[Ionlylikeflavwater]

Hi I'm new here first forum I've ever posted in actually. Basically long story short about me, I'm recently diagnosed bipolar type 1 with psychosis. We've been changing my meds around the last few months trying to find a good stable mixture for me. I have been taking an antipsychotic since may, and in the past 2 or 3 weeks have added lithium to my mix. Last week we doubled my lithium dose. I've been handling it really well and it was actually really improving my mood. But then yesterday I started puking around 6 got cold sweats, migraine in my eye, and continued to puke on and off until about 4am with some dry heaving this morning. But ALSO two days ago I started doing this weird clicking thing with my tongue on the roof of my mouth. I can't control it. And last night I literally could not sleep and then I started having really severe auditory and visual hallucinations (it's been months) and felt like I was drunk cause everything was spinning.
My doctor is out of town right now and I'm kind of scared that something is wrong. And I also feel TERRIBLE. super manic and super depressed at the same time, combined with physical ailments now as well. I'm looking for advice or knowledge or anything really. I just felt like I needed to put all of this jumbled mess out there somewhere. Thanks for reading

[BeyondtheRainbow]

You need to call your doctor's office and ask if they think you need a lithium level drawn as those are potential signs of toxicity. If your dr is away he should have someone covering for him. If he doesn't maybe try your family dr or go to urgent care and tell them this happen and that your dose was just increased. But somehow you need to get a level done as soon as possible (unless the dr says otherwise of course; I'm not one but I have had toxicity). If you take it tonight and get sick again you may need to go to an ER to get checked out. The risk of toxicity isn't something you want to mess around with and a blood level drawn then will tell them for sure where you are. They also can stop the vomiting and feeling awful.

I'm not trying to scare you, just this is something that should be checked out and not wait until your dr returns.

[~Christina]

I would quit the lithium until you get a blood test.

A walkin clinic can do this if you can't see your Pdoc .

Take your prescription bottles with you , there could be a interaction, psych meds are odd creatures.

Feel better and make sure your drinking enough fluids , just avoid soda.

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

You need to call your doctor's office and ask if they think you need a lithium level drawn as those are potential signs of toxicity.

Seconded, but quitting the lithium cold turkey until you get the level read is risky. Pdocs usually designate a backup to address patients' emergencies when they go on vacation, so maybe you can get a doctor's authorization to decrease the lithium somewhat until your pdoc returns.

I often get very sick to my stomach and vomit when trying new psych meds in the beginning and it gets progressively better....what you are describing sound more severe and I agree with the others that a lithium level test is critical. The tongue clicking sounds like it could be akathisia (wrong spelling, sorry) and it causes repetitive motions...but your doctor would know for sure. I'm sorry you are suffering and hope they can help you quickly.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Yes I would quit until you can talk to a pdoc. If you're throwing up you're probably dehydrated and taking lithium while dehydrated is dangerous. Lithium didn't make me puke but it gave me bad diarrhea on a DAILY basis! While taking classes! It was bad lol. But I ended up getting toxicity so it can be dangerous. If you're feeling to bad to cope then please go to the ER. I know when I'm mixed I can't even cope with life. Good luck!