r/Lithium

I’ve been on 600mg lithium for about 8 months. During this time, I’ve noticed a lot of potential side effects and I’m wondering if other people experience similar ones. I’ve been experiencing exercise intolerance, shortness of breath and excessive sweating when doing light exercise, extreme water retention/swelling all over, hair loss/shedding, bad constipation and sore muscles. I’m probably forgetting some. But yeah its been awful. I have continued to take it because i also take adderall and I initially assumed thats what was causing all of this, but i have been off adderall for a couple weeks and no change. So i’m 99% sure its the lithium. These side effects were not noticeable when i was taking 300mg. Has anyone else dealt with this?

Copied this from a post I made in another sub. Just wanted another PoV :)

Hey all!

I'm nearing 3 weeks on Lithium and am a bit concerned about my dosage.

When I reached a blood level of 0.4 (500mg), I was really enjoying the medication. I was on that dosage for a week and felt a lot calmer and capable of getting things done. There was a little fog (as to be expected), but I was rather articulate and present. I was really happy on this dosage.

My GP is managing me on this medication and today my results showed 0.5 after raising to 750mg. I'm noticing on this higher dosage that I am not feeling as self-confident as I was at 0.4. I'm sleepy, foggy, and am having some issues forgetting words again. Sometimes I feel a bit nonsensical when I speak - kind of like I'm trying to speak through anxiety.

I also feel quite sick after taking this dose at night. I always make sure I take it when I eat dinner + drink lots of water during the day. I also started to have a glass of powdered powerade in the afternoon to avoid this strange 4pm tiredness I have been getting since I started the medication.

I was wondering if anybody here has had success on a lower dosage?

How long do you guys think I should give this current dosage a go until I talk to my GP about reducing it back to 500mg?

I'm a bit reluctant to wait super long because I start the next uni semester in a fortnight and am worried about having to adjust during the semester.

Thanks!

Edit: I wonder if my level might actually be higher than 0.5. When I got my test for the 500mg dosage, they had issues getting blood and left a bruise that is still healing 2w later. For my recent blood test, I had a LOT of water before so there was les risk of that happening again.

Hi all. I've been on Lithium now for nearly 9/ 10 weeks.

200 to 400 now on 600mg per day.

I would have hoped for an improvement, but I can honestly say, especially in the mornings, my mood sucks and it makes my depression worse. After a few hours, it lifts, but the cycle is torture. The question is, how long to stay on it if no discernable change is felt? I know it has a small therapeutic window, but I would have hoped for some sort of improvement by now. I'm not sure what to do. Stay on 600 (been on this dose for a week) Titrate up or look at tapering off?

People who are sensitive to meds... Does only 300mg work for you?

Hi,

I’m currently trying to find the cause of my non existent sex drive. Am I just depressed? Is it the lithium (900mg)? Is it the seroquel (150mg at night)? Is it the Effexor (took my final dose yesterday)? I know there are so many different things that could be contributing to this, so am asking if lithium has an effect on this for any of you?

Cheers

Hi - I just joined this subreddit, and this is my first time on lithium. It was prescribed for SI during a severe depressive episode (ongoing) at a dose of 150mg at bedtime. I have many reservations about the medication, and so I think my psychiatrist intentionally held back information when listing potential risks, complications, and side effects.

For example: why are people saying to avoid ibuprofen and naproxen? The MD did not caution me about this, nor did he say to avoid alcohol. Instead, he said that I could expect relief from SI quickly, “sometimes even after 1-2 days.” I have always doubted his competence, but not mentioning these things to avoid seems like malpractice. Am I over-reacting? I mean, what else didn’t he tell me???

For context: I am a clinical psychologist with 24 years of licensed experience. I am not stupid; just a little out of my mind right now. What else should I know?

anyone else get extremely tired while drinking alcohol? i drank for the first time on lithium and i literally only took about like 5-6 sips of a drink and after like 20 mins i was exhausted. just like, suuuper drowsy and it was really annoying. im actually considering getting off the medication because of this and all the other restrictions.

I may be starting lithium and I’m wondering if there are people who don’t experience side effects. Have you gained weight? Acne? Hair loss? Libido loss?

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some reassurance from people who have actually been through the first few weeks on lithium.
I’ve been taking lithium for about 17 days (currently around 1150 mg, therapeutic blood level around 0.5–0.6, recently increased slightly). I’m also taking quetiapine.
The last few months have been incredibly difficult with severe anxiety, depression and a lot of despair. My biggest wish is simply to get back to being a present father for my two daughters.
The confusing part is this:
A few days ago I had what was probably my best day in weeks. I made it through my first day back at work after three weeks of sick leave, spoke in a meeting with more than 30 people, even went to the gym, and in the evening I genuinely felt hopeful. It was an “orange day” in my mood tracker (a really good day for me).
Then today I had another dip.
Not a complete crash, but more anxiety, some derealization, sadness and the familiar fear:
“What if lithium isn’t working after all?”
At the same time, when I look at the bigger picture, I also notice some positive changes:
I haven’t had the same overwhelming despair that I had before starting lithium.
My emotions seem to be changing. Instead of constant panic, I’m actually grieving my divorce and missing my family, which somehow feels painful but more “real.”
I’ve even had brief moments where I genuinely felt connected to my children again.
I seem to be functioning a little better overall, even if I still have difficult waves.
So my question is:
Did anyone else experience these kinds of waves during the first few weeks of lithium?
Did you have good days followed by disappointing dips before things gradually became more stable?
I’m not looking for false reassurance—I know everyone is different. I’d just really like to hear real experiences from people who remember what the beginning was like.
Thank you. I really appreciate this community.

i recently started taking lithium carb (600 mg) and while my psychiatrist says it's a low enough dose that i shouldn't need to get testing done, i have many reasons to doubt his expertise and regard for my wellbeing. i have a somewhat irrational fear of being seen as a difficult/uncooperative patient if i try advocating for myself without good enough reason, so i figured i'd ask the community how big of a deal this actually is. thanks

Hi, I started taking lithosum, lithium 150 mg from past five days.It's my sixth day running and I don't know, I don't feel anything, any difference. And I kind of have back pain and I had very bad headache yesterday. Also, sometimes I'm having pimples. I don't know if it's part of this. And also, I don't know, I've read many things like it will make you gain weight. And my body naturally, my metabolism is high and I'm kind of good in shape. I don't know if this will make you gain weight and everything. Do you guys have any inputs on it? Please let me know. And how long does it take to be effective and what is the difference we will see after taking this medicine? Can you guys share your own experience with the medicine? How long do we need to continue this also? And I'm in creative field. Is it going to affect my creativity and enthusiasm, motivation or anything?

hi. i apologize in advance bc yes ik this is this but logic does not prevail rn. i’m on a very low dose of lithium and told my psychiatrist i want to up it. okay what is the interaction like between lithium and coke? and lithium and mdma? i also take lamictal. and seroquel sometimes at night for sleep. this isn’t a question abt mental emotional stuff, ik i absolutely should not. i just want to make sure i am safe like medically and smth doesnt happen to me physically. tysm :)

Olá, eu costumava tomar dois comprimidos de lítio de liberação prolongada de 450 mg à noite, mas acabei comprando lítio de liberação imediata de 300 mg.

Posso tomar 900 mg de lítio de liberação imediata à noite como de costume?

Meu nível de lítio no sangue geralmente fica em torno de 0,8 mmol/L.

I'm asking here because my doctor almost doubled the price of her appointments and doesn't reply to messages... :/

Recently been feeling not down but just worried about myself because I used to do my favorite hobbies and now I have no energy to do anything, so the person I am I researched and looked around and looks like lithium or zyprexa blocks the dopamine or just blunts it massively..

Can anybody suggest what supplements are best to take with lithium? Thank you!

Just curious:

1. What dose of lithium are you on?
2. What’s your lithium level?
3. How long have you taken lithium?
4. How are your other labs/organs (thyroid/kidney/etc.)?
5. Do you take anything else for mental health?
6. Lagniappe

For me:

1- 900mg
2- 0.7
3- 10 months
4- Good so far
5- pristiq 50mg, hydrozyine 25mg prn
6- I like lithium! I’m just scared to increase dose again and wondering about others’ experience/stats.

ETA: formatting got wonky

Does anyone else get random pains all over their bodies from lithium? Like deep muscle pains? And nothing makes it go away?

If I take Lithium ER 600 in the morning, can I get a blood test for Lithium levels the very next morning? I know with Lithium IR, it has to be at least 12 hours, would 24 hours after my last ER does be a problem?

UK BASED, NHS!

My wife has just started Lithium (400mg), 4 days ago.

Her psychiatrist initially tried her on Aripiprazole (Abilify) but immediately took her off after a month due to the side effects being too much and the cons outweighing the pros.

He opted to start her on Lithium (last resort, as always), she was a little hesitant due to history with severe eating disorders, once he assured her that they will monitor in other ways rather than her needing to be weighed, she agreed.

However, we are now on day 4 and she is really struggling with the motivation to get past the initial side effects, her main one being lack of concentration. Another thing she is struggling with is that she can only take paracetamol for her period cramps (it's currently 36⁰c in UK so it's too hot for heat therapy). She is also currently in a depressive episode so reasoning with her is quite difficult at the moment.

Does anyone have any advice at all on how I can give her the encouragement to see the titration period through? This medication could really improve her quality of life and when she is in a good mindset, she says this herself, but she is really disheartened at the moment and is worried that the same thing is going to happen as with the Aripiprazole where it'll all be for nothing and I'm really struggling to help her stick with it. (Her psychiatrist has not been very helpful, just said I need to try my best to get her to keep taking it until the side effects wear off).

Iv gone from 625-850 in like two weeks and my whole body is buzzing like inner restlessness akathisia in a bad way. Does this mean ill get better like wtf i actually cannot deal is it normal I thought I was supposed to feel more settled