I'm a 40 year old female with a history of mental health issues; ie. Bulimia, Depression, Axiety,PTSD, Complex Trauma, complicated grief, PNES. A year ago my doctor started talking about the possibility of me having Bipolar Disorder 2. Yesterday I seen my psychiatrist for the first time in over a year, and after talking to her she also said she believes I have Bipolar 2. In the last 2 weeks I decided on my own to stop all psychiatric medications (my gastroenterologist is blaming my severe stomach issues on all the medications I'm on), except Clonazepam to get me through the withdrawal process, and so far, have been doing very good with withdrawal symptoms and have a real hope I can get off the meds. But, my mood in the last few months has been very low, suicidal at times, cut for the first time in almost 10 years.
Some medical issues I have, because of 22 years of bulimia & anorexic behaviors are tachycardia, (regularly abnormal ekg & holter's) with "skipped beats", and low potassium that I get infusions for every few months, chronic low blood pessure & pass out regularly. I also struggle with dehydration. Medications I still take are Atenolol for tachycardia, Aldactone for PCOS, Omeprazole for stomach issues & Dimenhydrinate or Zofran for chronic nausea.
After seeing my psychiatrist yesterday, she wants me to start on Lithium! I have to say, I have heard nothing but bad things about lithium, and after coming off all the meds I was on, the thought of starting on something like Lithium scares me. I told her I would think about it & I decided to do a bit of research on it online (probably a mistake), specifically on if Lithium affects potassium, since I know its a natural mineral in the body, and have seen a couple of different things. The most alarming is that it can lower potassium levels. But in some post, I seen people complaining of an increased potassium level on Lithium.
I am wondering if anyone has had any issues with potassium levels while on Lithium and their general thoughts on taking Lithium for Bipolar 2.