getting off lithium

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, so please excuse me if I happen to post this in the wrong section...

My doctor started me on 900mg lithium last Friday, and I am not liking it at all. The side effects, though minimal, are having a negative effect on my recovery. My sleep HAD been normal for the first time in my life (I started 10mg abilify a few weeks back and it's really helped), but the lithium causes me to wake after 3 or so hours due to dry mouth. Also, exercise is helping me recover greatly, but it is recommended that I don't sweat too much while on the lithium so I don't become dehydrated.

Unfortunately, my doc is on vacation, but I was wondering...if I've only been on the lithium for a few days, can I just suddenly stop? or should I taper off?

Suddenly quitting a psychiatric drug is EXTREMELY dangerous. Honestly, try to cope until your doctor gets back into town and talk to him/her about it and possible alternatives or going off of it. If it's bad, you should be able to call their office and either talk to an on-call doctor or an RN or something to give you advice on what to do.

I'm on 1100mg of lithium right now and I WAS having trouble with side effects. With a lot of medications, sometimes it takes your body a week, sometimes a bit longer, to get used to the medication and then the side effects then subside.

For dry mouth, are you drinking a lot of water? Lithium is a salt and does have a bad habit of sucking up water.