![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by ricker on November 7, 2008, at 14:21:31
I can tolerate 300mgs of lithium maximum.
Question, If another mood stablizer is added at therapeutic range, will the lithium serve any purpose, or is the dose just too low? Note; when I was on lithium, I could only get to 600mg and the tremors were somewhat intolerable. I believe my blood serum level was 6.4 ?? on 600mgs?Thanks for your thoughts.
Best, Rick
Posted by azalea on November 7, 2008, at 15:32:20
In reply to Lithium - 300mg? -- Question, posted by ricker on November 7, 2008, at 14:21:31
Low-dose lithium is effective as an augmenting agent, even if blood levels are not therapeutic.
See this blog entry by Dr. Jim Phelps . . .
http://www.psycheducation.com/2007/12/value-of-low-dose-lithium.html"In summary: low-dose lithium is a great medication. It is inexpensive, and under these circumstances can often be taken with no side effects at all. The risk to one's thyroid production is still there, and long-term monitoring of kidney safety is still warranted (although that risk is likely to be much lower with the lower dose)."
> I can tolerate 300mgs of lithium maximum.
> Question, If another mood stablizer is added at therapeutic range, will the lithium serve any purpose, or is the dose just too low? Note; when I was on lithium, I could only get to 600mg and the tremors were somewhat intolerable. I believe my blood serum level was 6.4 ?? on 600mgs?
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>
> Best, Rick
>
Posted by Phillipa on November 7, 2008, at 17:02:22
In reply to Re: Lithium - 300mg? -- Question » ricker, posted by azalea on November 7, 2008, at 15:32:20
Yup worked with a pdoc who didn't monitor levels let lots stay at low levels. Worked too. Phillipa
Posted by psyclist on November 10, 2008, at 15:45:13
In reply to Lithium - 300mg? -- Question, posted by ricker on November 7, 2008, at 14:21:31
> I can tolerate 300mgs of lithium maximum.
> Question, If another mood stablizer is added at therapeutic range, will the lithium serve any purpose, or is the dose just too low? Note; when I was on lithium, I could only get to 600mg and the tremors were somewhat intolerable. I believe my blood serum level was 6.4 ?? on 600mgs?
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>
> Best, Rick
Hi Rick, you say your tremors were somewhat intolerable - on 600mg? - taken at once? - for how long did you persevere with 600mg? When you say 'somewhat intolerable' what do you mean? I assume you do not mean that it was 'absolutely intolerable'. What are you taking the lithium for? Maybe if you persevered with 600mg for a while longer the tremors (hand tremors?) would diminish as your body aclimatised to the lithium. Just an idea... 6.4 blood serum level on 600mg is quite plausible. I have a history of 30 years of lithium in the range of 800 to 1000mg. At 800mg I had a serum level of about 8 going up higher on 900 and 1000. I have a slight hand tremor, scarcely noticeable on my present dose of 900mg. I would be interested to know just how bad your hand tremor is. Can you hold a cup of coffee without spilling it? If you can't then I would class that as intolerable. At 6.4 I would say you are just approaching the therapeutic range. I am glad lithium at this low dose can still be of benefit to you, though it sounds as though you would like to be shot of the lithium. It does not work for everyone. I do not know what 'scars' I carry from my protracted use of this drug. Good luck!Alan
Posted by desolationrower on November 10, 2008, at 17:11:49
In reply to Re: Lithium - 300mg? -- Question, posted by psyclist on November 10, 2008, at 15:45:13
I like this approach. You can get the symptoms under control by taking several drugs, but avoid the side effects from a high dose of just one of them. Downside is it can be confusing not knowing just what all of them are doing.
-D/R
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.