Lithium withdrawal

Ive been taking Lithium 1000 mg per day for 3 months. In my view it has caused me to feel weak and tired, listless with handshakes (especially apparent at night when reading in bed and the hand holding the book shakes obviously - in the day I learned to hide the problem, to feel mild nausea all the time and to have an unsteady or slight out of balance feel. A good example of the physical issues is that using an iPad or iPhone to text can see fingers stab multiple times at a key pad inadvertently due to shaking. I am sure that around the base of the mouth the taste sensation is similar to that of salt water taken in when swimming, it's unpleasant and affects food and drink taste. Worst of all I seem to be susceptible to emotions which run ludicrously close to the surface, having to fight back tears when discussing issues I once might have discussed without coming to tears, and having really bad anger attacks and lashing out at things (not people) which don't work right or which frustrate me. I don't believe that I'm imagining these affects and, we're it my choice, I'd abandon the Lithium as Ive come to see it as a poison. I accept that I am Bi Polar but all my friends, without exception, say I'm just an enthusiastic and energetic person, often funny and clever but, at least to some, the idea that I'm Bi-Polar and need medicating is plain wrong - at least judging be behaviours they have witnessed over 30 years.

Soooo, can any other Lithium takers identify with the above side effects / issues and have any other Lithium takers tried withdrawing from the drug and noted the impact of doing so? I've had enough,this is the worst by far i have ever felt in my life and taking a drug to please a psychiatrist and wife is about to stop happening. I'm quite depressed and feel that if I self monitor for mania then I can't be worse off than Lithium has made me. Many thanks,

i can totally relate to the side effects of lithium. before i had ever tried it, a friend who's career ended because he could not handle the stress of his career and the side effects of lithium, told me that if he had a choice of taking lithium for the rest of his life or dealing with bipolar, that he would pick being bipolar. i didn't understand him untill i had been on it for a few weeks. i never got up to 1000mg, and was often tested as being below "therupetic" levels. i like you, found lithium to be inadequate by itself, and it is not all that often prescribed by itself anymore, but rather as part of a cocktail. for me, withdrawl from lithium was without a doubt the most uneventfull withdrawl from a psyche-med i have undergone. (i've tested lots of them) and this seems to be typical of people, both patients and p-docs, i have heard talk about it. this is perhaps why it is still in fairly common use, despite being one of the oldest psyche-meds.

i know that lithium absorbtion and elimination varies widely from one person to another and can also vary widely because of lifestyle and nutrition, but 1000mg sounds like a large dose. your description of the urge to bang on inanimate objects (perhaps as a substitute for banging on a person) tells me that your med regimen leaves much to be desired and that you are due for a medication review.

I have been taking lithium ER (900 mg) per day for about ten months now. Of all the medications I have taken, lithium has been the only one that caused a noticeable decrease in my depressive symptoms and suicidality. When I started taking it, it caused debilitating nausea for about a week. I also had excessive thirst and frequent urination - both of which seemed to dissipate after about six months.

Most of the side effects you describe sound incredibly troubling, and - thankfully - I've not experienced most of them. The only thing I can really relate to is shakiness in my hands. It's not constant and isn't usually very severe, but sometimes it is bad enough to make it impossible to write legibly or do other detailed tasks. In fact, the disabilities office at my school let all of my instructors know that I can take exams electronically instead of in writing if needed.

That said, if I had a similar experience to yours I would probably discontinue taking the medication as well. There have been times where I've been non-adherent with my medications and skipped them for awhile. Lithium is one of the ones that I never really notice side effects from sudden withdrawal. However, it is absolutely recommended that you work with your prescribing doctor to stop lithium treatment. They can't force you to take it, and if you call and say you want to stop they will give you instructions on how to do it most safely. (It shouldn't be anything too complicated, just taking X amount less for Y days, and so on.)

In short, it's unfortunate that lithium isn't working for you. It sounds like you've given it more than a fair shot and have unacceptable side effects. Working with your doctor to discontinue it should be a fairly straightforward process. Once that's done, I would consider the symptoms that caused you to seek treatment in the first place. There are lots of other medications out there, and finding helpful ones can greatly increase the quality of life for people with bipolar disorder.

- a

I'm sorry you're having a hard time and I hope things work out. Number one: don't go off suddenly, but taper it down. Coming off of it might be as bad as starting on it. Two: tell your psych that you want to use another drug (or none at all) and that the current medication is unacceptable. He might be against you switching to another mood stabilizer, but if you insist, he should put you on another one. If he's unwilling to entertain such a notion, I would ditch him for another psych.

Anyway, if you decide to go off of the medication, let that be known to your psych. It is your body and mind, so you're the final arbiter. After that, you can make a plan with him to follow up. I ended up going off a hefty dose of Quetiapine (seroquel) against my psych's advice, but it turned out to be great after I got off of it. (I can actually get up in the morning!) I told her I was going off of it, and she didn't like it, but accepted it. I also am suspicious of drug regimens that are more than two psychiatric drugs.

Make it known what you want in terms of medications. There are other replacements for lithium, so keep that in mind.

Lithium wrote:Ive been taking Lithium 1000 mg per day for 3 months. In my view it has caused me to feel weak and tired, listless with handshakes (especially apparent at night when reading in bed and the hand holding the book shakes obviously - in the day I learned to hide the problem, to feel mild nausea all the time and to have an unsteady or slight out of balance feel. A good example of the physical issues is that using an iPad or iPhone to text can see fingers stab multiple times at a key pad inadvertently due to shaking. I am sure that around the base of the mouth the taste sensation is similar to that of salt water taken in when swimming, it's unpleasant and affects food and drink taste. Worst of all I seem to be susceptible to emotions which run ludicrously close to the surface, having to fight back tears when discussing issues I once might have discussed without coming to tears, and having really bad anger attacks and lashing out at things (not people) which don't work right or which frustrate me. I don't believe that I'm imagining these affects and, we're it my choice, I'd abandon the Lithium as Ive come to see it as a poison. I accept that I am Bi Polar but all my friends, without exception, say I'm just an enthusiastic and energetic person, often funny and clever but, at least to some, the idea that I'm Bi-Polar and need medicating is plain wrong - at least judging be behaviours they have witnessed over 30 years.

Soooo, can any other Lithium takers identify with the above side effects / issues and have any other Lithium takers tried withdrawing from the drug and noted the impact of doing so? I've had enough,this is the worst by far i have ever felt in my life and taking a drug to please a psychiatrist and wife is about to stop happening. I'm quite depressed and feel that if I self monitor for mania then I can't be worse off than Lithium has made me. Many thanks,

I have taken lithium since 2010, when I was diagnosed as bipolar type 1. I do not experience many of these symptoms, only a little diahorrea. If you are on lithium it is crucial that you have regular blood tests to determine the level of lithium in your blood, the 'serum lithium'. You did not mention whether you are having these tests or not, but if you are having an overdose you would certainly be getting the side effects noted above, also there are worse side effects from lithium overdose such as kidney failure. Lithium is indeed a poison, but only if you take too much. In the appropriate dose it helps to manage the bipolar and prevent further episodes. Taken long term, it continues to act as a deterrent against bipolar.

I myself would not be tolerating that level of side effects. See if you doctor can reduce your dose until the side effects go away. There are other drugs you can take to control bipolar disorder.

Do you know what type of bipolar disorder you have? If you have type 1, you will be experiencing major manic episodes and your friends will certainly be noticing these. If you have type 2 or another type, you will not have full blown mania, instead you will have hypomania which often just appears as though you are confident, outgoing, full of life. However, in each type you will be experiencing depression, and type two bipolar disorder often spends more time in and deeper into depression than any other type. Bipolar disorder should usually be diagnosed by a psychiatrist. If you don't think this fits you, then look for a second opinion. There are so many people misdiagnosed, overdiagnosed, underdiagnosed etc.