My main problem with the stuff is drinking. I do like to binge drink with my friends down at the pub, or at party's. Once or twice a week. My psychiatrist recomened that i became T - Total because of this medication. But he didnt say why.
Does anyone no of any complex reactions with alcohol and Lithium ?
Quick google gives me this page, http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_can_h...e_on_Lith ium, horribly formatted (i.e. NONE) answer is there. But basically, alcohol doesn't mix with ANY psychiatric medications. AD's, mood stabillizers, ANYTHING; on the worst end of the spectrum they can cause some pretty bad reactions (mainly from increasing the alcohols effect on your body, e.g. 1 shot does the work of 5). On the merely not good end of the spectrum, they just stop the meds from working (alcohol works on some of the same receptors that a lot of the meds work on)
Ask your psych again, there should be a solid medical reason for anything that he tells you.
Everyone's crazy; some people just hide it better. I am not one of those people.
im not supposed to drink on my mood stabalisers and anti-psychotics but my doctors said i coculd miss the dose the night i drank, dont just do this though..
And all you want is sleep/But all you get it pills
Join Date: Aug 2007
I am currently:
Here's two reasons why your doctor probably told you not to drink. Of course, ask him yourself.
Here's a simple fact...alcohol in itself is horrible for any sort of mental disorder, PARTICULARLY Bipolar Disorder and other sorts of Mood Disorders. I'm assuming you have some sort of Bipolar Disorder, considering Lithium is typically a Bipolar medication. In my opinion [and I am a Bipolar person who LOVED to drink], Bipolar people should avoid alcohol. Mental complications ensue the moment I take a drink. To be honest though, that's a personal choice you will have to make, and I will not get too preachy with you. I do know though that when I quit drinking, I feel a lot better.
Now, as far as interactions between alcohol and Lithium, I would be a bit wary. Lithium is quite a bit different from any psychiatric drug, even other medications in the same class. Yes, you can drink with most antidepresants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers. It's a little dangerous for those meds, because of the CNS effects and the extra sedation, but Lithium is a medication someone should not binge drink with because of the chemical processes involved.
Lithium is a mineral[listed on the periodic table] and is considered salt-like. I don't know if your doctor advised you, but you should shoot for drinking 8+ glasses of water a day. Lithium is filtered out through the kidneys, and if you don't drink enough water, the salts can build up and cause complications such as Lithium toxicity which can lead to death or kidney dysfunction [particularly kidney failure]. This is also why you should avoid anything that can be classified as a diuretic [inclduing pills or foods/drinks]. Diuretics cause dehydration, and so can alcohol.
So, here you have alcohol, which wreaks havoc on the kidneys. Then you have Lithium, which does the same to a lesser extent. But the pusher is the dehydration from the alcohol. Dehydration while taking Lithium will definitely affect your kidneys even more. So, my point is when you're on Lithium and drinking alcohol, you are slamming your kidneys. You may not feel any physical effects while you are drinking other than extra sedation, but over time [even if it's just the binge drinking weekends with your friends], you are looking at a chance of completely mutilating your kidneys and maybe even looking towards lithium toxicity.
Check with your doctor. And dear God, be careful. I had a friend who drank on Lithium and did go toxic. I had to hang with him at the ER where he got hooked up with seemingly endless fluids and actually had dialysis to frantically flush the Lithium out. He almost lost a kidney from that. It's a horrible looking experience, and I haven't drank since then.
And all you want is sleep/But all you get it pills
Join Date: Aug 2007
I am currently:
Well, Lithium is great for mood stabilization, so in theory it can be used for BPD. That seems to be such a progressive thing. I see it more and more nowadays. Lithium just started out as a medication to treat Bipolar disorder, that's all.
Lithium's half-life is about 24 hours, which basically means that's when you're required to take your next dose or your levels begin to drop. It's not out of your system for 4-5 days. Basically it means that if you don't take your Lithium that day, you can still get toxic if you drink that night.
I don't see why drinking is so important that you need to stop taking a med momentarily just to drink. That's a sign that the Lithium obviously not doing its job. To be honest [and not intentionally offending, I'm sorry], why are you even on this medication if you aren't making the life changes that can aid in your recovery? You seem to be taking one step forward [taking your meds] and two steps back [drinking alcohol]. You can go ahead and drink and skip your meds, just don't expect to get significantly better in the long term. I'm sorry to come down on you, but I used to do the same **** when I was younger. I really hope you see a doctor and/or therapist to get this sorted out.
Last edited by romancandle : 05-03-2008 at 09:06 AM.
Drinking is a social thing that many people of my age group do, and enjoy.and i dont over do it.
I am making the necessary steps to get better, if i didnt want to get better i wouldnt bother trying the medication or going to hours of therapy. But if i have a more holistic view point, then socialisation and enjoying myself do have a part in improving my quality of life.
Prehaps lithium isnt the right type of medication for me, but that doesnt mean that im not trying.
Just because you've skipped a dose of another med to have a drink, it doesn't mean you can do it with Lithium. www.crazymeds.org [or is it .com?]. Have a look. Try to find something out about what you're actually taking.
