![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by rjlockhart37 on October 10, 2016, at 0:46:29
i've been on lamictal for 4 years now, i've had diffrent stages with it, when i was on 400mg it was stablizing but it felt just too much.....
lamotragine does help sometimes with mood slumps, ill notice if im in a slump, and i take 1 tablet of 200mg, it improves the mood, not uplifting but like....just brings the nuerons back to baseline, it has a small antidepressant effect.....
my doctor was going to add lithium to my regimine but we decided to increase prozac to 80mg, which did help, and my mood has been kept out of the darkness of depressions, but if i added lithium .... just thinking about it, because i've read lithium works well as a antidepressant without making mania.....
so, how does it work with you, i know lithium is the gold standard mood stabilizer, but also works with depression
Posted by SLS on October 10, 2016, at 7:41:06
In reply to lithium experiences, posted by rjlockhart37 on October 10, 2016, at 0:46:29
Low-dosage lithium has been used as an augmenter of antidepressants. One Harvard study demonstrated that lithium in dosages of 300-600 mg/day improved the response to Prozac. They liked the results of going up to 60 mg/day of Prozac, too. Since you are already taking high-dosage Prozac, adding lithium would appear to be a reasonable alternative.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12172337
You should become familiar with the symptoms of serotonin syndrome. I have seen a few reports of serotonin syndrome when lithium is combined with a SSRI. Nevertheless, I think the combination makes sense. For me, lithium 300 mg/day added to Parnate helps. 450 mg/day makes me feel more depressed with apathy and passivity. Even though I do not achieve remission with lithium, I continue it anyway, if for no other reason than to reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer's Dementia.
- Scott
Posted by Christ_empowered on October 10, 2016, at 11:31:34
In reply to lithium experiences, posted by rjlockhart37 on October 10, 2016, at 0:46:29
im personally scared of lithium. I'm rather fond of my kidneys...
Posted by rjlockhart37 on October 10, 2016, at 17:15:56
In reply to Re: lithium experiences, posted by Christ_empowered on October 10, 2016, at 11:31:34
yea thnaks scott for your reponse.....i think a low dose of lithium would be a great add-on even though mainly i don't suffer from mood swings i feel im not manic depressive, i just know that i get in deep depression and everything seems like a gloomy day even on bright sunshine outside
zyprexa just makes me feel stable, and lamictal helps some with depression slumps, prozac is slothy with me sometimes, even though im on the max dose, some days i can notice the prozac mood lift, others it's not noticable.....when i first started it, i noticed a major change in my mood, but after about 10 years like the brain adapted to it, leveling out nuerotransmitters......removing the excess serotonin from the reuptake inhibition
but i notice days without prozac have a major change in mood drop.....
lithium i would still consider about using though.....
Posted by rjlockhart37 on October 10, 2016, at 17:16:16
In reply to Re: lithium experiences, posted by Christ_empowered on October 10, 2016, at 11:31:34
lol
Posted by Tabitha on October 10, 2016, at 19:10:51
In reply to lithium experiences, posted by rjlockhart37 on October 10, 2016, at 0:46:29
>
> so, how does it work with you, i know lithium is the gold standard mood stabilizer, but also works with depressionI like it, but I don't notice any anti-depressant effect. I just feel calmer and less emotionally reactive with 300mg. It's valuable enough that I'm planning to stay on it. The only s/e I've noticed is a slight tremor in my hands at times.
Posted by SLS on October 10, 2016, at 22:04:03
In reply to Re: lithium experiences, posted by Christ_empowered on October 10, 2016, at 11:31:34
> im personally scared of lithium. I'm rather fond of my kidneys...
Kidney function is altered by lithium as a function of dosage. It is dose-dependent. Low dosages produce very little, if any, damage to the kidneys throughout a lifetime. It is prudent to follow blood levels of creatinine.
- Scott
Posted by Lamdage22 on October 11, 2016, at 13:58:44
In reply to Re: lithium experiences » Christ_empowered, posted by SLS on October 10, 2016, at 22:04:03
300mg? I am losing weight like crazy right now so maybe its worth a shot. I ditched Lithium because it made me so hungry.
Posted by Toph on October 13, 2016, at 15:46:01
In reply to lithium experiences, posted by rjlockhart37 on October 10, 2016, at 0:46:29
I am bipolar one who in my early twenties was in and out of hospitals with either chronic depression or psychotic manic episodes. Over 40 years ago I began taking lithium maintaining a serum Li between .7 and .08 - I stopped having symptoms with the exception of a manic episode a few years back when I became low on Li caring for a dying parent. My kidneys are functioning fine thank you according to my yearly creatinine levels. Though no physician confirms this, I do have a very slight hand tremor that developed about 5 years ago that I suspect is lithium related. Living as a grandfather in retirement I have been able to lead an independent productive life because of this simple salt. I hope all here are able to find an intervention as effective as lithium has been for me.
Posted by rjlockhart37 on October 13, 2016, at 20:49:27
In reply to Re: lithium experiences » rjlockhart37, posted by Toph on October 13, 2016, at 15:46:01
yea i've heard some good vibes about lithium improving the quality of life for some people, mainly my problem is mainly depressive moods, small mood swings, and ADHD symptoms, but as time went by i had to train my brain to be alert, the doctors didnt do anything.....i had to grow on my own, and it was not fun
when i was on lamotragine 400mg i noticed stablity but it kept me in a flat mood, same stable mood but it wasnt really enjoyable, i went down to 200mg and stayed there, but i've read lithium's stablizing effects through nuerons and stimulation of some serotonin release in the synapse
thanks for posting
Posted by TriedEveryMedication on October 18, 2016, at 22:17:31
In reply to lithium experiences, posted by rjlockhart37 on October 10, 2016, at 0:46:29
tried a low dose course as an adjunct treatment.
it made me very agitated. 450mg IIRC
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.