[darkeyes]

Hi,
Good to see you at the forum again, hope you and your wife are doing okay. Are you coming along okay? Yesterday I made the BIG decision to opt for Lithium Therapy instead of the topamx because I figured if my oldest brother (bipolar too, since the early 1960's) has had great success with it since it hit the market in the early 70's a may benefit from it too being that we are of the "same wood". I have read a lot about its beginings even during the Greek and Roman times and the continued research over the centuries. Many psychiatrists seem to agree that it is probably the best medication for bipolar illness, so what the hell do I have to lose right? It just may be better for me than the depakote, but right now I am crossing over as the doctor termed it so I still take 500mg of the depakote till I am on the right level of lithium. Well enough of chewing your ear off and I will get to the point.Out of lithium vs. depakote which one has a greater percent of hair loss and weight gain? I was wondering if one med vs. the other be a little more "kinder" in these unattractive side effects. I also went over the ADD topic which was also another thing I am most likely dealing with (mildly) but the doctor does not feel at the present time CNS stims. would be of any benefit and did not seem to lean towards that kind of treatment in my case. He is probably right (he is the doctor). I still am advised to cintinue with the 30mg of celexa, which I will I have had no problem with the 30mg, 40mg gave me the "jerks" which was weird and unpleasant. We are all grateful to have someone like you at this forum for the info. you supply us with May sound corny but we are sort of touched by an angel. . . Many thanks!
Stay well,
"darkeyes"

[CamW]

Hi DarkEyes - We are doing fine. We've had our first heavy snowfall (about a month early) over the last couple days, so I am trying to adjust to winter driving again. I working 12 hour shifts right now, so I am basically staying out of trouble.

I would have to say that I've seen more hair loss with Depakote™ (divalproex) and a slight bit more weight gain with Lithium. Response to lithium does run in families, so giving it a try would make sense, especially since your brother responded to it. Side effects to lithium also seem to run in families (although this is just an observation, I have no scientific data). I guess the you could probably gauge your weight gain by his. Not everyone gains weight taking lithium, the incidence is nowhere near that of Zyprexa.

Remember to drink a lot of liquid and eat a diet fairly consistent in salt intake (not too much and not too little). Even in unipolar depressaion, lithium can really be a good augmenting agent. Good luck and keep us posted. If you have any questions at all, just post.

- Cam

[darkeyes]

Happy to see things are going well for you, yes work does keep many of us "out of trouble"! Thanks for the reply on Lithium, I am feeling optimistic that maybe this is the thing I really need to maintain a balance. I still wish it had some sort of stimulant properties to help me stay focussed. Being that their is still the possibility that I also suffer from ADD too, I hope there will be some way the doctor could help with that because they claim there is such an overlap of both disorders that sometimes a remedy can take time and trying different meds. Part of me is impatient, after all at 44 you do not have a hell of lot of time to keep playing "lets try this", then the other part of me keeps patient by not giving up "hope", it will happen, maybe soon just try the lithium it worked miracles for my "big brother" (54yrs old) and he encourages me too. Thanks for your encouraging info.
Stay well,
"darkeyes"