Can Anyone Relate to this with Lithium?

Oliveira wrote:Update from me: diarrhea and queasiness are pretty much gone. My stomach got upset yesterday but I can point out why -- I just didn't drink enough for what I was doing.

Tremors are still present, though, so is blurry vision and... hallucinations. I can actually sense they aren't real but some of them are disturbing, like when I am on my bicycle and I see a car starting to move. Except it isn't, and there's nobody inside.

Going to call a doctor today and ask for some other miracle drugs I was really hoping this would be it.

Good on the digestive system part! Not so good on the rest...

How much are you taking? I can't remember, but I think it was a high dosage. I'm on 800mg (400mg with breakfast and 400mg with dinner). My mood has definitely improved, and I didn't experience major side effects. But I've been having those hallucinations, like you describe! Thing is, it only happens after I go for a run. I run by the river, so there are no cars there, but when I'm walking home cars that are parked start to move! I thought it was just some weird effect of exercising. You know, like my visual perception takes a while to adjust to my walking speed. Now I'm not so sure...

Have you had blood tests to see if your lithium levels are at a therapeutic level? It might be you could benefit from increasing your dosage. Definitely talk to your p-doc about it. I hope you can find something that works for you with the least side effects possible!

I am on 1200 mg, blood level last week was 0.66. But I'm also 104 kg (thank you mirtazepine) so I would imagine that has to do with my high dosage.

Wow it's so interesting you've had those hallucinations as well -- I feel less lonely. I wonder if it has to do with dehydration -- I worked physically in the heat yesterday and hallucinations got worse than ever before. But I swear if I drink more I will turn into a fountain :/

Oliveira wrote:I am on 1200 mg, blood level last week was 0.66. But I'm also 104 kg (thank you mirtazepine) so I would imagine that has to do with my high dosage.

Yikes! That's a lot. With 800mg my last blood level was 0.93, so I'm at a higher therapeutic level. I'm a lot smaller than you, though. Maybe your p-doc can increase your dosage a bit? You might benefit from a slightly higher level. Just a suggestion! I think what matters is the therapeutic action, not how much you take, since that will depend on metabolism, weight, height, etc.

Oliveira wrote:Wow it's so interesting you've had those hallucinations as well -- I feel less lonely.

My exact reaction when I read your post!

Oliveira wrote:I wonder if it has to do with dehydration -- I worked physically in the heat yesterday and hallucinations got worse than ever before. But I swear if I drink more I will turn into a fountain :/

It could be. Now that I think about it, it tends to be worse when it's sunnier and hotter. Yesterday, for example, I went for my usual run and it didn't happen, but it was pretty cloudy. I used to drink tons when I started taking lithium, but gradually I returned to my usual amount. I'll test it out, I'll try and drink more water while running and see how it goes.

I really think it has something to do with visual perception. Your brain gets used to seeing things at a certain speed, so when you stop it takes a while to adjust. Or maybe this is just wishful thinking...

Today I had no hallucinations until an hour ago -- I swear I almost felt a "click" and suddenly music I was listening to, All Saints, started having a lot of sounds/instruments that were never there. I know this music really well. I switched it off because it freaked me out. :/

But no visual hallucinations at all.

I was thinking actually that perhaps I would benefit from taking more even though I really dislike lithium so far -- I read that for a lot of people blood level of approx. 1 was when they finally felt the benefit. I'd be willing to try that. Couldn't reach my pdoc today though.

Oh yeah drink-wise: my pdoc told me that water doesn't actually hydrate you as well as you'd think. He told me to drink bouillon, fruit juices or isotonics. I don't know if it's accidental or not but since the moment I began to do so my stomach calmed down.

Big hugs!

This is all so interesting to me, and I appreciate everyone's input. A part of me is hoping for results more like gratteciel, yet I know better than to hope!

I was thinking the same thing, Oliveira, about whether it would would work better at a different dose, and where are the blood levels at, etc. But I can see where it would be scary to take a higher dose of something that already feels weird, even though everyone generally agrees that different people have a different "right" dose.

I am very interested to hear everyone's continuing progress as I join the "lithium club" next week.

Oliveira wrote:Today I had no hallucinations until an hour ago -- I swear I almost felt a "click" and suddenly music I was listening to, All Saints, started having a lot of sounds/instruments that were never there. I know this music really well. I switched it off because it freaked me out. :/

Sounds awful!

Oliveira wrote:But no visual hallucinations at all.

Well, it's something!

Oliveira wrote:I was thinking actually that perhaps I would benefit from taking more even though I really dislike lithium so far -- I read that for a lot of people blood level of approx. 1 was when they finally felt the benefit. I'd be willing to try that. Couldn't reach my pdoc today though.

I'd never heard that! I definitely noticed a difference when I upped from 400mg to 800mg, which is when blood levels reached 0.93. I hope you can reach your pdoc and if you guys decide increasing the lithium is a good idea, then I truly hope it works for you.

Oliveira wrote:Oh yeah drink-wise: my pdoc told me that water doesn't actually hydrate you as well as you'd think. He told me to drink bouillon, fruit juices or isotonics. I don't know if it's accidental or not but since the moment I began to do so my stomach calmed down.

Never knew that! Is it really just hydration or does it have to do with electrolytes and stuff like that? As in, after you exercise you should drink something like a sports drink to hydrate AND replenish electrolytes. Anyways, I might try that!

Huge hugs, Oliveira, hope things change for the better as soon as possible.