Ok folks. My wife is transitioning from Paxil to Lithium based medication.
The Psych she saw yesterday has come to the conclusion that she should have been re-evaluated years and years ago, changed her diagnosis and has switched her meds.
We are aware of the side-effects of going off Paxil, we’re prepared for them. But she’s a little freaked out about going onto Lithium.
So what I’m looking for (and this may get moved, but I’m looking for observed facts, so I don’t know) is the effects and behavioral mods that a Doper or our small collections of Doper Doctors have seen or experienced by new Lithium based med users.
Well, I did have a friend on a lithium based med before she was shifted to other goodies,and about the only things I can really remember abotu her at the time was eternal zits on her chin and she seemed very sluggish in the morning for about the first 90 minutes or so.
On her other meds, no zits and a lot less sluggishness. Apparently the zits are a fairly common thing though I have absolutely no idea why taking a drug would give you zits around your mouth.
But she was a much nicer and level person when she did start getting treatment that prior to it. She had been doing some pretty wacky mood swings and behaviors which got her to go see a doctor in the first place.
I’m one of the board’s critical anti-psych-system curmudgeons.
Lithium, by and large, is less harmful to the body and mind than most other psych meds. (You’ll notice I didn’t include “spirit”. It’s still a dampener and I don’t think dampeners are good over the long haul). There aren’t as many somatic and mental side effects.
The one thing you have to watch out for is exceeding the therapeutic blood level, because you can OD on lithium and at that point it does wreck the liver and can even kill you. I’ve heard that they’ve found an easier way to monitor and control levels, but don’t take my word for it. In the old days you needed to have blood drawn pretty often as a safety precaution.
You can go off lithium with (physiological) ease, unlike many other psych meds, another positive in my book.
Pharmacologically and chemically, lithium is of course an element (the pharmaceutical form is usually lithium carbonate) and I believe lithium mimics sodium in certain chemical activities (obviously only to an extent, it’s not like there’s no sodium in the body), which stops a chain of events wherever that occurs because the molecules that have bound up with lithium instead of sodium aren’t eligible for the rest of the chain. IANAPorC so consider that to be a repeat-and-tell by an unqualified person (i.e, it’s just what I was told at some conferences).
She’ll need to keep hydrated, might notice a slight tremor and find it a bit harder to concentrate, but compared to most other psycho-active drugs it’s very well tolerated.
Ahunter3, yeah, I was reading the notes from the link towards the top… it seems the sodium bonding happens more frequently in people with low sodium diets, which is most certainly not the case for my lovely wife (I joke about getting her a salt lick for Christmas).
We’re being pretty cautious, and she’s asking her new doc a ton of questions, but I knew that I could get some anecdotal stuff from the Dope.
There are several medications which have similar effects as Lithium and potentially fewer side effects. Some of the more popular include volanzapine (Zyprexa), lamotrigine (Lamictal), and aripiprazole (Abilify). You may want to ask your doctor if your wife is a good candidate for any of these.
We’ve been enjoying lithium for years. No bad effects yet.
“The lithium content of drinking water in the United States ranges from 0.00001 to 0.170 mg/liter, with an average of 0.002 mg/liter. El Paso, Texas, has one of the highest concentrations, and is the location most noted as a high-lithium, low-mental illness site.”
–C. N. Dufor, E. Becker, Public Water Supplies of the 100 Largest Cities in the United States, 1962, Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1812, p. 364, 1962. Quoted in Ref. 15.
Based on my observation of a person on lithium for bipolar – maintaining appropriate hydration is extremely important. Yes, there are side effects. None of them are as bad as untreated bipolar disorder. None. For some people, the alternative non-lithium meds don’t work. Bipolar is a bitch and a half. It’s extraordinarily difficult to balance the highs and lows while still maintaining functionality. When balance is achieved, the temptation is to believe oneself cured and drop the meds. Disaster ensues.
Mr. Adoptamom takes Lithium for cluster migraine headaches - it’s been a godsend that has worked wonderfully.
The major side effect that he’s noticed is a weight gain of about 25 lbs that he can’t get rid of. We’ll take a little weight gain over intense migraine headaches any day of the week!
I take Lithium for Bipolar Disorder. It has been a Godsend. They main side effects I have had were some hand tremors early on and some weight gain. Other than that, it has been great.
Is it ok to take something like Pepto Bismol or something while on Lithium? I know it’s kind of a stupid question, but the lady is having a super sour tummy, and all the online references I could find just talk about toxicity and such, and not much about contra-indications.