Can Lithium be sent home with an individual firm the hospital? My wife is believed to be off her meds and she says she has some left form the hospital. She was there in July 06. She said they sent three bottles, is that possible?
Answer:
No. Ethically, a hospital should not discharge a patient with 10 months worth of medication, and it's HIGHLY unlikely that they did so. Generally when a bipolar patient is hopitalized, it is for severe depression or severe mania, often with delusions and/or hallucinations. For this reason, it would be dangerous, and certainly not in the patient's best interest to d/c them with so much medication.
A good hospital would do thorough discharge planning with the patient and his/her family, and ensure that he/she has follow-up appointments with his/her therapist, psychiatrist and the rest of the treatment team.
Generally, they discharge the patient with only a couple of weeks worth, or perhaps a month's worth of meds.
Patients are commoy prescribed Lithium, because it is that substance that the brain is lacking that causes the bipolar conditon. Three bottles of Lithium...I don't think so. She may have been prescibed some other medication to go along with the Lithium, such as Elavil (Amyltriptyllline).
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