Lithium for Depression User Reviews (Page 2)

• maybe...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 4, 2023

"I was prescribed this because I was extremely suicidal, though I don't have bipolar disorder. Dose varied from 750-900 mg during my treatment. I was on it for about a year when I was 16 (21 now), and it completely wrecked my body. It didn't help me at all. I gained 25 lbs in the first 5 months, was brought up to 900 mg, and then lost the weight, and my dose didn't change. I developed hypothyroidism initially, and was treated for that. Then they said I had diabetes insipidus and polydipsia. My kidneys were filtering out too much water, apparently. My fingers would turn white and tingle even in warm weather. They finally took me off the stuff when I developed hyperparathyroidism. This is considered the gold standard for bipolar, but I felt like crap all the time on this drug, and I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy."

• Hambone
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 5, 2019

"Lithium takes the edge off my moods without intolerable side effects. It will not make me "happy," any more than the other prescriptions I have tried, but I doubt that's what any of them are really intended for. I have fewer suicidal thoughts, or at least the emotions accompanying them are less acute, more measured and rational. (Yes, it's perfectly possible to be both rational and have suicidal thoughts.) The main side effects have been fatigue and odd dreams. If I increase the dose I expect, based on past Rx experiences, to feel less stressed but more drugged. That is a tradeoff I will have to consider. I can't predict what I will decide. Given the extremely low cost of lithium and its widely acknowledged benefits in even small doses, I may just stick to the latter and accept the modest results that accrue."

• Steve...
• November 14, 2015

"This medication, in combination with a med for sleep, alleviated me of suicidal ideation in 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."

• Pete
• 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 SSRI'S 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 so hopeful that lithium would give me my life back again."

• Katir...
• 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."

• fibro...
• 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."

• Canada
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 19, 2017

"Effective at treating depression, however 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, kidney and thyroid went back to normal. Now I just take 300mg 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 blood brain barrier and requires just a fraction of lithium in the blood, eliminating the usual side effect. That is still up for debate thou and I encourage you to do your own research but user reviews for lithium orotate seem to be excellent."

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

"This medicine is magic give it a try if your 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."

• 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 .25 mg twice a day. Which did not work either. The psychiatrist at the inpatient facility put me on Lithium 300mg 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 been 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."

• Kristys
• 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 symtoms have returned."

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

"Seemed to work for a week at 2 weeks in, then it stopped. Gradually BECAME MORE DEPRESSED then I ever was, developed anxiety and very irritable got worse the higher the dose (2 increases, 200-600mg & 600-800mg) 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 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 & insomnia. Still having side affects 5 days after stopping only on it for 9 weeks!"

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

"I just started Lithium 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!"

• Lucy
• 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."

• Koala...
• 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 effects 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 litres of water, felt sick to my stomach for days but extended release there was almost no side effects. Its lithium but sustained release, not so hard."

• Panda
• 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 dr today. It’s like fast onset Alzheimer’s. Terrifying. Only other side effect is nausea which means I can’t eat during the day."

• chrl
• 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 that 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."

• Humon...
• 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 didn’t work. I was on lamictal for 11 months and it never really helped with depression. I have been on 300mg 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 & occasional panic attacks still linger. I am already tapering down to 225mg. I don’t think this will work out. It makes me feel flat & 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."

• vicor...
• 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"

• Charles
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 18, 2018

"Went to see my psychiatrist and I was a little down because of stuff that's been going on in my life. He said I was going through a depression and prescribed me lithium. I started at 300mg daily with the aim of reaching 900mg after three weeks. The experience has not been a good one so far. My brain is in a constant chemical fog and I lost my mind's sharpness. Everything is more difficult : walking, thinking, talking... I slowed to a crawl and lost my natural love for Life. I took it upon myself to reduce the dosage and withdrawal has been painful. Serious mood swings and thinking impairment. I can't wait for the drug to be out of my system for good. P.S. I take it alongside Risperdal and Celexa, so perhaps the side effects were due to a combination. Your mileage may vary."

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

"I've been on 75mg venlafaxine and 60mg 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 300mg 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."

• Rando...
• 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."

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

"I have life-long treatment resistant depression and I'm taking a 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."

• Jesse
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 30, 2021

"I’ve used lithium for about a year and it’s been a life saver. 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."

• Xxxxxx
• July 10, 2021

"Misdiagnosed as “bipolar” by campus MD simply Because depression and anxiety didn’t respond to SSRIs. Depression got *MUCH* worse for 3 months. After new doctor reduced and came off Lithium, things got astonishingly better within about 2 weeks. Long story short - ask/watch for these things: 1. Is this really bipolar - or just “depression/anxiety” ? 2. Are they running a CORRECT Lithium level?? (Timing is critical here???) 3. Check your thyroid? Hypothyroidism can add to depression. 3. Experiencing “cognitive dulling?” - high-flying brainiac college student who now can’t even think straight can add to depression? Couple of things changed to when or after Lithium was added - like starting a low dose of Lamotragine, and Clonapin for anxiety - and finishing a COVID-locked-down isolating freshman college year - but all was still TERRIBLE and getting worse. Then the Lithium was stopped - and that is what finally made things suddenly become abruptly better!"

• Hot_P...
• 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."