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j22500 · 10-21-2011, 06:21 AM

Hello,all,

I recently was started on lithium for BP 1 after years of not being medicated and then a few years of trying all kinds of "crap" ( excuse my language, but its been a ruff ride). My pdoc wants me to tirate up to 900 mgs, and I'm at 600 now. I guess my question is I'm a small person and have anxiety that 900 will be too much. He is checking my blood but only in a few weeks as he said it takes time for the levels to be there. I'm also trying to go slow so I don't get the horrible side effects I have gotten on other meds I tried. So far so good and I am wondering if anyone else has had success on only 600mgs or if I should just plan on going to 900 next week. I am still cycling but it may be because I have only been on it for three weeks. Any advise would be appreciated

Rsky · 10-21-2011, 03:24 PM

Well, if your pdoc thinks you should be on 900mg, I think you should listen to what he/she says...

I also started on 600mg, and have not had any success, and so for just under a week now, I have been on 900mgs....I still feel nothing. And just so you know, I also experience extreme anxiety...so what I did was posted a list of "toxic" side effects in my house, and if I happen to start feeling anything unusual I can go take a look, and make sure I'm not in that state....but I have heard of people needing to be on waaay more than 900mgs anyways...

Your pdoc would not get you to go up to 900mgs, if he/she did not think it would benefit you....anxiety is a strange thing, and I know what you are going through, but I really think you need to trust your pdoc, as they are the ones that will help make us stable.

Anyways, I hope this helps you out in some way, and I hope everything goes well for you

-Rsky

iloveoliver · 11-06-2011, 08:11 AM

I have been taking Lithium for about nine yrs and it works very well. 100mg raises your serum Lithium level by 0.1mEqu/l. So for 600mg the serum blood level would/should be about 0.6 mEq/L. The therapeutic dose is 300-2700 mg/d with desired serum levels of 0.6-1.2 mEq/L.

It has worked wonders for me.

j22500 · 11-07-2011, 05:03 AM

Thanks for the reply. I ended up going to 900 with the requests of my family and get my blood levels checked for the first time next week, so we'll see. The side effects aren't so bad so far, I'm just scared of it messing with my thyroid. Is that common? And does your body get used to it...like will some of the side effects subside after a while?

Thanks

j22500 · 11-07-2011, 05:05 AM

Thanks for the reply. I ended up going to 900 with the requests of my family and get my blood levels checked for the first time next week, so we'll see. The side effects aren't so bad so far, I'm just scared of it messing with my thyroid. Is that common? And does your body get used to it...like will some of the side effects subside after a while?

Thanks

Chickee · 11-18-2011, 05:44 AM

See if you can see a copy of your bloods. If your levels are within the theraputic levels, then 600mgs is ok. I was on 750mg and I'm 52kg, but my thyroid levels started to go a bit skewiff after a few years and the doctor wanted to cut it back to only 2 tablets a day which is 500 mg. Problem is that at the same time I decided to cut back on the anti depressant... and I've hit a major crash and have been virtually non functional for the last two weeks. So the doctor has decided to make a complicated combination of one slow release tablet at night, and a half a normal tablet during the day, making it about 625mg which is a bit less than what I was taking before. Cognitively, I felt much better on the lower dose but I'm willing to put up with that if I don't feel like I want to kill myself 24/7. Try it out when you feel safe is my best advice for you, I did the mistake of doing it when I was by myself and it was a disaster.

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