...anybody on litheum?..help..

Hi everyone,
I'm bipolar II (milder mania. but still debilitating) andI'm on lamictyl,busbar, and visteral to help me to sleep, but none of these drugs help my mania much, and I've been having a rough time, going into hypomania rapidly and frequently. My new doc says litheum is my last choice for mania, I've been on everything else. He says that the litheum helps with the depression and well as being the most effective drug for mania. Oh, I forgot to mention that I take geodon (antipsychotic) when it gets bad, but I hate the side effects and he said that I could take it as needed for mania.Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
dorsey

i don't have the answers, but i bet someone here does and they will post to you....xoxoxo pat

Hi Dorsey!
I'm on lithium and have absolutely no problem with it. It has not, however, completely subdued my mania. My doc and I are working on something to combine with.
But what I'm concerned about is your doc said you've been on every medication. However, if you go to about.com, they list 125 meds to try for bipolar. Maybe some cannot be used for you, but you certainly couldn't have tried every med for mania. http://bipolar.about.com/cs/menu_meds/l/bl_medsAZ.htm

My advice would be to give the lithium a good try, for at least a month - it has been around forever and is a very good med. It will depend on your system whether it works for you, so please keep working with your doc to get your med combo just right.
Take care and pm me if you need more info!
SW

Thanks SW! You really helped me. "Every med..."(another example of my all or nothing thinking) I'm going to check out the site right now. Thanks!

dorsey

I'm not bipolar and I am definitely not of the medical inclination.

I do take lithium. On the rx it is listed as
lithium er 450 mg tablet rox
I take 2 tablets with my evening meal.

The only problem, I have had with this particular rx is I have to take with food because it will upset my stomach,

My orginal rx gave me hand tremmers but not this rx.

i use to be on lithium. It worked great for me for a year and a half. You haft to keep a close eye on your lithium levels and how much your taking and listen to your body when your on lithium. My story about why u should listen to your body is that for 6 months i was at a newer higher dose and everything was going fine no manic episodes, but i started having diarrhea at first it was just a little once a day but after a week it got worse to where i was going to the bathroom like every hour and i went to the doctors and was tested for every condition of the bowels. I had a diagnosis of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) so i thought i was having a episode but it kept on for about 4 weeks. Now nothing in my diet changed so i was really upset. I told my doc about this and he said that since i had a period where it was normal at the new dose (meaning months) that it wasnt the problem. Well against my docs advice i quit the lithium knowing the consequences and to my surprised the diarrhea stopped. My docs first opposed the decision but after the problem when away they said i made the right choice.
So when on lithium make sure u listen to your body. Its a great drug but not for everyone. It worked great for me but i had a reaction to it so i had to stop. I liked how i was on the drug. But i had to go off it due to the extreme diarrhea. So i think trying the drug would not hurt, just make sure you listen.

Hi Dorsey. I'm on lithium as well... lithobid I believe exactly. But I take it to help with mood stability and it seems to work for the most part. U just have to get levels checked for the therapeutic range, liver function I believe, thyroid, etc. Just a simple blood test every once in a while. I agree, give it a shot; it might be what ur looking for. Best Wishes, Danielle