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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by violetta on September 29, 2003, at 15:40:26
I had been taking Lithium for two years and recently made the mistake of tapering off. It works quite well for me, but I lost my health insurance and was concerned about the price of getting labs every few months. Anyhow, I was only off of it completely for a few days when it became quite clear I needed to be back on it! My usually daily dose before was 900mg a day, which kept my levels just below therapeutic, but it worked for me so the dose was never increased. Now I have been taking 600 mg for 2 days and I am SO tired and sluggish I can barely keep my eyes open. I never had side effects with Lithium before, so I am worried. I can't really afford to have my labs done until next month, so I am wondering if these are just side effects, or is it possible my Lithium levels strangely skyrocketed when I began taking it again...anyone have a similar experience?
Posted by sarita0001 on September 30, 2003, at 15:33:39
In reply to Re-starting Lithium....side effects?, posted by violetta on September 29, 2003, at 15:40:26
Hi,
I was on lithium for 7 years at 900mg. Earlier this year I went down to 225mg and then stayed at 675mg. I didn't experience any new side effects, actually the side effects I had always experienced were gone and I had more energy. I was wondering if you might share your tapering off experience because I was thinking of doing it sometime.
Amanda
Posted by violetta on September 30, 2003, at 18:52:26
In reply to Re: Re-starting Lithium....side effects?, posted by sarita0001 on September 30, 2003, at 15:33:39
Well, I went from 900 mg a day to 600 for 2 weeks, then just one pill for 2 weeks, then every other day for about another week. Once I made it down to one pill a day, my thoughts started to race again, and my moods started on a rapid-cycling kick again. I guess it had just been so long since I had to deal with this that I forgot how bad it really was! The other thing that happened is that I got two migraines.....I used to have terrible migraines a couple times a month, but since I started the Lithium, I haven't had one in over a year and a half. I read up on the subject, and it seems a lot of people who take Lithium find relief for their migraines, too. I am just going to have to find a way to make ends meet and get those labs done so I can stay on the meds. Good luck to you....have you spoken with your doctor aout wanting to taper off?
> Hi,
>
> I was on lithium for 7 years at 900mg. Earlier this year I went down to 225mg and then stayed at 675mg. I didn't experience any new side effects, actually the side effects I had always experienced were gone and I had more energy. I was wondering if you might share your tapering off experience because I was thinking of doing it sometime.
>
> Amanda
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