Posted by Ron Hill on April 4, 2003, at 14:07:04
In reply to Re: Zyprexa or Lithium ??, posted by linkadge on April 3, 2003, at 10:17:24
> I am taking generic lithium carbonate 1200 mg
> I am awaiting blood test results, but at 900 mg
> my level was about 0.7. The doctor wants it higher to prevent future ocurances.
>
> Zyprexa was just approved here in Canada for Bipolar and wanted to know what people thought.
> Studies said it was as effective.
>
> If you want to know the real reason is cause I'm scared to death of pumping 1200 mg into my kidneys. I don't want to be on dialysis at 40 yrs.
> I just turned 20. 5-10 mg of another substance just seems to make sence.
Hi Linkadge,Thanks for your reply. For me personally, I'm a lot more concerned about the health risks of the atypical antipsychotic medications (e.g.; tardive dyskinesia) than I am about the health risks associated with lithium. But that's just me.
I still wonder if you might be able to reduce your lithium dose and still retain its efficacy. Also, using a slow release lithium product might reduce the cognitive impairment side effects. Are you BP I or BP II?
Another option might be to reduce the lithium dosage and add-on a low dose of another moodstabilizer (e.g. Depakote, etc). Dr. Bowden talked about this briefly in his Grand Rounds presentations entitled "Maintenance Treatment of Bipolar Disorders". Here's the link to his talk:
http://psychiatry.uchicago.edu/grounds/030303/
You are young. I wish you a full and rich life.
-- Ron
poster:Ron Hill
thread:215577
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030402/msgs/216221.html