Posted by bleauberry on June 11, 2010, at 17:38:33
In reply to Why does Lithium make me feel so awful?, posted by former poster on June 10, 2010, at 20:06:23
Maybe the dose was too high. I take criticism for it, and that's ok, in my beliefs that meds are overdosed right from the start. I think all meds should be started extremely low with no predetermined target in mind. Let the journey guide the dosage, rather than vica versa.
According to Dr Gillman, he stopped using lithium because he got such lousy results from it after using on patients for years. If anything, it is only good when combined with meds that are primarily noradrenergic, because lithium itself is mostly within the serotonergic spectrum.
Who knows.
In my book, if a med makes you feel worse or dysphoric, ditch it. My opinion only.
I was talking with my visiting mother last week and she said she has several friends with bipolar problems who after many years of numbing meds have carefully weaned themselves off in order to live life for what it is, and to manage the symptoms and cycles rather than drug them. They can feel when a phase is coming on, they know when it is happening, and they have each found in their journeys the best ways to get through them. In all cases, it meant getting busy doing something...walking, arts, music, hiking, anything.
I'm the same way. Life is hard without meds but sucks worse with them. The only meds that actually help me feel better are ones that fight disease, not ones used in psychiatry. A small handful of psych meds do bring me a temporary stepping stone when I need them, but they are not for regular use. Disease fighting is where it's at. For me.
I take criticism when I state my beliefs that bipolar and depression have an underlying physically identifiable disease cause, but I truly believe and have seen it proved enough to have no doubt. The problem is, most GPs and pdocs are totally out of the loop on that stuff.
Lithium is generally blunting at therapeutic doses, so no surprise there. I have heard, and experienced it myself, that it is more antidepressant and even activating at very low doses. So I guess if your doctor is set on lithium, try that. 75mg, 150mg, 300mg max.
poster:bleauberry
thread:950616
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100604/msgs/950754.html