Lithium question needing answering ASAP

Hi,

I'm sitting staring at my first 300mg dose of lithium and also staring at a glass of wine. I know it should be either or. I know lithium does not combine with alcohol well and one shouldn't drink heavily on lithium, I also know that glass will be followed by the rest of the bottle. So I really don't at this point need education on any of the above.

What I don't know--straight up talk--is whether anyone here who while struggling to break the cycle of alcohol use to self-medicate bipolar, went ahead and continued drinking for a few days into their lithium Rx. Or whether anyone on a low dose of lithium does drink heavily too.

I can't be the only person afraid to have to choose one or the other cut and dry. My PDoc did not tell me to stop drinking when I started the lithium, so I don't have an official medical warning of "DO NOT" Surely, if it was a strict "DO NOT" she would have told me because she knows about my alcohol consumption.

Anyone?

Drinking on lithium is not good. I had to make a choice continue my alcoholism or get better. I chose the meds.YMMV

I was drinking pretty much every day until I started the meds, then I stopped completely. One of the meds I was on sent me into a near manic state so I was switched to Lithium, and recently a friend I hadn't seen in a while came down, so I had a few beers that evening. I will not be doing it again, the hangover was horrendous, really not worth it.
Trust me, alcohol and Lithium do not mix

I drink on 900 mg lithium. You really shouldn't

The forum didn't post this thread fast enough for me to get responses when I needed them. I kept drinking. I need to stop, but I haven't yet.

Have you considered stopping alcohol? Its nearly impossible to find stability when drinking and on psych meds.

My friend with bipolar I originally drank alcohol on medication occasionally like a glass of wine once a month or whatever even though she was told to stop. Though the last year or so, she's been pretty close to going into a manic episode and then her doctor told her again to not drink any alcohol and she did listen. I don't think she drinks anymore. It's best to not drink on these types of medication. She isn't on Lithium though.