Posted by med_empowered on August 16, 2005, at 17:14:36
In reply to Interesting info about BP2 Treatment, posted by woolav on August 16, 2005, at 8:06:20
Lithium can be helpful, but it can also be really rough. Weight gain, skin problems, hair loss, tremor, lethargy, and cognitive impairment are all possible side-effects; the cognitive impairment seems to be the most bothersome to patients, and some people complain of a sort of low-grade, drug-induced depression. But...some people do swear by Lithium, so its worth considering, but I wouldn't think of it as a first-line med (even in Bipolar I, an increasing number of patients don't seem to respond well to Lithium; it apparently isn't all that great for those with mixed-episodes and/or rapid cycling). In Bipolar I patients, long-term lithium treatment seems to reduce the number of completed suicides (and presumably suicide attempts), but considering that the average bipolar patient takes 2-4 medications, sometimes more, its worth noting that the effect lithium *alone* has one suicidality is unclear. But, again...some people really like lithium, or at least think the benefits greatly outweigh any problems it causes them. I think it might also depend on your "polarity"...if you have significant manic symptoms and the mania tendsd to be poorly controlled and causes all kinds of problems in your life, then lithium could be useful (it is an excellent anti-manic agent, but the antidepressant efficacy is kinda iffy). On the other hand, if you tend more towards mixed-episodes, hypomania, or depression, I think you might want to look into something else, at least at first. Good luck!
poster:med_empowered
thread:542380
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050816/msgs/542580.html