Experiences with Lithium

Hi,

I have unipolar MDD, that is not responding to the boatload of meds I'm on. So my pdoc has suggesting adding Lithium, starting at 300 mg.

My questions are, is this a drug that cause you to gain weight? Did you experience hair loss, which is listed as a possible side effect? Did you get muscle stiffness, problems moving?

Anything else I should be worried about?

Thanks.

splitimage

I had none of the above. Mostly just very thirsty which resulted in having to pee more often which is probably the most common side effect. No big deal really.

Side effects vary individually. Some people see no weight gain; others see more. Some people have tremors; others never do. At 300mg, you probably won't see much in the way of side effects as that is a very low dose. Often, when side effects to do crop up, they can be reduced by reducing the dosage.

The main concern is to be sure your blood lithium level is checked regularly and if you do see bothersome side effects, to report them to your doctor.

I was on lithium for a couple of months, and well, I don't really remember it all that well which means there were no real notable side effects. It wasn't greatly effective for me so I switched to something else with less risks, but nothing major happened while I was on it.

Also took it for unipolar MDD. It didn't help, but then again, no med has helped so far. I didn't have any side effects - not even toxicity, even though I didn't drink for a couple of weeks while on it (I ate a liter of yoghurt a day to stay somewhat hydrated, but that also isn't very much liquid)

I did take higher doses than you - around 1000 mg.

I was on it for over a year. No major side effects other than being constantly thirsty. However, we could never stabilize my levels and I hit toxic levels several times that resulted in hospitalization for a few days. My pdoc was very stubborn and didn't want to change to anything else. So, I got a new pdoc that would make changes.

It gave me GI issues, acne and worsened my thyroid issue (which created the issue the first time I took it.)

Just be careful and get your labs done when they're ordered. Keep tabs on hypothyroid symptoms too.

Good luck!

Many years ago I took Lithium. I don't recall any bad side effects.

Lithium affected my fine motor coordination. I noticed it became very hard for me to write. Just writing a short note or making a shopping list became an arduous task. Doctors where I was getting care told me it couldn't be from the Lithium. So I kept taking it. Then I had trouble going down stairs. Then I developed profuse diarrhea. This was on a dose of 600 mg per day.

Well, I stopped taking it and all those problems went away. A doctor I saw subsequently told me those were all symptoms that can be caused by Lithium. It was crystal clear to me that they were. Still, I've met people who've told me they took Lithium with none of those problems.

Some weight gain and hair loss hair.. Only took it for like 6 months

When I was on lithium, I had a lot of issues with diarrhea that eventually resolved it self about a year after starting. I also had the thirst issue. I was specifically drawn to needing to drink juice for some reason.

I think the having to take 3 doses a day was more difficult than the side effects. Not wanting to show people I was taking medication, it was hard to hide when you had to take a lunch dose.

I was on Lithium for a while. My only side effects were the shakes. I shook so bad I could barely write or lift a glass to my mouth. I stopped it and gradually the shakes have gotten better but I still struggle to write.