Does anyone get numbness and tingling to their hands and fingers or many their feet and toes? So far this is really my only issue, but neuropathy isn’t exactly great if it progresses. I work a job that’s uses fine hand motor skills at times. I’m getting my level checked early on Monday.

Currently on 750mg of Lithium daily. Will drop a tablet for a couple of weeks, then drop another etc etc but how do I titrate the last tablet (250mg). Do I have half for a week, and then every other day and then drop it? Or is it a low enough dose that I can drop it straight away? First time being on Lithium and Psychiatrist didn’t give too much info - my bad for not clarifying with him though. Also, what can I expect withdrawal wise? Cheers

Does anybody know if you’re allowed take ashwaganda while on lithium?

I took lithium for an extended period of time until I reached toxicity and then stopped it.

I developed interstitial cystitis (pee problems) and secondary polycythemia (elevated hemoglobin and hematocrit) in 2018.
I stopped lithium that January 2018 but never thought about the year correlation as I was diagnosed later on in the year with the other stuff.

My doctors haven't been able to identify a cause for either issue.

Urine is made by the kidneys and my polycythemia is suggesting itself as a kidney issue which lead me to wonder if maybe both of these issues were caused by kidney lithium damage.

I am not trying to badmouth lithium at all, it did wonders for me until my body couldn't handle the dose and it helps millions. I am just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience and maybe those long term side effects should be added to the list.
Idk \_(@.@)_/

Body feels like on fire. Awful sleep disturbances. Muscles weak. Can’t lift weights or excersize.

from 600mg to 300mg to quickly then to 150mg.

Any suggestions? Is this toxicity or withdrawal?

Appreciate your insight and help and any experience.

BP 1 male 50 Have been on Lithium Carbonate only for 4 months after recent m episode. Have taken lithium for years on and off prior. Never had these symptoms. Doc wanted me at 600 mg, but I’m trying to get to only 150mg, especially during this depressed phase.

Has anyone gone through pregnancy on lithium? I am on 400mg so not the largest dose. I am also on Effexor and lamictical.

My psychiatrist said lithium was totally fine during pregnancy, and the plan was to wean down to just one med. That med being lithium because it's most effective for me.

My current daughter's developmental pediatrician asked if I was going to stop the lithium. I am currently 5 weeks pregnant and at my first OB appointment my doctor said "well obviously you'll stop the lithium". I wasn't planning too but now I'm very anxious about taking it. I'm going to get into my psychiatrist as soon as I can.

But I wanted to hear anyone else's experience, did you wean before pregnancy? During pregnancy? Did you have a successful pregnancy while on lithium?

Hello, looking for hope and reassurance. I have severe OCD and suicidal ideation and I take 60 mg Prozac which I just switched too and hasn’t helped yet. I also take buspar. My doc added 300mg lithium on Friday. 6 days ago, when can I expect to see relief. He said 2-4 days but it hasn’t helped yet 😭😭😭

Hello thanks for the welcome into the group my name is Josh. Recently I had a stay in hospital that lasted nearly 2 months. There I was diagnosed with F31 bipolar affective disorder. After been diagnosed I was put onto lithium 400mg then soon onto 800mg.

I would just like to know if there's anything I should expect using this medication or if anybody on the same dose as me has been effected by any side effects.

I'm keen to learn as much as I can about this medication I'm 29yr old male with no health conditions. I have not experienced any side effects yet just been a bit light headed at times.

Any info would be great and appreciated.

Kind regards. Josh

Hi all. Our loved one has been slowly tapering off of lithium for over a year and has severe manic episodes almost every month. Has anyone else experienced this? Any recommendations?

Hi! I really hope this isn't too controversial of a topic here. I was hoping to hear from people with similar experiences.

Before I started taking lithium, I tried shrooms once and it was a really nice therapeutic experience. Now I'm on lithium and those two substances should not be taken together apparently (for risk of seizures), and this makes me quite sad as it really helped me mental health wise last time.

I was wondering if there's people with similar situations, and what they ended up doing. Just give up on the chance of taking psilocybin ever again? Maybe it is a possibility to go off lithium (or just take a lower dose) for two weeks or so and that would make it safe enough? I don't know. I do know that getting back on lithium (for me at least) means several weeks of bad side effects. In general I just wish there was more known about the interactions and risks between these substances...

Hello everyone I just got prescribed 300mg of lithium yesterday and started last night. I didn’t have any side effects so far or is it too early to tell?? I’m also on 112.5mg of Effexor. Has anyone else had experience with these two together?? I’ve read up on lithium and tbh the side effects are terrifying. The thyroid issues, the kidney issues, the tremors, and the frequent urination omg the list goes on and on😭😭😭 I’ve also read a lot of the threads here in the Reddit community does anyone have good things to say about lithium and the this dose? What are your experiences and side effects? Has it helped with your irritability? That’s the main reason I got it prescribed. TIA😁

My husband has just started (on day 2) Lithium Carbonate (600mg at night). He's also on Wellbutrin (300mg in the AM) and Latuda (20mg at night). General diagnosis is BP2, Depression and PTSD. Trying to be hopeful that the Lithium will help with his SI and overall help stabilize his mood and anxiety.

Any suggestions from folks who have been on Lithium for a while now on how to manage this medication best? So far i've read drinking lots of water and trying to take the medication at the same time (or near) each day, not too much caffeine. Also, how long did it take until you started to feel a positive difference?

Any other things y'all can suggest would be appreciated! He's been in a depressive state for almost 9 months now and we really need a breakthrough. Thanks.

** update day 3 ** he’s only been able to sleep in 1 hour spurts and really not getting more than like 3-4 hours of sleep. Anyone have this reaction as well? Should we ask the doc to change to taking it during the day?

** update day 5 ** added magnesium before bed and has been able to sleep better. Has some like shakiness in his hands during the day now though.

Thank you to all commenting and helping me/us navigate this 🫶

I used to be way more social before lithium. Now all I wanna do is stay in my room alone. I have nothing to contribute to conversations; I can't crack jokes or say anything remotely interesting. I'm socially awkward too and I've embarassed myself more times than I can count. I don't enjoy social interaction as much, if at all (except with my boyfriend and best friend, but even those have changed). My social life is basically dead. I'm taking this especially hard because I used to be pretty extroverted. Has anyone experienced this on lithium?

Hi everyone, a bit of an odd question but has anyone noticed a change in their alcohol tolerance after discontinuing Lithium? I have discontinued both lithium and bupropion at the same time so it could be either, but basically I am VERY tipsy after only 2 small beers while I used to have a super high tolerance (even annoyingly so) while on meds (I know I shouldn't have taken alcohol with meds). Just curious if this has happened to anyone else as it feels counterintuitive post discontinuation! Thanks

I've been on 300mg of lithium for 14 months and it's been working great, however it's caused issues with my gallbladder so my doctor and I decided it would be best to wean and cross taper off of it and onto something else. I'm a little nervous as lithium has helped my depression, but mostly my mania. Can anyone tell me what to expect (side effects etc.) while making this change? I'd appreciate it.

I used to have the most trippy dreams on my antiphycotics and I actually enjoyed most of them but I been on lithium for a few months now and now I barely renember any dreams anymore. I can put up with it for the benefit it brings me but was just wondering if anyone has had a simular situation with there dreams

This is so weird I know but I’ve been dealing with it for a while

Hello! I've been using lithium for about 3 years now because of my borderline personality disorder. Started in the middle of 2021 in a deep depression season and didn't stopped until last week. At the time, I weighed around 132lbs/143lbs (60kg-65kg). I lost a lot of weight at the time due to depression.

Ok, time has passed. In the start 2023, I was with the same weight and wearing pants number 4 or 6 (eua numbers). Time was passing and I was getting bigger and bigger.

Ok, I need to share that, in this time, I ate a lot of junk food, didn't exercise, and also, started to take another medicine (I was already taking others at the same time, but started a new one).

But, in one year and a half I went from 132lbs/143lbs to something like 198lbs/209lbs (from 60kg /65kg to 90kg/95kg). From wearing pants 4 or 6, now I'll need to buy 14. My doctor said it was lithium, but the problem is the weight gain started in 2023, one year and a half after starting to take it.

The med I started in that time was Rexulti (brexpiprazole).

Could it be just lithium? Should I insist on search about rexulti? Someone suffered from weight gain? That much?

Thank you so much!

I got diagnosed bipolar 1 in July, and started lithium on the 10th of July. Slowly went up on my dose until I hit where I was supposed to be on the 20th of august. Did blood levels and all that. Last one, two weeks ago, I was at 0,6 mmol. A bit on the lower side according to my doc, but she didn't want me on a higher dose. Now, I would say my depression was lowered by 80% by the lithium. Such a relief! But this past week, the depression has been back with a vengeance. Like the lithium isn't working at all. So bloody disheartening. 😫 can it just stop working like that? Or could I have done something to lower the blood levels or what? I don't get. It felt so good to be almost nornal/stable! And now back to this black shit. 😫 have sent a message to my doc obviously, just wanted to hear if anyone had any similar experiences. ❤️

I recently switched from 1350mg of immediate release to 600mg of extended release. I feel like it is not as effective. Has anyone else switched? Which do you prefer? I don’t know if I should go back to IR or not.

I switched because I am often very forgetful or sometimes just don’t eat. I was supposed to be splitting my dose twice a day, but I would forget or not eat. If I don’t eat something with it, then I get extremely nauseous and often end up vomiting.

I wasn’t taking my full dose for almost 3 months, but I still felt better taking a small dose of the IR a week than I do with the full dose of the ER.

Is it too early to tell? Should I keep giving it a chance? I feel kinda stuck rn and any advice or words of wisdom would be helpful. Thanks in advance :)

Hi I’m looking for some advice, started on 150 mg and my sleep has been all jacked up, tossing and turning all night until around 4-5 when i actually finally get some sleep. I just tried to switch to the day and oh no that was bad, I was so disconnected from my body, foggy headed, jittery. It’s only been 5 days since I started this med. and really can’t take it during the day now that I tested it and night time I don’t sleep peacefully. Will it take a few weeks? I also have hydroxyzine for sleep but that barely works as it is and using unisom to actually make me sleepy

I read somewhere that magnesium could be a beneficial add-on. Thought I’d give it a try to see if would help my depression since lithium alone hasn’t done it yet. I started having some bad gastrointestinal stuff and I’m not sure if it was from adding the magnesium or just something I ate. I don’t think it’s just the lithium since I’ve been tolerating that well and haven’t changed dosage or anything. Also interested in hearing anything else from anyone that’s tried the combo.

I have been on Lithium for more than a year (I think) and I have just ignored the diarreah issue, because I was so glad to be stable. It starting to annoy me a lot lately! My bloodwork is good so it doesn't really make sense for me. I struggle with breakfast so I end up feeling sick no matter what.

The big question is if anyone has had the same issue and found some sort of solution???

Thank you beforehand.

Ever since starting lithium I've been getting a ton of cavities. Could this be caused by the lithium?

So been on lithium and seroquel for a year or so for bipolar depression. Has stopped being effective so my doc told me to try latuda and lithium. Slowly tapering off Seroquel and raising my Latuda dose. So far the latuda has been amazing (knock on wood). Only been on 20mg for a week and already feeling better.

Butttt (there’s always a but with me), i’m noticing i’m getting a little akathisia. I am on two antipsychotics since i’m still tapering off seroquel. Could it be the cause of some restlessness and twitching?. I really feel like it’s helping so id hate to raise the dose eventually and the akathisia to get worse and i have to cut it.

all opinions are welcome <3

Since last night I’ve been nauseous and in excruciating abdominal pain.

Been throwing up on the hour and can’t keep down liquids or any food. It’s now time for my lithium dose but I can’t keep anything down, and would never take it on an empty stomach.

I’m super dehydrated, have the shakes, hot flashes, cold flashes, along with the pain and vomiting.

Is this a sign of toxicity? And should I go to the hospital? Or, am I just having a stomach bug? Regardless I’m too dehydrated to take my dose IMO, any advice?

lithium made me gain 80lbs and it feels like nothing works to lose weight. i eat healthy and the same as before i gained the weight. i have considered going to the gym again but doctors advise to not do heavy labor / sweat while on lithium. ive also seen people say they get sick when working out. unsure of what to do to lose weight! im also afraid to switch medications due to major side effects.

I read many stories here of people wo suffer from hair loss on Lithium and discontinued it because of that.

I'm on 800 mg Lithium since August. I'm bald since my twenties. Didn't like it obviously.

I just wanted to say: This is the first time in my life, that im glad to be bald.

Take this, Lithium! Can't hurt me with that !

Thank you.