Posted by yesac on June 27, 2005, at 14:11:16
In reply to More newbie Lithium questions » yesac, posted by Sabino on June 24, 2005, at 17:16:28
> Hi. One more. When you say it started to work after 5 weeks, how did it start to work? How did it make you feel versus the way you felt before it worked?
Just less agitated mostly, less mood lability, more calm and "flat", but flat in a good way-- not so moody, not so flipped out or feeling kind of emotionally out of control.
> I was wondering if you experienced any startup SFX, and how long they took to resolve (if they did).
They haven't really resolved, unfortunately. I have shaky hands and I'm more thirsty than before. When I went up to 900 for a few days, I felt really spaced out and nauseus, so I went back down to 600. I think that I said before, the lith *might* be worsening my attention problems, but I'm not completely sure. I'm considering trying to go down to 450 because of these effects, and because I feel tired (but I think that's from the Seroquel, not the lithium.... Plus it is so hot and humid lately, which could be contributing to my lethargy).
> Have you tried the pstims for help with the attention issues yet?
I have tried Ritalin and Adderall. I'm trying to figure out what to do about the attention issues. I haven't tried that aggressively to really find something to help with that because I was always more concerned with my mood problems. I might try Strattera. Oh, I did try Parnate a couple years ago and it was awful! I just felt really lethargic and emotionally/mentally dulled. I didn't like it at all. If it had helped, the diet wouldn't have been that bad, but it was a hassle to have to worry about what's in your food.
> The symptoms of what I call an anxiety attack, I think, are the same as what I've seen referred to as mixed states. Awful. But, maybe with Li I could possibly try that again.
That's how I felt too. A kind of weird, wacked out, depressed mixed state. I wouldn't dare try Prozac again though because it was just so bad. I'm afraid of all of the SSRIs and most antidepressants now too, after that experience. I just don't want to take anything that might destabilize me or derail the semi-okay mood that I've finally attained. But I might have to take some risks if I ever want to try any other drugs!
> Good luck, whatever you decide to try. Let us know how it goes. It's always heartening to see someone that at long last finds some peace of mind.
Yeah, it's nice to have found something, that's for sure. At least it gives me some hope, but I certainly can't say that things are perfect. I still have my ups and downs and get upset and a bit gloomy or down. And there are still things in life that can bother me a lot, ya know? But there will always be that, and I have to try to not let myself think that everything's falling apart if I happen to feel down for a few hours, especially if there is a reasonable cause for it.
And like I said before, I do feel like it never ends, which is depressing in itself. Like, I still feel as though I'm working at finding the right drugs--- I feel like I need to tweak my lith and Seroquel, and I feel like I need to try some thing(s) for the attention problems, which might take a long time. And I feel like I need to focus on therapy and trying to figure myself out and work on techniques for dealing with social situations/problems and emotions...... it just seems to go on and on.....
poster:yesac
thread:509665
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050627/msgs/519935.html