I am taking Lithium and started out on a high dose.(prescribed by a doctor) After a week I started getting headaches and I would throw up at the same time every night. Then one night I was slurring in my speach. My dad actually thought i was high.
Now I am taking a lower dose. But has anyone had any negative symptoms from this medication?
Answer:
Talk to your doctor :)
One of the more complex aspects of the drug Lithium is that the therapeudic level (the amount that should be in your blood to help) is very close to the toxic level (enough to do serious harm).. it is very important that you take this EXACTLY as prescribed to minimize these complications.
You doctor should be starting you off at a low dosage and slowly building you up to what your healthy level should be. And, it takes time (sometimes a few weeks) for the body to adjust to all of this while it is happening.. too low of a dose will not do much of anything to help with your affliction.. too much will poison you. Your doctor should be taking blood tests to monitor the level of Lithium in your system. Changes in your weight and activity levels will alter the amounts in your blood as well. The doctor should also be testing thyroid and liver function. It is also important that you drink a LOT of water while you are on Lithium.. If you are not comfortable with how your body is reacting to the medication.. talk to your doctor about finding an alternative. It takes time (sometimes years) to find what works for you.
Lithium was the first medication approved for the treatment of bipolar disorder. It is by far the most stable and most consistent medication out there. And, it is the one that has had the most tests and trials done, so it is typically the first one that is prescribed.. but there are many, many more out there that can work just as well.
Concentrate on fixing the things YOU can control.. balanced diet, plenty of sleep, plenty of exercize.. minimizing the amount of stress in your life .. and taking your medications as prescribed.
I have been taking Lithium (and others) for years for bipolar disorder. I have more control over it than any doctor or medication, just by changing my lifestyle. Medications are only a small part of managing the illness.
Take the time to educate yourself all you can about the disorder.. if you can't understand what your doctor is saying or you are unsure of telling your doctor how you feel, they can't do as much to help.
Sorry this was so long :) I was once where you are.. long confusing journey, be patient with it. It gets better.
http://www.drugs.com/lithium.html...
http://www.nami.org/content/contentgroup...
I have been on lithium since 1991. I take two 300mg in the morning and two in the evening before bed. I have been on higher doses and lower ones as well. The side effects I have had over the years are dry mouth, metallic taste in mouth which went away, affected my thyroid causing it to slow way down, and excessive thirst for water. I am manic/bipolar, the same thing, and I take the lithium to stabilize the mood swings. Over the many years I have tried other mood stabilizers but nothing has ever worked for me the way lithium has. It made such a major change in me that I have chosen to dealt with the side effects. Even though I know that it has caused my thyroid to stop and for me to gain alot of weight, when I weigh that with how crazy I use to feel I rather not feel crazy.
I know when I am manic, on the upside of the mood I feel high or euphoric sometimes, like I am on a drug. My talking even speeds up or my voice gets loud sometimes. I have a life now and I owe alot of it to lithium because it saved me in a way. I was spiritually and mentally sick and now I have a career and a good life.
i take lithium now. 450 mg a pill. 1 at 2 pm and 2 pills at night. at first i was sick to my stomach, but after lowered it should start to kick in. take my advice i have been on this for a year. your hands will tremble. dont worry about that. it will make you tire a little. stay away from the caffeine. and you will be thirsty all of the time. i drink water, juice, non caffeine coke, mt.dew, root beer and once a day i indulge in a dr. pepper. take care.
Those sound like the signs of a toxic amount on your body. And the margin between just enough and too much is a very fine line. That's why blood tests are important and monitoring your water/sodium/caffeine intake. All those can alter the level of lithium in your body.
In the beginning, I wasn't hydrating enough and would get dizzy, nauseous and headaches. Fortunately, downing plenty of water cured my side effects.
Go to;
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drugi...
Look under side effects. You will find nausea, vomiting there.
Good work! for reporting these to your doctor.
You might find that you can tolerate the lower dose, especially after one or two weeks.
If problems continue, consult your doctor and he/she may consider another drug or combination of drugs.
more links;
types of bipolar meddicines
http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/...
depression and bipolar info
http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/...
I have tried and tried to take lithium, and always get really bad side-effects from it. My latest try is to add it on to lamictal, and take less than a therapeutic level of lithium, because it won't be the only mood stabilizer in my system.
Pluses:
prevents suicide very very well (no one knows why)
Effective antimanic agent
helps depression some (not as much as lamictal)
cheap!
Lithium is something that needs to be monitored regularly. It can be a fine line between therapeutic dose and toxic dosing. You should be aware of the common expected side effects and then signs of toxicity. What you described above sounds as though you were toxic. Lithium can be great for Bipolar, just educate yourself about the signs of toxicity so that you know when to get treatment. Keep followup appts with your doc and have periodic drug levels checked through blood work. If you are taking a lower dose and still experiencing toxic effects you still may need a change in dosage. Unfortunately, this medication can give you unwanted side effects, while effectively managing your bipolar symptoms; however many people take this without any problems (my stepmother never complained of any ill effects from it), but I have had patients in the hospital who would sometimes refuse the medication because of the side effects. I think you need to sit down with the doctor or nurse and have a list of questions and concerns about your medication and treatment. The nurse is certainly able to answer questions about side effects, etc.. (if you want to e-mail me, I will e-mail you more about this just write what you want answered and if I can I will, but it is late right now and I have to look up that info in my books; I'm too tired) Good luck! Just click onmy avatar to e-mail.
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