side effects from taking lithium long term

[HEADROOM]

I have been taking Lithium for nearly 30 years. I am beginning to have health problems and am not sure what to put down to taking Lithium for such a long period. My doctor is not very helpful in so much as he only wants to treat one problem at at a time, whereas if he looked at the whole picture of all symptoms he might be able to diagnose. I am worried about my memory and wondering if having a large glass of wine 3/4 times a week is detrimental. My age is 61 so I do not know if it is something to do with it. I stopped working about a year ago. Are there any people that have taken Lithium long term and if so what side effects did they have.

[ILADVOCATE]

Lithium can interact with alcohol so its not a good idea. Lithium can cause long term kidney damage but that's what the blood tests monitor for. If the levels of what they are testing for are normal that would generally indicate everything is fine. If you have any kind of health problem see a general physican and let them know you are taking lithium and they will see what is going on. It may not neccessarily be from the lithium.

[HEADROOM]

Thank you Iladvocate for your reply, I have just joined and hope to glean some information from the site. Today I am ok but have been awake since 4.30, seems different aches and pains wake me up early and the only remedy is to get up and the pain goes away. Thankfully I don't have to work anymore so I can get up and go to bed when I like. Hope you have a good day.