Restarting lithium?

I took. Lithium a few years ago for quite a while and never had. Any problems taking. I restated lithium a year ago and. I've been in hell dealing with a lot of side effects. I go to. Dr. Tuesday. And telling him to wean me off of it,

300 mg Lithium causes hair loss, thinning hair, has pork in it, causes acne, itchy skin, itchy irritated scalp, psoriasis, memory loss, high blood pressure... yes, Im experiencing ALL of these symptoms!!! And lithium interacts with Seroquel. Ive been to the emergency twice for chest pain, have high blood pressure, and have been diagnosed with a heart murmur. and am at risk for diabetes

Hi there,
Going off and on lithium may cause it to not work as well. My doctor told mr this. But everyone acrs differently he says. So hope all goes well for you.

Hi Bluedaisy,

I have been on Lithium for almost two years. After trying other meds that didn't help I chose to try Lithium regardless of the side effects. My side effects have been: shaky hands, lots of thirst, dry mouth and frequent urination. Which have gone away except the frequent urination. Although I have never been off it; I started off with 300mg and within 2 months was at 1500mg! (A little too fast, I thought) At 1500, I was dragging my feet and completely out of it; so the Dr. quickly reduced it to 1350mg.) Every time she would increase the dosage, the shakes got worse and within a couple of days got better. Oh! When I was first on 1350mg, I would often lose my balance... so please be aware that could be a side effect. It got better within a couple of weeks, but just to be on the safe side, my husband installed bars in the bathroom :)

I would ask your Dr. if you could start at 300mg, and maybe in a week go up to 600mg? Just a thought!

Good luck.

Hello bluedaisy913. 600mg is not a high dose in regards to lithium. A part of the dose is taken into consideration as to age, height, weight. Does can vary from 600mg, 900mg up to 1200mg and if needed, higher. More often than not the dose is taken once per day. As to side effects, a person will likely be experiencing them, simply because the drug works on ones blood levels and not being on the drug all be it a several weeks etc. the body's system will once again have to adapt to the lithium. (A persons lithium level is usually always held to between 0.5 and 1.0.Your level (blood test) will usually be taken after beginning the drug, about 7 to 9 days. Then, if a adjustment is needed, its done accordingly. Regards pledge