question about Lithium

siffa · 25-12-2009, 07:20 PM

I know I should ask my psychiatrist this but I can't call him because its Christmas and I don't want to bother him... I started Lithium a week ago and am experiencing terrible dizziness and vertigo for hours a day. I told my psychatrist this on Wednesday and he told me to just keep taking it like I was (600 mg) per night. I am miserable right now, I just need to know how many more days this is going to last. I dont know how much longer I can take this. I started it on Saturday so it's been a week now. How long till I start feeling a bit better?

pugdog · 25-12-2009, 07:52 PM

I'm on lithium and haven't had that side effect, and they ramped me up to 1500mg pretty quickly. Everyones body is different and how they react to it. try to hang tight and talk to your psych when you can.
take care,

-brian

Animad · 25-12-2009, 09:25 PM

Really it can be a good few weeks before you see the effect and then the side effects may calm a bit. By now your body will have just reached the maximum concentration in it's body and it will be around the same all of the time so that may be why the side effects for the moment are quite high but they should settle down. Things that may help are that with lithium ideally you should not take in caffiene. If you drink a lot of caffiene then slowly wean yourself off. Also, make sure you drink plenty of water as though these side effects are common and mostly occur due to changes in the brain, if you've got to take in plenty of water whilst on lithium (it's suggested over 2litres a day) and so if you're not drinking enough it can cause dehydration and low blood pressure which causes these signs (as well as increasing it causing problems with your kidneys in the long run). It is also advised that you ensure you keep the level of sodium in your diet to the same level so don't some days eat low sodium foods (many are packaged saying this nowadays) and then other days eat piles of salt; you should keep your diet/ the amount you eat pretty stable.

It will take a while before you see the full effects (beneficial effects I mean, not side effects, most of which are only short term) and often your doctor has to change the dose you're on to ensure the amount you're getting is right and to help decide whether it needs to be adjusted. It would be worth speaking to your doctor, be that your psychiatrist/ GP or even a pharmacist if you want more advice but DON'T alter the anount you are taking without talking to your doctor as if you reduce/ stop taking them it can dramatically cause side effects to develop once more and worsen and also cuase the problems you were put on them before to worsen.

Hopefully, within the next week or so your side effects should reduce and it's affect on you should improve so then you should feel a bit better.

Also, ensure that before you take any over the counter meds that they don't interact with the lithium and if you're unsure then speak to the pharmacist; this does include Ibuprofen as it can alter how both the ibuprofen and lithium levels in your blood change which can cause more problems.

siffa · 26-12-2009, 06:03 AM

Animad thank you so much for the information I called my dr finally (even though its christmas day) and he told me to cut my dose in half to 300 mgs instead of 600. I really appreciate your help. How long should it take for my side effects to go away??? I'm not sure how much longer I can stand this... I'm so miserable... I don't want to have to check myself into a psych ward due to the suicidal thoughts : (

Animad · 26-12-2009, 09:02 AM

It will be a few days until the dose in your body is actually lowered to that level so you may still have the side effects you're experiencing until then but everyone's body is different. Hopefully with the lower dose your body can tolerate it better and then once any remaining (lessened hopefully) side effects you have have subsided and you've been stabilised on that dose for a while (often a week or 2) then they may try increasing it again and see if, because your body is used to the med, it will give you as bad side effects but really it's up to the doctor and you to discuss that (as well as you potentially having blood tests to see it's level as that shows how useful or otherwise (ie causing bad side effects and other problems the med is; the level in your blood doesn't necessarily link with how you feel; in most cases it does but as with all meds they react differently with some people than others) the dose you're on is likely to be. Though, you and the doctor should also think about how you felt without drugs or on any other meds you've been on as to what is the best thing to do from now.

If you're having suicidal thoughts then discussing this with your doctor is also important as that shows something needs to be done as you're obviously very depressed. It may also help if you talk to any other mental health professional that you have if you have any others and see if they can help, though due to the time of yr, services are reduced. You could also contact the supporters via live help or also via support@recoveryourlife.com and see if just talking to them also helps though it has to be remembered that those, like the FA Team are not a replacement for professional help.

siffa · 27-12-2009, 12:24 AM

Thank you again Animad for sharing your time and knowledge with me. I really appreciate it so much. I am not a religous person but am sending good thoughts and karma your way (for whatever they may be worth).