My first blood test showed I had 0.5mg/l which is okay, with 600mg.
Now I take 900mg and test showed 0.5mg/l ~ I figure it must be a mistake right? How can it remain the same, I haven't been drinking coffee and consume salty foods like crazy, as matter of fact I barely eat lately...

I won't see my doc until Wednesday unless she agrees to see me today.
What u think? Is lithium might be bad for me?

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Yuck sounds terrible! I don't know about the levels but I know your blood volume increases on lithium. I had a weird bad salty taste in my mouth that pdoc could not give me an explanation for, but I figured lithium is a salty mineral? I hated lithium so much that I quit taking it without telling pdoc. And kept going to see her for the adderall. I really thought she had the dx wrong & that I just had add. Bad idea. I'm telling you this to warn you about the adderall cuz you mentioned Ritalin before right? It's Sooo tricky, made me feel like I was finally able to have energy and get my work done & life organized. But it can cause Disastrous mood cycling in a bp person. If the 900 is making you puke, can you go back to 600 and tell pdoc at next appt. It's in a few days?

Im afraid to take any Lithium at all.
And yesterday I actually took 10mg of ritalin and it didn't help at all, maybe when you're depressed and on meds that cloud you - u shud take more? Idk...

Thank u

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It would make sense that when depressed plus on meds your liver has to process, it would take even more Ritalin to have an effect. But consider what a tricky spiral that can become?
Have you had your vitamin D & B12 tested?
They most likely will insist you be on a mood stabilizer to continue on a stimulant. There are other ones than lithium.

I have a Vitamin D deficiency but not B12 (I'm Vegan and take B12 supplements for years), been more exposed to sun lately so vitamin D is better

How is it related?

My nausea and throwing up calmed down, but I have this severe migraine that's killing me. I can only sit for small amount of time in front of my computer, I have to do lots of work on it, on word especially and reading articles.
I write on Word for 15 minutes and have to rest otherwise I feel bad again.

Pdoc doesn't think it's related to Lithium because it's 0.5 mmol/L - but sounds like lab's error because an increase of 300mg and after 1 week the level stays the same? doesn't make sense to me.

Besides it doesn't help generally. Maybe I should go back on Effexor XR, or just go off Lithium.

I'm so frustrated.

I was sick to my stomach, everything was salty and I felt like I had eaten battery acid. My p-doc was surprised. I was only on lithium for a week.

You could have just had a stomach bug/flu and it not be related to the lithium at all, particularly if the symptoms seem to be resolving now. The lithium level may not have changed with the dose increase quite yet; it can take some time. Give it a few days of being over whatever was ailing you to see how you are feeling. Your pdoc may want you to have another level drawn; you can always ask for another one to be drawn also.

It took 1 week on 600mg to establish on 0.5mmol/L, another week and half on 900mg and still 0.5mmol/L ? unlikely. pdoc also thinks it's a probable lab error.

She said I should come down to 600mg Lithium and add my 37.5mg Venlafaxine XR and check my vision too.

"You'll feel good again soon, don't worry." She's so nice, I hope she's right.

Glad your pdoc is trying the adjustment to see how it goes.