On lithium need advice

[lifeoriley]

Does anyone know the bp meds that can be prescribed with lithium? I'm bipolar and found that the diuretics caused my body to retain too much llithium. Maybe someone out there can recommend a drug or combination that works with lithium. My reg doc seems to think the diuretic wont cause a problem, but since my last visit my lithium level went sky high so I disocntinued the diuretic.

[Mari526]

That's a tough question because most bp meds will shift lithium levels. There are two meds both beta blockers that don't appear to interact with lithium, I did a drug interaction check. You can ask your MD about : Visken (generic name is Pindolol) or Inderal ( generic name Propanolol).

[WYSIWYG]

Originally Posted by lifeoriley

Does anyone know the bp meds that can be prescribed with lithium? I'm bipolar and found that the diuretics caused my body to retain too much llithium. Maybe someone out there can recommend a drug or combination that works with lithium. My reg doc seems to think the diuretic wont cause a problem, but since my last visit my lithium level went sky high so I disocntinued the diuretic.

Shouldn't you make decisions like that in cooperation with your doc? Did he know your lithium level went up? What did the doc who prescribed and presumably is tracking your lithium say about the diuretic? Do these two docs communicate at all?

~Susan

[lifeoriley]

Thankfully through diet and exercise, I am maintaining a blood pressure below 120/80 so I don't need the drugs for now.

My HMO doctor prescribed me the diuretic knowing full well that I was taking lithium. He said it was ok, which shows his familiarity with lithium.

My Pdoc got my blood results and told me to go off lithium immediately. Since I had been on the same dose of lithium for almost 3 years, I knew it was the diuretic that caused the high lithium level.

The way I dealt with it was to stop the High Blood pressure diuretics. I was simply asking for advice on other hypertension drugs here so I can go into the doctor when I need to with some recommendations for him to consider. Being bipolar puts me in a category that not all HMO docs deal with. And no, they do not communicate, both have more patients than they can handle and I relay information between the two.