[hahayeahtotallylol]

Who still has episodes just as frequent as before meds?

I just got on lithium, and i feel like i am coming up.

[pirilin]

Give it some time until you get the right dose. It worked for me. For both, mania and depression.

[hahayeahtotallylol]

Been on 1200 for a month now.
So you experience no mood episode?

[Sad Mermaid]

I got break through symptoms on Lithium. I find antipsychotics to be much more effective. Plus, Lithium causes an array of side effects. I have reduced Lithium (over a very long time) from 1500 mg to 450 mg and probably will come off of it completely. It is not worth suffering from all of those side effects, including the very expensive dental erosion, while not even having the assurance of no mania.

But: I have psychotic features, so it would make sense that for me antipsychotic would be more effective than Lithium. I see that you are on Latuda, but I am unfamiliar with Laud's dosage and cannot comment.

[pirilin]

Originally Posted by hahayeahtotallylol

Been on 1200 for a month now.
So you experience no mood episode?

What counts is your blood serum levels. should be between .4 and 1.2
Lithium works , it numbs more than anything else, but it works.
State of BLAH. You just don't care for suffering. Either way. Up or down.

[Wander]

When I was on 750mg of Lithium, levels round 0.5, I had a massive manic episode. It was ramped up to 1500mg and it subsided. Now I am on 1000mg and have been a little hypo but not manic. I still get mixed episodes on this dose though and 1500mg was making me toxic.

I rarely get manic episodes anyway. Only had two big ones before I was on Litium and one while on it. The Lithium was more for calming me down and getting rid of impulsivity, rage, suicide attempts and mood swings. It has really worked for those things most of the time.I have been on it for five years. The side effects are mild for me. I hardly get tremors (except on really high dosages) and only find I need to drink a lot of water. I don't feel numbed at all but my thyroid levels are off so I have to take medication for that. Would love to come off it but both T and pdoc are against it and say it has made a big difference to me.

Most mood stabilizers didn't touch my rapid cycling until I got on clozapine (which is generally for treatment resistance). Maybe you need a higher dose or maybe lithium isn't the med for you.

[still_crazy]

Lithium works best in people with text book Bipolar I--euphoric manias, severe depressions, very little (or no) psychosis, good functioning between episodes. Even then, the stuff is potentially dangerous and often not easy to tolerate. Low(ish) doses are sometimes used in recurrent episodes of depression (no bipolar) and/or in "Treatment resistant depression," but I don't think that's a very popular strategy these days.

Maybe its just not for you? could be a blessing in disguise. You might do better on something more modern, safer, "cleaner," etc. Lamictal, trileptal, keppra, etc. etc. etc.

[hahayeahtotallylol]

Mermaid - Latuda is an AP with antidepressant qualities. Dental erosion? Oh **** no. Is it the salt?

pirilin - my blood level is 0.90.

So, it seems like Lithium should be effective. Oh, and it is. Just a mild mood upswing, as Wander had also noted in itself. Maybe it is the latuda and upcoming spring, change of life events, ect. But all in all i feel fine, just more curious about Everyone else.

Thanks!

[neodoering]

Originally Posted by hahayeahtotallylol

Who still has episodes just as frequent as before meds?

I just got on lithium, and i feel like i am coming up.

Good morning, haha;
I have been on several drugs for the frequent mania bursts (I am not bipolar; I have SAD), but those were of limited effectiveness. About six months ago my shrink put me on lithium (900mg), and within a couple of months the manic spikes smoothed out, and I got major relief. I still have waves of hypomania that last a few days or a week, but that is manageable. I found lithium to be very helpful. For a bipolar person, I don't know how well it would work. I don't get depressed, just manic. So your results, as they say, may vary.

[hahayeahtotallylol]

Thank you for your insight.
I look forward to smoothing out, in time, and can already tell that my ups and downs are no where near as high and deep as they were without the drug.

If only this drug didn't have negative long term effects. I feel like it is perfect for me.

[Sad Mermaid]

I do not know if dental erosion is from the salt; possibly.

Originally Posted by hahayeahtotallylol

Mermaid - Latuda is an AP with antidepressant qualities. Dental erosion? Oh **** no. Is it the salt?

pirilin - my blood level is 0.90.

So, it seems like Lithium should be effective. Oh, and it is. Just a mild mood upswing, as Wander had also noted in itself. Maybe it is the latuda and upcoming spring, change of life events, ect. But all in all i feel fine, just more curious about Everyone else.

Thanks!

I'm glad to hear that all in all you feel fine. I didn't like lithium. Made me feel the world and life had no meaning at all. Caused depression I guess but it was different. We are all different in how we respond to things, and that is the only thing I'm sure of.

[hahayeahtotallylol]

Yes, for sure. We all are.

I thought it would flatten me to the point of constant boredom, but being normally flat allows me to be used to the sensation. For example, if my ex who i suspect was histrionic was on lithium, she may become suicidal because she is usually an exuberant, social butterfly.