for anyone with experience with lithium-

[stellarlunacy]

i recently posted here asking a question, and as i said in that post, i had an appointment with my doctor to discuss the idea of a medication regime (i am type 1 and have never been medicated for it). it went well, and after talking about a few stabilizers, he decided that lithium would be the best place to start. he was pretty thorough in explaining the chemical functions and how it works, which was awesome. but my doctor isn't manic depressive and couldn't tell me much more about it other than that. so, a few questions:

1. my doctor mentioned that i should go on a low sodium diet to prevent possible damage to my kidneys and liver. i am already a vegetarian and don't eat any meat or dairy products, but other than that, i'm a bit lost as to what constitutes "low sodium." any ideas?

2. after taking it, how did you feel? how long did it take to regulate in your system so you knew if it was working or not?

3. i am EXTREMELY fixated on my weight and health, and i really don't want to start a weight battle with a medication. i'm fairly active (not as much as i usually am, due to the cold weather) but i don't think i could mentally handle body changes like that. i work too hard on my body to feel comfortable gaining more than a few pounds over this, and i literally mean just a few pounds. how many people (who are at least moderately active and eat right) have had weight gain problems on lithium? was it easy enough to manage your weight while on it?

4. bad question, but i'm going to ask it anyway, just so i know for any possible future scenarios: what are the effects of smoking marijuana while on lithium? he is stopping me at 600mgs (the first few weeks i'll only be on 30mgs daily), but if there is even a slight chance that it is going to have a bad interaction with the lithium, i need to know so i don't do it.

[BipolarBear75]

I have been on Lithium for five years. While I have been on quite a lot of other meds...Lithium has been my saving grace. I love it and my pdoc keeps telling me it is my "oxygen". It is true....it seems to work right off the bat....I had climbed to 600 mg a day to now 1500 mg a day. I can feel it in the day when I haven't taken it.

I found the weight gain on Lithium to be the least....than anything out there! I gained under 10 lbs at first but quickly lost it all without trying.

I only put salt on certain veggies...but I was never told I needed to modify my salt intake.

I don't think you should smoke weed at all not because the lithium but because smoking could bring out paranoia which will make your lithium have to work harder anyway....that is like counteracting your meds. I stay away from that as well as those energy drinks.

[tazmania799]

I've been on Lithium for 8 years, 300 mg twice a day.  Because my psychiatrist has me on a "subtherapeutic dose", I don't have to get blood draws.  The lithium has really stabilized my mood over the years.  But it might also be because I'm taking 2mg Klonopin every night.  Together, they have kept me from cycling and I've not had a manic episode in 3 years.

One side effect I've found distressing is EXCESS SALIVA.  I'm always swallowing a mouthful and occasionally choke on it.  I spit when I talk (very embarrassing).  My doc never told me that could be a side effect.

[Xila31]

1) Make sure you stay hydrated with Lithium. Drinking pleanty of water will help your kidneys. Not sure about low sodium. When I started lithium I was not told to have a low sodium diet

2) For the first week or two I felt the same. The 2nd week I felt better for a few weeks, but then some stressors in my life happened and I was not able to find balance on the lithium after that. It made my hands tremble and I always felt scattered.

3) I think with a healthy diet and exercise you should be okay. One psychologist told me she thinks that one thing with weight gain and bipolar (her theory only,) is that when you've been manic for so long and you start being stable you are moving around less and eating regularly. I'm not sure I agree since I'm over weight all by myself without help from meds. >.>

4) I would talk to a pharmacist about this question. Also any vitamins you may be taking. It's always better safe than sorry to list every last chemical if you are concerned about reactions.

[thatquietgirl]

1. Drink lots of water, and you can probably continue just fine on the diet you're on.  Unless you're putting like five cups of salt on your food or something, lol.  Go for your blood draws every few months (if your doctor doesn't do them on his own, make sure you remind him) and they'll be able to see if something's happening to your kidneys and if you're taking enough lithium for it to be therapeutic for you.  Also, avoid caffeine, which you should already be avoiding as it's potentially something that can swing you up.

2. It didn't take too long for it to work, but I wouldn't say it made a huge difference.  It works differently on different people, however, so it could make a huge difference for you.

3. Stay active, keep a good diet, and you should be fine.  A lot of people say it's hard to lose weight on Lithium.  I've found it's no harder than before, and I've actually lost 15 pounds since I began working on improving my diet and exercising more regularly.

4. I have no idea as I've never done weed, but I wouldn't recommend it for you, especially since you are bipolar.  I mean, I see how high it gets my sister off one hit, and she doesn't have bipolar, but since you do, it could be that that's all it takes to swing you into an episode.  Might not happen every time, but it's still a possibility.  Generally speaking, street drugs aren't a good idea.  Besides that, it's possible you could go above 600mg.  It all depends on what the blood work says and how it's affecting you.

[rBoulet]

I'm on lithium so I'll take a swing at some of those questions.
As far as the weight issue goes, you'll notice that weight loss is also a side effect. I've actually lost some weight (after gaining a bunch from a different medication).
The sodium thing has all to do with water. When they determine your dose of lithium they use blood tests to see how much is in your blood. You need a certain concentration for it to work. If you become dehydrated you could go toxic because there would be too much lithium in your blood. Since sodium lowers the amount of water in your body you just have to be careful. Also watch out for caffeine, and make sure you drink plenty of water!
As for how does it feel, I'm not sure if I'm on the right dose yet (900mg/day) or not but it makes my episodes shorter, and especially makes my manic episodes less severe.
And for the weed thing, I don't know but I would think google does.