Posted by ronaldo on January 18, 2007, at 12:11:51
In reply to Re: 30 years of Lithium...30 years of wasted life., posted by JayBTV on January 18, 2007, at 10:35:47
Hello Jay
I blame Lithium for flat affect, blunted cognition, anhedonia, avolition and a general lack of energy. I am also coming off Zyprexa, currently down to 2.5 mg from 10 mg so it is feasible that the Zyp is to blame. On the other hand I have not felt better since coming down to 2.5 mg so maybe the Lithium is to blame. I also take 5 mg Valium to help me with the insomnia problems associated with coming off the Zyp. Perhaps that is to blame. There is a whole line up of possible culprits. Only time will tell. I hope to be off the Zyp in 3 weeks time and off the Valium in about 5 possibly 4 weeks time. I will see how I feel then, giving myself 2 to 4 weeks to assess myself. I will also ask my GP's opinion. He sees me rarely and should notice any difference that might escape my notice.
I just feel that after taking Lithium for nearly 30 years I do not really have anything to thank it for. I doubt whether I would have gone manic if the Lithium had not been in place. I am sick of feeling semi-depressed, you could also call it dysthymic. Only one of the six or seven pdocs who have seen me on the NHS have been able to agree on a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder - most have plumped for Schizo-affective Disorder. Why am I taking manic-depression medication without a proper diagnosis of manic-depression?
I do not condemn lithium outright. It works for lots of people, possibly yourself included. I wish you luck with it. It is a nice and clean medicine - not too many side effects as far as I know. But I have been on it for close to 30 years and I feel worn down by it and I need a break.
ronaldo
> > I can agree. If I could take back the time I spent on lithium I would.
> >
> > I do not thing this reduction rate is too slow at all.
> >
> ====
>
> Can you guys elaborate a bit? Do you feel Lithium didn't allow you to enjoy things in life?
>
> I've only been on a minimal dose (900 to 1200 mg) since last Aug. The goal was to prevent me from going manic but I've done that twice since anyway. I haven't felt as though it's really prevented me from enjoying things but that's possible since the breaks w/ reality make it impossible for me to remember what I felt like before. [Especially when during one of the episodes (God-Mode) I decided it a good idea to pop 20+ 300mg pills of Lithium, 20 or so pills of Nardil, 7 Vicadin, along with some beer and THC......almost didn't wake from that one]
>
> Anyway, at the moment I'm actually feeling good with just Lithium and Remeron. However, I'm not sure if the Lith is helping or just dampening the Remeron. I'm with a new pDoc and I'm certain he is going to keep me on a mood-stabilizer due to my recent history. I tried Serequel for a few days and thought it almost too grounding for me. I'm a singer/songwriter when I can be (acoustic guitar) so I'm always scared the stabilizer stuff will thwart the crazy-creativity I have a love/hate relationship with...
>
> Either way I'd love to hear your negatives about Lithium since I haven't brought it to trial in my mind yet.
>
> Cheers,
>
> -Jay
poster:ronaldo
thread:723537
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070113/msgs/723634.html