Lithium and sleep?

[GumboMan]

I started on Lithium one week ago.  Two nights later I had trouble sleeping, and every night since--can't fall asleep right away, can't stay asleep, wake up multiple times throughout the night, and have very stressful dreams (one where I kicked the bedpost so hard it woke me up and hurt my foot a bit).  Anyone heard of this?  I don't see it listed as a possible side effect of lithium.  I have been taking a lorazepam to sleep for many months now and it used to work great.  I also take fluoxetine, lamotrigine and singulair daily.  Anyone heard of this or have ideas?  Thanks.

[GumboMan]

I spoke to my pysch and he's never heard of it happening.  But what you say about motor restlessness does make sense--I couldn't describe how it feels but that term sums it up well.  I started taking my evening dose of lithium at dinner instead of bedtime, and increased the lorazepam from 1 to 2 (not sure what milligram but it's extremely low.)  So far, that has helped.  I still wake up a couple of times but go right back to sleep.  I can easily deal with that.  Maybe my body will adjust over time.  Thanks for the response.

[ILADVOCATE]

   Some medications can cause motor restlessness which can be treated with a side effect pill within a psychiatrist's clinical discretion. To my knowledge litihium cannot cause that but it can increase the blood level of some medications that do. There could be other concerns happening as well. It would be worthwhile to discuss this with your psychiatrist as they have a a physician's only database of medications and would be able to determine the cause of whats happening and see how best to follow up.