Lithium for Depression User Reviews (Page 2)

• Ste...
• November 14, 2015

"This medication, in combination with a med for sleep, alleviated me of suicidal ideation in a matter of one week inpatient. On the downside, I do feel quite flat, and the effects on my health are not able to be known this early on. The poor health feelings are usually due to the drug not being eliminated fast enough by your liver. I received minimal therapy and didn't experience life improvement, yet all bouts of suicidal depression are gone. Depression for me is now less severe and more transient."

• LAJ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 24, 2022

"I've been diagnosed with MDD, PTSD, GAD, and ADD. I've also had many inpatient hospitalizations over the past three years, this past one being my 22nd. I've tried many medications like Lamictal, Lexapro, Abilify, etc., none of which worked. My most recent medication was Risperdal 0.25 mg twice a day, which did not work either. The psychiatrist at the inpatient facility put me on lithium 300 mg twice a day, and it almost instantly worked, but not completely. He then raised it to 300 mg three times a day, which has been working perfectly. It's not a cure for me since I still have my work to do, so my depression is still there. But I can honestly say that my suicidal thoughts have decreased with this medication. The only side effect I've had is feeling fatigue for the first few days, but eventually it went away, and I feel a lot better than before."

• Can...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 19, 2017

"Effective at treating depression, however, it hit my kidneys and thyroid pretty hard as soon as I went up to adequate blood levels. Mind you, I am otherwise a healthy young male, so be careful with this med. Was on it for a few months, after stopping, my kidney and thyroid went back to normal. Now I just take 300 mg a day, and my lithium levels are not where they should be, but I think it still helps a bit at a low dose without the serious side effects. I also take lithium orotate, which supposedly passes the blood-brain barrier and requires just a fraction of lithium in the blood, eliminating the usual side effect. That is still up for debate, though, and I encourage you to do your own research, but user reviews for lithium orotate seem to be excellent."

• Moo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 26, 2020

"Used lithium liquid form for 1 month and then 700 mg capsule daily for 8 months. Experienced: brain on fire, confusion, unable to: speak, think, and slow mental physical reaction. Woke up shaking. Urinated very frequently. Drank lots of water to reduce the side effects and symptoms. Smoked a lot more cigarettes. Felt like so sick. Drooled and moved very slow. Felt like a zombie. Had muscle weakness. Paranoid thinking. Made me very confessional. Been off this chemical for 3 months and can now write, think, and move faster again. I had reconnected with God. The only positive was finding God and praying for life again. I was just a spirit in a body that would barely function."

• Pet...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 19, 2020

"Been on lithium for about 4-5 months for depression. I feel like a zombie, as my emotions are completely flat, and I shuffle when I walk. I have lost all my muscle strength and feel exhausted all the time. I had high hopes for this medication as I have failed on all of the SSRIs and atypical mood stabilizers I've been prescribed. The psychiatrist thinks I have developed a condition known as tardive dysphoria. This condition develops as a result of chronic treatment with antidepressants. I have been on one SSRI or another for 25 years. The symptoms of tardive dysphoria are anxiety, irritability, depression, apathy, uneasiness, restlessness, and dissatisfaction with self and life. The word tardive indicates that the dysphoria is late onset. My life has been a living nightmare since this started over 2 years ago. Therefore, I was so hopeful that lithium would give me my life back again."

• Kri...
• January 10, 2015

"Even though it's not used for the treatment of OCD, it took mine away completely, as well as significantly cleared up my depression. About a year after being on it, I became extremely thirsty, drinking two liters a day and urinating frequently. I have had to since come off it, and symptoms have returned."

• Koa...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 20, 2017

"Have been on lithium for years. Have to be careful of the heat, hot baths, or working up a sweat, as the heat affects lithium in your body. I’m on lithium SR, it’s kinder than Lithicarb. I had no side effects on the extended release. On the lithium, I drank liters of water, felt sick to my stomach for days, but on the extended release, there were almost no side effects. It's lithium but sustained release, not so hard."

• Jay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 23, 2021

"This medicine is magic, give it a try if you're bipolar. I'm bipolar 1, I'm no longer having mania or mixed states, and my depression is 96% gone. I'm not having breakdowns or suicidal tendencies anymore. I feel stable and able to function after so long."

• fib...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 8, 2018

"I have treatment-resistant severe major depressive disorder, PTSD, and OCD. I was on lithium for less than a month when I developed lithium toxicity, it is unknown how this happened. I was in the hospital for 3 days to flush my system out. Next to Cymbalta, lithium is the worst experience I've had with a psych med. I have been on over 20 different meds for my mental health, and they do not work for me. Next up, electro-convulsive therapy."

• Kat...
• July 21, 2023

"I call Lithium the miracle drug for myself. I started Lithium two years ago for depression and suicidal thoughts. I find Lithium to help somewhat with depression, and no suicidal thoughts. I have struggled with depression for years and tried different medications, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, none of them have been as effective as Lithium. Lithium has helped the most with my suicidal thoughts more than any other drug I’ve been prescribed. My suicidal thoughts are nonexistent. I have hardly any side effects and if so, very minor. My depression is still a struggle, but my quality of life is better. I stay very active in life. Forever grateful for Lithium, will always call it the miracle drug. I’m hopeful for the future. Lithium gave me my life back."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 10, 2021

"I just started lithium on August 7th, 2021, and now it’s August 11th. Today I’m starting to feel some effect of lithium. I cannot believe it. I still have a ways to go, but I feel better than I have in the past year. I’ve been depressed for about a year now, tried medications, lots of psychotherapy, PHP, and got put in inpatient. I continued to feel depressed and have suicidal thoughts. It seemed as nothing was working. After four days of lithium, I’m starting to feel better. I cannot wait to see how much more it helps in the next few months! I’m nervous about the side effects, but I’m hopeful that I will continue to get better. Lithium is a miracle drug for me. If you’re struggling, or you know someone who’s struggling, I highly recommend you bring up lithium to your doctor. I will keep you updated on my experience with lithium. Thank you!"

• Mik...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 27, 2023

"When my mother died in 2009, they sent me to a mental health clinic where I was prescribed lithium, Abilify, and Klonopin. These medications almost killed me. I was afraid to be around people. I didn’t go outside. The medication changed my life for the worse, I started being paranoid everywhere. It made me want to kill myself. I couldn’t go to family functions. I didn’t even go outside. My grandchildren were afraid of me. Everyone said I was crazy, but I knew something else was wrong, and it took me a while to figure out it was that the medication was then the reason for my actions. I knew that’s what it was because it almost caused me to harm my grandchildren, and I knew if I was in my right mind due to the medication, I would never have tried to hurt anyone. I figured it out while looking at a TV commercial about lithium and Abilify. I tried to tell everyone something was wrong, and this proved it. Stop taking these meds, they are deadly. I will never take these again."

• Fre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 23, 2020

"Seemed to work for a week, and at 2 weeks in, then it stopped. Gradually became more depressed than I ever was, developed anxiety, and became very irritable. Got worse the higher the dose (2 increases, 200-600 mg & 600-800 mg). Nasty side effects, felt flat, not happy or sad, but still 'low.' Couldn't laugh or cry. Awful acne. Reading other reviews, I thought people were vain, but it's that bad-whole face, neck, arms, and chest to the point of people asking, what is wrong with your skin! I also had tremors, double vision, weight gain, feeling like you're not there, slow mental function, memory loss, ringing in ears, and insomnia. Still having side effects 5 days after stopping-only on it for 9 weeks!"

• Pan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 9, 2019

"Serious cognitive problems surfacing after three weeks, trouble recalling a word, name, or phrase. This has never happened to me... talking to my doctor today. It’s like fast onset Alzheimer’s. Terrifying. Only other side effect is nausea, which means I can’t eat during the day."

• Kyl...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 25, 2016

"Was on it for over a month. Made me extremely sad, much more than usual, and caused some constant, very scary suicidal ideation. When I went off it, I felt better, (as better as I can be), immediately."

• Luc...
• July 8, 2016

"I took this drug in combination with Zoloft and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, and ever since then, my ability to write and create has just not been the same. I have been off of these drugs for a few months, and these things have not returned to normal, which is quite distressing. Unfortunately, it's impossible to tell if this problem resulted from the lithium, the Zoloft, the TMS, or some combination of all three. Regardless of its effect on my capacity for written expression, I did not experience any relief from this medication. For instance, lithium is supposed to reduce suicidal thoughts, but I did not notice any decrease in these feelings or inclinations at all; nor did it help with sadness, motivation, etc."

• chr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 19, 2017

"I was on venlafaxine and Seroquel for about a year, and since it wasn't making much difference to my emotional state nor reducing suicidal ideation, my doctor removed the Seroquel and replaced it with lithium. The first two weeks of being on it were possibly the worst two weeks of my life. In that time, I slept no more than two hours a night, some nights not sleeping at all. I was incredibly suicidal, and my skin all over my body itched. After those two weeks, it seemed to flip like a switch, and suddenly all I could do was sleep. I'm still on it a few months later, and while the negative side effects have calmed down, I don't feel it has improved my mood at all. If anything, it's made it flatter."

• vic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 22, 2020

"Lithium is an awful drug. I was forced to take it during my first hospitalization, and immediately I started getting awful tremors in my hands. It got so bad that often I couldn’t write. This happened to pretty much everyone who took it, so they were referred to as “lithium shakes.” If you had shaky hands, the first thing a person would ask was, “How’s the lithium treating you?” I also started getting these jolts that felt like I was being momentarily electrocuted. I would usually drop whatever I was holding, and once it was so bad that I fell. On top of that, it did absolutely nothing for my depression. I give it 0/10."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 12, 2024

"So I have been prescribed lithium for a few months now. I have major depressive disorder, and I used to get really bad crying spells, where I would cry more frequently than others. Since being prescribed lithium, I feel way more calm and at ease. It has helped my depression symptoms tremendously. Like seriously, lithium gave me my life back. I was originally prescribed 150 mg a day, now I'm taking 150 mg twice a day. This medicine has helped me to be my happy self again, and for that, I couldn't be more grateful!"

• Owl...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 7, 2017

"I've been on 75 mg venlafaxine and 60 mg mirtazapine for quite some time, with generally good results. Though my depressive symptoms were largely improved, I remained suicidal and lacking motivation in life. I recently added 300 mg of lithium carbonate and have noticed some improvement with the suicidality. My main complaint is that I am less socially engaging, as if there is nothing to talk about, I could just be quiet most of the day. My mood is relatively flat, I'm not sure if I will take it for long, but it is worth a try."

• Hum...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 18, 2019

"Taking this med tells me a bit more about my mental illness. Being diagnosed as bipolar 2, which I absolutely don’t believe anymore. After Li, my doctor prescribed me this after a long trial with lamictal that didn’t work. I was on lamictal for 11 months, and it never really helped with depression. I have been on 300 mg ER lithium for 3 weeks, and then 450 for 5 days. Made me hypersomniac, horrible brain fog, more sensitive to thoughts, depressed, no motivation, and always tired! Anxiety and occasional panic attacks still linger. I am already tapering down to 225 mg. I don’t think this will work out. It makes me feel flat and just as or more depressed than being unmedicated. Mood stabilizers don’t work for me. At this point, I’d rather try an antipsychotic over Depabloat."

• Ran...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 28, 2022

"The only true 'mood stabilizer.' I've tried over a dozen medications thus far, and lithium was the only one to truly work. It completely slashed my suicidal thoughts and removed my mood swings. It hasn't helped my anhedonia, but it levels out the playing field."

• Jes...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 30, 2021

"I’ve used lithium for about a year, and it’s been a lifesaver. It took around 2 months to completely work for me, I have a mix of psychiatric problems, and it deals with them nicely with minimal side effects."

• Eff...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 27, 2016

"I have life-long treatment-resistant depression and I'm taking an SNRI, recently started lithium carbonate as augmentation. It just makes me very tired at the starting dose. Although I'll try, I don't expect increasing the dose will help, and feeling so tired is very counterproductive for me. Also, have the typical thirst and no appetite. If it causes weight gain, that will make it even worse."

• Hot...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 27, 2020

"I was hopeful that this lithium medication would have helped me with depression, but it caused my thyroid levels to increase. For the short time I was taking lithium, it sort of helped with the lingering depression, but that's it."