Posted by DocRon on June 22, 2010, at 17:16:27
In reply to Why does Lithium make me feel so awful?, posted by former poster on June 10, 2010, at 20:06:23
> I have tried lithium several times. Each time i get initial relief, then the blunting effect sets in. A helpless feeling of being in a chemical straitjacket. This is an unbearable feeling for me. I stop taking it after a few days. I once took it for 3 weeks. My social anxiety became extremely bad as I walked through the day without a personality, (erased from the lithium). It took me almost a decade to feel normal again. It was impossible to feel pleasure. If I won the lottery I would not even be able to smile. I had the same effect from other mood stabilizing drugs. Maybe to a lesser degree. I tried resperidal once and it made me psychotic. Same with Neurontin. I have decided to live with the moodswings, which are mostly feelings of deppresion.
Lithium is one of the most poisonous chemicals known to mankind. Did you know that ranchers fill a few sheep up with it and then release them? When the coyotes or wolves try to eat one the Lithium gets them SO deadly sick they will never touch a sheep again--and will "tell" the other coyotes and wolves about it! It nearly kills the dogs--it DOES kill the sheep eventually.
Still in all, people with BP do NEED it to descend from mania. Comparing the feeling on Lith with the feeling of mania...well, its like going from 150mph to -50mph very quickly. The feeling sucks--which is why med compliance among non-supervised BPD patients is so poor.
I can only sympathize. I DO know that over time it DOES get better and you can slowly titrate your dose down to where it "works" but does not make you feel like death. To do this though...you MUST take your meds and be honest with your doc!! They are more than happy to help bring your dosage down. I know it really sucks, and I am SO grateful that I don't have to live the hell that is BPD (yet) but you owe it to yourself to take your meds, start lowering them (with your doc)...you'll feel better faster than you think, I promise you.
Peace and good luck!
DocRon
poster:DocRon
thread:950616
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100615/msgs/951884.html