r/Lithium

Regular mucinex is okay I guess but doesn’t suppress anything.

I don’t have a tickle in my throat as much as it’s in my chest. I’m not coughing up a whole lot but my throat and chest hurt from all the coughing.

I asked a pharmacist and they only said cough drops or I’ll need to get something prescribed. Anything else I can do besides complain to my dog about it?

Hi guys, just looking for some experiences. I’m currently on 500mg lithium and 175mg lamotrigine, and I was on 6mg lorazepam but have had to taper down pretty quickly to around 4mg. I don’t really have a choice with the taper (might adjust slightly, but not much).

Since dropping, I’ve fallen into a really severe depressive episode. It’s honestly been pretty intense.

Has anyone found that increasing lithium helped in this kind of situation? Just looking to hear others’ experiences because I’m feeling pretty hopeless about it all at the moment.”

Im a week on Lithium Carbonate Er 300 Mg. Trying to figure out if symptoms are normal or a bad sign of things to come.

I know I need to drink lots of water and I've been doing a poor job of it but JUST how much water should I be drinking? Like whats a good daily goal?

I know heat intolerance is a thing on this med but is it the same as getting overheated easily like walking around my house and using lots of stairs? When I look it up it only talks about intolerance to the heat when outside on hot days, not your body overheating from use. Are they considered the same thing?

Also my face keeps getting super itchy? Im getting flush frequently too but I have rosacea? I don't think it's flaring because it didnt start happening till I started the Lithium. Common side effect or cause for concern? It's prob just connected to overheating?

Will just upping my water intake actually solve these issues or anything else I can do?

Thanks for any gentle advice you have. So far this med feels like it has been the best thing I've tried over the last 5 years and I really want to stick with it so I might be over thinking it.

Any suggestions on how to mitigate hair loss and acne? My shoulders have such bad acne.

I am afraid of the long term side affects that I have heard about like dental problems. I want to heal my gut health and be all natural as much as possible but how can I ever do this if I have to take lithium every night? It is so discouraging to feel like there is no other options other than trying different medications which come with their own side effects. I know it’s not smart for me to be unmedicated but I can’t help but wonder what my life could be like without meds. I’m sure a lot of you may feel this same way. I just wish I could not take it and manage myself without prescribed medication. What will this medication do to me over time? I’ve already been on it 10 years and I don’t know if I’m willing to even try another medication because it really does keep me stable. I wish bipolar was not so complex and unique to every individual. Does anyone else struggle with these feelings? I can’t be alone. Man I just wish I could restart my whole life and try again.

Have you noticed a difference in side effects between Lithium IR vs Lithium ER?

I’m taking 600mg (recently decreased from 1200mg) of Lithium IR right now and it’s worsened my scalp problems, makes my hair excessively greasy, causes face/body acne, acid reflux, and may be the culprit in my weight gain as well. My psychiatrist just switched me to 300mg Lithium ER 2x daily. Is this going to help with my side effects? I don’t have any psychiatric side effects unless it’s contributing to my avolition/anhedonia, but I think that’s just post manic psychotic depression.

On 500mg in a depressive episode triggered my lorazepam. I’m so scared . If i go higher in lithium

Will it help! So far every dose iv gone higher it’s worked but cos im on a lower dose of Loraz idk :( someone make me feel better)

I joined this subreddit because I’m interested in lithium orotate. In my country, lithium is generally banned - except for the high-dose medication containing 450mg of lithium carbonate (i.e., 84.6mg of lithium).

However, I don’t have bipolar disorder; I’m generally depressed and have trouble concentrating or remembering things. I also have absolutely no ability to learn. I’ve now ordered lithium (in the form of orotate) and was wondering if 1–5 mg of lithium would be enough for this? Are there any experiences with this? Because of my overall lifestyle and conditions, I have a severe hormonal imbalance and hypothyroidism (which can't be controlled either). That's why I'm particularly wary of the high doses you're taking here, and I only read about it in relation to bipolar disorder.

I stopped using any AD as nothing worked so far.

28 years old. I'm on Lihium, Latuda, buspar and levothyroxine (I had a total thyroidectomy, no more thyroid).

My psychiatrist checks my labs because I take lithium, latuda and levothyroxine. my last labwork came back of my kidney functioning and my EGFR:69 Creatine:1.12

I had to do independent research to learn that those numbers was abnormal for my age. my psychiatrist never had me take a protein test for my urine or even mentioned this to me bc with these numbers if there's protein in the urine I read it could indicate stage 2 kidney disease.. Will my levels just progress until it gets lower. she hasn't contacted me about my labs yet but I've tried to contact her. should I talk to my primary care doctor or is this fine until the numbers drop or rise more? ive been on lithium for 13-14 years

Have been on Lithium around 5 years. 750mg daily (capsules).

Also take Lamotrigine and quietiapine.

Would rather up the dose of them and not have my hair fall out.

I’m 37