Posted by cache-monkey on April 7, 2005, at 18:33:42
In reply to lithium and weight gain, posted by Deb200 on April 4, 2005, at 16:05:35
Hi,
I was on Lithium 600 mg - 1200 mg for about two months and experienced no weight gain. I found it pretty effective in terms of both stability and a mild AD effect after two weeks at 900 mg.
I don't know if you're BP I or II, but be careful about pushing the dose too high. My pdoc insisted on raising the dose when I already felt stable and I had to d/c due to intolerable thirst/urination side effects. And the sad thing is that my Lithium level at 900 mg (0.41) was just at the lower end of the new recommended guidelines for stabilization.
My pdoc wasn't aware of this and was following the old-school guidelines. With BP II the threshold might be lower, although this is unproven. Nonethless for soft BP, many doctors recommend listenting to your symptoms and relying on levels just to make sure they aren't too high.
HTH,
cache-monkey> Hi
> Is anyone out there on lithium who has not experienced weight gain? ALso,in terms of its effectiveness in treating bipolar (especially depression),how long did it take before you felt an effect from the lithium, positive or negative?
> Thank you
>
poster:cache-monkey
thread:479722
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050404/msgs/481317.html