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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SheilaC on June 7, 2010, at 17:11:54
I talked to my doc about a mood stabilizer and she says Lithium is the way to go.
What is a good starting dose? How will it make me feel?
She suggested 300mg 2x a day? I see her again in another week and a half. It's probably better than living on Klonopin.
I was fearful of taking Lithium and dumped it after a few days last time I tried it. But I know I need a mood stabilizer.
Plus, I had to drop the Adderall for now - it was just adding fuel to the fire.
Any comments on how Lithium will make me feel? Relaxed? happy? less irritable? I've been so mean to my husband and I am so sick of trying everything under the sun.
Posted by Phillipa on June 7, 2010, at 17:14:21
In reply to Lithium dose?, posted by SheilaC on June 7, 2010, at 17:11:54
So you want to replace klonopin with lithium. Will you take lithium and wean off the klonopin? Phillipa
Posted by SheilaC on June 7, 2010, at 17:52:16
In reply to Re: Lithium dose? » SheilaC, posted by Phillipa on June 7, 2010, at 17:14:21
No. I will still have my Klonopin. It's just that the past week or so I have relied way too much on my Klonopin, when what I really have to find and stick with is a mood stabilizer.
I already took 1 dose of 300mg of Lithium. I feel relaxed and not manic - this is a good thing! Maybe I won't be so awful to my poor husband.
I have promised to stick with Lithium until I see the doc in a week and a half. Not that long and it could make my life (and those around me) much better!
Posted by alchemy on June 7, 2010, at 19:37:01
In reply to Lithium dose?, posted by SheilaC on June 7, 2010, at 17:11:54
Curious - did you originally just take Adderall for ADD. Did it help w/ your mood? Have you also been on antidepressants?
fyi - Adderall introduced me/ made me aware that I had some sort of bipolar.
Posted by SheilaC on June 8, 2010, at 9:29:29
In reply to Re: Lithium dose?, posted by alchemy on June 7, 2010, at 19:37:01
SSRIs and SNRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, etc.,) all induced my bipolar symptoms. At first they made me feel good and quickly they made me feel through the roof, bouncing off the walls good - which was really bad.
I was diagnosed with ADD and given Adderall, which actually helps with some of the depression, but taken without a mood stabilizer it can make me hypomanic (irritable, too talkative, way too out there).
So, for now I am sticking with Lithium, Klonopin and Seroquel. Then, in time I can add back Adderall. For now, I am too afraid to add Adderall back to my med regime. I need stability.
This is only my 2nd dose of Lithium and it is really helping with calmness and irritability.
Amazing stuff. I should have tried it 20 years ago - my life would have been soooo different.
Posted by Phillipa on June 8, 2010, at 20:23:10
In reply to Re: Lithium dose?, posted by SheilaC on June 8, 2010, at 9:29:29
You know I've seen lithium do wonders for people a husband included when they took it they were nice?? Phillipa
Posted by morganator on June 9, 2010, at 22:14:15
In reply to Re: Lithium dose?, posted by SheilaC on June 8, 2010, at 9:29:29
That's great that lithium is helping you so far.
Do you think if you continue to feel stable that your ADD will improve? Have you ever considered that your ADD may be a symptom of your anxiety and bipolar and not a separate biological disorder?
Maybe consider first feeling good and normal and then see how your focus and overall function is after that. Maybe you don't need adderall after all.
Nothing really to fear about a 600 mg dose of Lithium, it's pretty low. Just get your lithium levels checked every 3 months or so and get your thyroid and kidneys checked a few times a year.
Lithium has neuroprotective properties and can promote neurogenesis. It's a great drug(really a naturally occurring element) at fairly low doses.
Posted by Dan_MI on June 9, 2010, at 23:44:00
In reply to Lithium dose?, posted by SheilaC on June 7, 2010, at 17:11:54
Welcome to the Lithium family! Google is filled with pages touting the benefits, so I won't bore you.
Dosing varies, it's the blood levels which will determine how many pills we take. Look forward to frequent blood tests at first, but they will become more infrequent once you know how you respond.
word to the wise: buy salt pill supplements. in the summer heat excessive sweating could excrete all your sodium, and you need sodium to be in balance with lithium. So as a result we are officially allowed to put salt on our food.
Posted by Ron Hill on June 10, 2010, at 0:10:35
In reply to Re: Lithium dose?, posted by SheilaC on June 8, 2010, at 9:29:29
Sheila C,
Generally speaking, high dosages (about 900 mg/day or higher) of lithium are used to treat the manic side of bipolar I patients.
Antiepileptic medications (AED's) are typically used as moodstablizers for bipolar II patients. Lower dosages of lithium are, at times, added to the med cocktail of a bipolar II patient. Based on what you have written, I suspect you are bipolar II.
I am bipolar II. Like you, I was misdiagnosed as ADHD and given a pstim (Ritalin). The pstim was followed up with the addition of an SSRI (Paxil). All of this was done without a moodstabilizer on-board. These two meds pushed me into a full-blown mania. As a result, I lost my job.
The only reason I wound up in the office of a p-doc to begin with, was because I was having trouble focusing on my work after I was kicked to the curb by a woman that I thought I loved. Prior to the break-up, I was a fully functioning environmental engineer. However, as I look back, I have childhood-onset bipolar disorder.
So, I chose to go to the Employee Assistance Program in an attempt to get my focus back on my work. This ended up leading me to a p-doc. Unfortunately, the p-doc turned out to be inept and he ruined by life.
Without boring you with all the details, the bottom line is that his administration of Ritalin followed by adding Paxil turned me into an ultra-rapid cycler. I go through one complete cycle every 15 days; 6 days of depression, followed by 9 days of normal. Then immediately the next 15-day cycle starts, and this occurs over-and-over, forever and ever.
I lost my career.
Now-a-days, if I try to add-on a pstim to my cocktail (to counteract Nardil-induced low blood pressure) the pstim makes me VERY irritable (i.e.; dysphoric).
So, please be careful re-adding your pstim. In my humble opinion (IMHO), the pstim will destabilize your mood.
I don't know if this post helps or not.
-- Ron
dx: Bipolar II with ultra rapid cycling, and mild OCPD
600 mg/day Trileptal
200 mg/day Lamictal
500 mg/day Keppra
90 mg/day Nardil
1.9 mg/day Deplin (taken with methyl B-12 and P-5-P)High dosage of fish oil
100 mg/day phosphatidylserene
Several other vitamins and supplements
Dark therapy via LowBlueLight glasses (When I remember)-----------------------------------------------
> SSRIs and SNRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, etc.,) all induced my bipolar symptoms. At first they made me feel good and quickly they made me feel through the roof, bouncing off the walls good - which was really bad.
>
> I was diagnosed with ADD and given Adderall, which actually helps with some of the depression, but taken without a mood stabilizer it can make me hypomanic (irritable, too talkative, way too out there).
>
> So, for now I am sticking with Lithium, Klonopin and Seroquel. Then, in time I can add back Adderall. For now, I am too afraid to add Adderall back to my med regime. I need stability.
>
> This is only my 2nd dose of Lithium and it is really helping with calmness and irritability.
>
> Amazing stuff. I should have tried it 20 years ago - my life would have been soooo different.
>
>
Posted by Ron Hill on June 10, 2010, at 1:04:12
In reply to Re: Lithium dose?, posted by SheilaC on June 8, 2010, at 9:29:29
Sheila C,I forgot to mention that lithium has a tendency to cause some weight gain. Watch your weight from the get-go.
I have been on 600 mg/day of lithium with other meds in the past. In fact, in the near future after a couple other add-on trials, I intend to add 300 mg/day of lithium to my cocktail. The research clearly shows that lithium is neuroprotective and neurotrophic (if I said that correctly).
If I were your p-doc, (which I am not!), I would have started you on an AED that agreed with you, and then added-on the lithium.
Also, I do not see an antidepressant on board. I hope you can get by without one.
What is the purpose of your Seroquel. Did your p-doc put you on it? What dosage? How long have you been on it? Any side effects? If so, please list your Seroquel side effects.
Thanks.
-- Ron
dx: Bipolar II with ultra rapid cycling, and mild OCPD
600 mg/day Trileptal
200 mg/day Lamictal
500 mg/day Keppra
90 mg/day Nardil
1.9 mg/day Deplin (taken with methyl B-12 and P-5-P)High dosage of fish oil
100 mg/day phosphatidylserene
Several other vitamins and supplements
Dark therapy via LowBlueLight glasses (When I remember)--------------------------------------------------
> SSRIs and SNRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, etc.,) all induced my bipolar symptoms. At first they made me feel good and quickly they made me feel through the roof, bouncing off the walls good - which was really bad.
>
> I was diagnosed with ADD and given Adderall, which actually helps with some of the depression, but taken without a mood stabilizer it can make me hypomanic (irritable, too talkative, way too out there).
>
> So, for now I am sticking with Lithium, Klonopin and Seroquel. Then, in time I can add back Adderall. For now, I am too afraid to add Adderall back to my med regime. I need stability.
>
> This is only my 2nd dose of Lithium and it is really helping with calmness and irritability.
>
> Amazing stuff. I should have tried it 20 years ago - my life would have been soooo different.
>
>
Posted by stargazer2 on June 10, 2010, at 22:50:57
In reply to Re: Lithium dose? » SheilaC, posted by Ron Hill on June 10, 2010, at 1:04:12
Ron, what are the glasses you use for? I have never heard of dark therapy:Low blue light and am curious about what they are used for...Star
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