Posted by Ritch on March 20, 2005, at 22:57:05
In reply to Lithium and the Urinary Tract: Does system adjust?, posted by cache-monkey on March 20, 2005, at 17:32:00
> Hey all,
>
> So, I've just started 1200 mg/day of Lithium, after ramping up over the course of a month or so. This should get me into the "therapeutic window".
>
> I noticed the same phenomenon when starting 900 mg, but to a lesser extend. I'm basically thirsty all the time and have to go to the bathroom a lot. I realize that this is common for Lithium, but it's pretty bad right now. My bladder and my prostate (and even my kidneys, I feel) are a little tender. I don't know if this is from overuse, or whether Lithium acts as an irritant in some way. (It feels the same as during a period when I was drinking a lot of alcohol and coffee -- I currently abstain from both.)
>
> When I went up to 900 it wasn't so severe. I also feel like maybe the thirst-bathroom cycle lessened after a little time. Like maybe my kidneys adjusted somehow. Consequently, I'm hoping the same happens at the current dose.
>
> Has anyone else experienced a lessening of the thirst and urination after acclimatizing to a dose? Or does it usually remain pretty steady?
>
> Thanks,
> cache-monkey
>
I always had trouble with that when I was on lithium.. It did settle down *somewhat* after a dose increase, or became more tolerable on the same dose after some time on it.. but it never just vanished. Maybe you can get by on a lower blood level? In my case, blood levels above .6mEQ didn't improve things very much, lithium wasn't a real potent antimanic for me, and its antidepressant effects were as good as they were ever going to get at levels between .3 -.5mEQ.
poster:Ritch
thread:473276
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050317/msgs/473399.html