Posted by CareBear04 on March 13, 2006, at 8:14:25
In reply to Lithium » CareBear04, posted by 4WD on March 10, 2006, at 22:38:01
hi marsha,
i'm not on lithium anymore, unfortunately, but i recommend it highly. the reason i'm not on it is becuase it has a very narrow therapeutic window, so i kept getting sick from doses that shouldn't have made me toxic.
i've been on anywhere from 450mg of eskalith (long-acting lithium) to 1800mg a day. when i first started lithium, i had an easier time tolerating eskalith becuase i didn't get the upset stomach, nausea, and other GI side effects that generic lithium gave me. later, i was able to switch over to generic lithium. at a low dose, i don't think i noticed side effects at all. in fact, up till about 900mg, i could hardly tell i was on it. the only thing i noticed was a little bit of a tremor in my hands, which a bit of propranolol took care of. when i got up to the higher doses, the side effects were too much. i was thirsty all the time and only wanted to drink sweet, sugary juices, and i had to pee all the time. i felt more nauseated and tired.i think you'll do fine on lithium 600mg. it's a low enough dose that you don't need to worry about toxicity, and if you do end up having GI side effects, i would recommend trying Eskalith CR. it tends to be milder, plus it's long-acting. i prefer it over lithobid.
good luck and let me know if you have more questions!
CB
poster:CareBear04
thread:617057
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060310/msgs/619759.html