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Li levels, polyuria, etc. » barbaracat

Posted by cache-monkey on March 21, 2005, at 22:47:08

In reply to Re: Benzos and other stuff » cache-monkey, posted by barbaracat on March 21, 2005, at 14:45:38

[...Disucssion about lower-than-historical lithium levels being therapeutic...]

<< IN the meantime, there are quite a few references online referring to .4 as being the lower end of the window. Just do a search on lithium+"therapeutic range" or to that effect. >>

Found one such site, summarizing a number of studies pointing to 0.4 as being a potentially therapeutic lower bound:
http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/psychiatry/CPS/22.html

I've passed this on to my psychiatrist.

<< > The whole thirst/dehydration/urination thing is really hard to live with right now.

**How much Li are you taking? >>

Just went up to 1200 mg/day and it got really bad. It was only mildly annoying at 900 mg/day and had gotten better after two weeks at that dose.

<< Jeez, seeking answers to what has been going on with me has become my raison d'etre.>>

Amen. Although for me it borders on obsession. I guess in more favorable terms it's a "hobby".

<< Once I get strong enough and reasonable well from fibromyalgia I hope I can apply what I've learned somehow.>>

I totally understand. I'm, too, am hoping that once I'm well for a while I can use this storehouse of knowledge that I've been building somehow.

<< BTW, many ingredients interract with lithium. Caffeine, psyllium, ibuprofen. It's possible that something else you're taking could be raising the levels. This may come to light in a blood test (how often are you getting blood and urine tests? And YOU ARE getting thyroid panels, aren't you?). >>

I'm getting blood draws for Li and TSH every time I raise my dose. (Every two weeks or so right now.) My TSH is fine (0.9), and they did a baseline T3/T4 which was well within the range of normal. I haven't gotten a urine test done.

<< Did you recently increase the dose and started experiencing worse sx/s? As I recall, you were having a pretty smooth ride until hitting a certain point. Just my opinion, but if it were me and my bod, I'd go back to a level that was tolerable and live with it for a while to see how I was feeling overall, therapeutic window derived for the generic everyman be damned. >>

Well, I called my pdoc and reported my symptoms. He's advising discontinuing completely. I'm going to try going to 600 mg for a few days. If the symptoms don't resolve, I guess I'll d/c and rechallenge later. Hopefully they will resolve, in which case I'd like to get back up to 900 mg (with a level of 0.4) and stay there.

I'll keep you posted.

All the best,
cache-monkey


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