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I started taking a low dose of lithium (300 mg) about a month ago, and it seems like some of my earlier side effects are going away, but I'm still peeing CONSTANTLY. I find it really embarrassing to always be leaving to go to the bathroom.

I know this is a really common side effect with lithium. Does anything help with this? Is there anything I can do to make it less of an issue? And if you've been on lithium for a while, does it go away over time?

Thanks for your help.

[Teddy Bear]

I pee all the time and it didn't go away

I've been on lithium for a year. Still always thirsty and always going to the bathroom.

[~Christina]

When taking lithium it’s a absolute must to increase fluid intake. Lots of potty breaks are just part of taking it

[Cocosurviving]

Hello there,

I’ve been on Lithium for six years. I’m constantly thirsty and I take several potty breaks. I’m also tired a lot.

Polyuria/polydipsia was always an issue for me on Lithium. It never eased, unfortunately. As annoying as these things seem to be, it's not a good idea to try to limit your beverage consumption. Drinking a lot of liquids, preferably a lot of water, is good for keeping the kidneys healthy. Kidney issues on Lithium are not that common, but they are a known possible problem for some. I ended up having to go off of Lithium because of kidney damage. My creatinine level, which should be tested periodically along with Lithium levels, was getting high.

Some people say that they have few, if any, side effects from Lithium, especially at low doses. However, many of us have a number of them, especially at therapeutic levels. I took either 1200 mg or 900 mg for all of the time I was on it (a total of 6.5 years or so). I put up with the side effects, but I really experienced many. I didn't have weight gain or water retention, like some people, but I did end up with 8 different side effects total, including the polyuria/polydipsia. Though other medications' side effects might have been even worse, no other medication gave me so many as Lithium. Note: Some of my Lithium side effects were eased by adding medications for them, or just getting through adjustment periods. Others were unstoppable. Compared to other people I've encountered on bipolar support groups, I was extremely tolerant and patience when it came to side effects.

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Thank you all for your replies.

[Pookyl]

I’ve been on Lithium for 3 years. I no longer feel thirsty but my mouth feels dry. Chewing sugar free gum helps - keeps up saliva production.
I drink approx 3 litres a day. I have pre existing kidney disease and a liver condition. So bloods every month.

[Guiness187055]

I keep on drinking and keep on peeing.

[pirilin]

OMG. Many.

[RomanJames2014]

This happens to me. I pee constantly like my 64 year old aunt whos on dieretic pills or my 58 year old mom who had four kids lol.

Thats life but atleast your flushing your body out. I think this is why i tend to not get as sick on lithium. I think that I purge everything out of my system through peeing.

[tecomsin]

I was never able to take more than 450 mg and even then I had problems with hand tremor, which was quite a bother, as well as peeing all the time. I'm glad to be off it.

[*Laurie*]

All my life I've had to pee frequently. That didn't change either way on lithium. I did have a more severe hand tremor on it and weird hot flashes.

[emrecovering]

Originally Posted by tecomsin

I was never able to take more than 450 mg and even then I had problems with hand tremor, which was quite a bother, as well as peeing all the time. I'm glad to be off it.

Same here with the lithium amt and hand tremors. For some reason if I tried 600mg, I would get headaches. I'm currently on 450mg and my jaw grinds sometimes. It's controllable sometimes but it gets rather annoying