It sounds as if you've been through a lot. My condolences on the loss of your child, I'm sure that must have been very difficult. If your doctor is recommending lithium, go ahead and take it as prescribed. Lasix can sometimes decrease the excretion of lithium in the kidneys, but if your physician monitors your lithium levels it should be fine. Lithium toxicity can cause a slow heart rate and other cardiac arrhythmias, but these aren't common. As for your son, it sounds as if his heart conditions were genetic and not caused by anything you may or may not have done. Please don't feel responsible for his death. I hope this helps.
I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you to thank you. I've been in and out of the hospital for the last month. Psychiatric, not medical. I felt I should tell you what happened with the lithium. I did start taking it, and within two days, I developed headaches, nausea, a lot of palpitations (Even on the Tenorman) and really swollen ankles (While on Lasix). I stuck to them for a week then called my GP (my psychiatrist who put me on it was gone away) and told him what was happening. He told me to stop them right away, that I didn't need to wean them. I stopped them and 2 days later the all the issues were gone. When my Psychiatrist came back, he wanted me to start on it again, saying it was probably just a fluke with timing. So I started on it again, and the same thing happened. Stopped it and it was gone in 2 days. So whether its a reaction with any of my meds (Tenorman, Magnesium, Vitamin D, Multivitamin, Calcium, Lasix, Rabeprazole, Domperidone, Bupropion, Spironolactone, Melatonin, Trazodone, Docusate, Clonazepam, Zopiclone when needed, Atasol 30 when needed & Fosamax), or just a reaction to nothing, I had to stop taking them. I also developed blood in my urine, which we've found no reason for (3x Urine Cytology, Cytoscopy, Ultrasound, CT & Lab work every week) This all gets very old, and sometimes you just feel like giving up. Thank you for answering. Not many people do.
As for my son, its very hard not to feel guilty for his issues when you constantly see advertisements on TV talking about Effexor causing heart defects, which they didn't tell us about in 2004. I know my eating disorder could have played a part in the IUGR, but the last couple of years, seeing all the ad's has brought back a lot of questions and guilt. Even my own Cardiologist avoids questions about my son, because he didn't handle his case because I lived in a different province. Thank you very much for your reassurance. I really appreciate it.