Posted by SLS on December 18, 2015, at 13:15:57
In reply to Re: lithium experiences, posted by rjlockhart37 on December 18, 2015, at 12:50:43
> like when i take lamotragine, if im depressed or in a unstable mood, it stablizes and i feel more content, but does lithium do the same thing?
>
> it can't really "enhance" the mood, but i think it's more a stablizer with some enhancements with nuerotrasmitter transmission
>
> what does it do? does it stablize depression?I am taking a combination of Parnate and desipramine for depression. Adding 300 mg/day of lithium makes the antidepressants work better. I can feel an immediate improvement when I add it - 48 hours. At such a low dosage, I would not expect lithium to stabilize bipolar mood oscillations. That usually takes 900 - 1500 mg/day. You don't appear to need these higher dosages. So, yes, lithium can help with depression when combined with an antidepressant. Maybe it would enhance the positive effects of other drugs, too. I don't know. I would say that if you don't experience any positive effects by 10 - 14 days, it probably won't work (unless your other drugs need to be optimized). The negative effects on thyroid and kidneys are dose-dependent, so I wouldn't worry about toxicity. Although lithium doesn't bring me to remission, every little bit of an improvement helps. Besides, there is evidence that low dosages of lithium (150 mg/day) can help to prevent Alzheimer's Dementia - something that I am at high risk for.
Don't forget to stay at one dosage of Lamictal! You might have to finesse the dosage to find the one that improves depression but doesn't affect cognition too much. As far as feeling "flat" is concerned, give 300 mg/day a few weeks to see if it wears off. It did with me.
- Scott
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1084765
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20151119/msgs/1084774.html