Possible lithium toxicity or bad side effects from lithium

Sweetkitten · Nov 17, 2014 at 07:52 PM

I have been studying on the internet and I believe that after about twenty years of taking lithium, my body is rejecting it. I am very drowsy/sleepy, have diarrhea, poor appetite, somewhat uncoordinated, and there may be other symptoms of which I am unaware. Oh yes, I get very restless and can't sleep or stay still even though I am sleepy. Other times, I just drift off watching television. I yawn and my eyes burn. But, I never fall asleep driving, reading, working on the computer or working at all.

I read on the internet that Gatorade might help and when I first starting taking Lithium I the 90s, I kept Gatorade in the house, but, its night now and I get any until tomorrow

What I need to know; should I stop taking Lithium until I see the doctor on Thursday. This is the first time that I see this doctor. I just moved

Blue_Bird · Nov 18, 2014 at 04:51 AM

You should call your doctor and tell then your symptoms. I had Lithium Toxicity and ended up in the ICU for a week with my kidneys shutting down had to get dialysis, and also had a seizure. Before that I was really sick, throwing up all the time, incontinence, falling down from lack of balance, shaking.

hamster-bamster · Nov 18, 2014 at 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetkitten

I have been studying on the internet and I believe that after about twenty years of taking lithium, my body is rejecting it. I am very drowsy/sleepy, have diarrhea, poor appetite, somewhat uncoordinated, and there may be other symptoms of which I am unaware. Oh yes, I get very restless and can't sleep or stay still even though I am sleepy. Other times, I just drift off watching television. I yawn and my eyes burn. But, I never fall asleep driving, reading, working on the computer or working at all.

I read on the internet that Gatorade might help and when I first starting taking Lithium I the 90s, I kept Gatorade in the house, but, its night now and I get any until tomorrow

What I need to know; should I stop taking Lithium until I see the doctor on Thursday. This is the first time that I see this doctor. I just moved

When was the last time your blood levels were checked? What was the last test result?

I would not get Gatorade - there are far better electrolyte solutions available these days. Smart Water is just water +electrolytes, sans sugar. There are also drinks that do have sugar but do not have as nearly as many additives and colorants as Gatorade. Or, if you have dried fruit at home, you can put some in a pot of water and boil it down. That would be your potassium-rich homemade electrolyte solution. Very tasty if you squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into it. Far healthier than Gatorade. But still, the most important step now is to get a blood test. If you are seeing a new dr and are on lithium, a blood test would be ordered anyway - it is the standard of care. But if you won't see that dr. for awhile, just go to urgent care and request that test there. The lab gets processed quickly and the dr. or NP in the urgent care dept would have the answer soon.

HALLIEBETH87 · Nov 18, 2014 at 09:15 PM

Don't mess with the lithium blood test! Get it and be safe

kiwi33 · Nov 18, 2014 at 11:04 PM

I agree with the others that talking with your doctor about this ASAP is important.

The therapeutic range for lithium is quite narrow (as a guide, blood levels between 0.6 and 1.2 mmol/L) - levels lower than this may not have much effect and higher levels can have undesirable side-effects.

Your doctor should be able to arrange for a test of your blood lithium level and (depending on the results) adjust your dose up or down to keep it in therapeutic range.

lmirous · Nov 20, 2014 at 11:15 AM

My lithium was high and my creatinine went very high. My doctor had to lower it and was thinking of sending me to a kidney doctor. My creatinine is still kind of high but my doctor will not touch the litium. It sort of worrys me because I don't want my kidneys to fail.

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Possible lithium toxicity or bad side effects from lithium

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HALLIEBETH87 Legendary Member Since Oct 2004 Location: usa Posts: 11,241 19 2,747 hugs given	Nov 18, 2014 at 09:15 PM #4 Don't mess with the lithium blood test! Get it and be safe
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lmirous Junior Member Member Since Nov 2014 Location: United States Posts: 16 9	Nov 20, 2014 at 11:15 AM #6 My lithium was high and my creatinine went very high. My doctor had to lower it and was thinking of sending me to a kidney doctor. My creatinine is still kind of high but my doctor will not touch the litium. It sort of worrys me because I don't want my kidneys to fail.
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