Posted by Bob on August 31, 2009, at 0:01:54
In reply to Going back to old-school - lithium., posted by SLS on July 3, 2009, at 6:42:30
> Lithium. I hate that damned drug. It has always made me feel worse. At 600mg, it flattens me out, makes me more numb to my surroundings, pacifies me, and takes away just about everything that makes Scott Scott. I've run out of ideas, though. I guess I am reaching for anything at this point. I am only going to take 300mg (150mg twice a day). I started it yesterday. I already feel the numbing pacifying stuff happening. It is disgusting. However, the folks up at Harvard determined that the range of efficacy when using lithium FOR DEPRESSION as an adjunct to antidepressants is 300-600mg. (At this low dosage, lithium does little to act as a true mood stabilizer). One thing nice about using lithium in this role is that if it is going to work at all, it usually begins to show results within 2 weeks. Most often, results are seen during the first week. One thing that I keep in mind is that, although the few manias I had have been drug-induced, their severity (psychosis) places me closer to the Bipolar I category. Lithium is particularly effective for this type of bipolar illness. I have been stuck at about a 35% improvement for quite awhile now. My brain will just not allow for a more robust improvement.
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Scott,I may have missed it, but what specific symptoms or situation brought you around to giving the lithium a go? Were you experiencing instability, or maybe the AD cocktail just wasn't making you feel as good as you thought it could be? I guess stated another way I'm wondering if you were looking for a 'smoothing out' or maybe an actual augmenting boost to your antidepressants?
Bob
poster:Bob
thread:904699
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090826/msgs/914997.html