Has anyone else had this with Lithium?!
Question: I'm on lithium for Bipolar Affective. It pretty much stops my highs, but it makes me constantly depressed. My minds an absolute mess, and the low I'm on currently is the longest I've had being this bad for a LONG time.
I had stopped taking it cos of drinking alcohol around my birthday and such but now I'm back on it normally and its messing with my life. I can barely function. I have occasional minor shakes, I'm back to having major major urges to cut, when I havent since December last year.
I don't see my psychiatrist until April 3rd when I'm supposed to be put on an antidepressant to try bring up the lows... but that still Almost a month away. and Last time I was put on anti depressants, I got side effects from all of them, including exsessive shaking...
I need to talk to someone and work out my mind but I'm in the process of changing psychologists so that I'm in the adult system in Australia. And My girlfriend is in a psych ward herself. She's the only person I can talk to...
Answers: I'm on lithium for Bipolar Affective. It pretty much stops my highs, but it makes me constantly depressed. My minds an absolute mess, and the low I'm on currently is the longest I've had being this bad for a LONG time.
I had stopped taking it cos of drinking alcohol around my birthday and such but now I'm back on it normally and its messing with my life. I can barely function. I have occasional minor shakes, I'm back to having major major urges to cut, when I havent since December last year.
I don't see my psychiatrist until April 3rd when I'm supposed to be put on an antidepressant to try bring up the lows... but that still Almost a month away. and Last time I was put on anti depressants, I got side effects from all of them, including exsessive shaking...
I need to talk to someone and work out my mind but I'm in the process of changing psychologists so that I'm in the adult system in Australia. And My girlfriend is in a psych ward herself. She's the only person I can talk to...
Lithium has a mild antidepressant effect that is well documented. It's even used to supplement anti-d's for hard to treat regular depression. More than likely it's antidepressant qualities are not enough to counter your depression, not that it is causing the depression. If it handles the manic stuff well, stay on it. Also, stay hydrated. That helps a lot with the tremors, at least it does for me.
Depakote (Epilim) doesn't have much antidepressant effect. Seroquel, mentioned by another person, is an antipsychotic that does. I take a small dose of Depakote along with Lithium and hands down I like Lithium more.
There's another anticonvulsant mood stabilizer called Lamictal (Lamictin in Australia, I think). It's the one that best helps depression, and is the other med I take since anti-d's make me mixed or manic. I know it's available down there. I just don't know if it's on your medical plan. Look in to it. There may be more available if you know what you are looking for and figure out how to push for it.
A good website for info on psych meds is http://www.crazymeds.us They also have a talk board. The link is in the top left corner. Lots of ppl with bipolar there. Another site is http://www.crazyboards.org Just thinking you might want to get some info and have some cyber beepers to talk to between now and April 3. Hang in there. It's not that long even if it seems like eternity.
Call your DR asap and tell him what you told me, he will get you off of that stuff and put you on something better for you.
well ive been on several bipolar medicines and ive had a similar reaction actually.
the problem may be the medicine. not all medicines work for everyone. sometimes it takes a few tries before you try the right one. the lithium may not be working for you. you need to talk about that with your doctor and tell them everything that you can, so they can try to find a medicine that actually works for you.
another reason could be that you stopped taking the medicine at one point. it is not healthy to do that, especially if youre drinking alcohol. you are supposed to slowly ween yourself off of medicine as strong as lithium, or else it could give you strange symptoms or reactions.
you need to call your doctor right away. try to get an earlier appointment. feeling that depressed is not good for you and you really should try another medicine.
call dr
I have bipolar and at one point was on lithium. I had severe shaking of my left hand. I also can not take antidepressants because I get major side effects. I was put on depecote and serequel a couple of months ago and have been doing very well with those meds. I still have bad days but am much better than before. I think it's very important to find a psychologist that you really click with. People with bipolar very often have problems with antidepressants. Maybe you should call your insurance company and tell them you need to find a psychologist that specializes in bipolar and can see you sooner. Good Luck! I know this mental illness is very hard to live with.
Look into natural ways of helping with depression. Sunlight. Exercise, Fish Oil, Vitamins, Minerals, Nature Made has a group of Vitamins, Minerals that might help you. But call your psychiatrist for approval. Look on the back of Mult-her to see if it has Vitamin B-12 and Folic Acid (because rumor has it this is the next Fish Oil for Depression). Otherwise get the Maximin Pack.