Limits Of Lithium

xoxoxoBruce · 03-26-2013, 12:24 AM

Quote:

It helps millions with bipolar disorder, but toxicity problems and side effects have scientists looking for alternatives by analyzing the drug’s mysterious mechanism

An article from Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), describes the two types of bipolar disorders, plus the limitations and dangers of the nine drugs used to treat them. Lithium being one of those nine.

Sundae · 03-26-2013, 05:54 AM

They gave me lithium first time I was trying to come off alcohol.
I don't know if it really made a difference.
All I know is that I'm in a far more buggered up state these days and they haven't offered it.

Aliantha · 03-26-2013, 06:06 AM

My friend is on lithium for her bipolar. It really helps.

Lamplighter · 03-26-2013, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Limits Of Lithium

An article from Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), describes the two types of bipolar disorders,...

A strange place to be finding state-of-the-art info on bi-polar disorders.

I know some cars look like they are going backwards,
but I thought that was just the engineering for wind dynamics.
Maybe chrome would be better than lithium.

footfootfoot · 03-26-2013, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae

They gave me lithium first time I was trying to come off alcohol.
I don't know if it really made a difference.
All I know is that I'm in a far more buggered up state these days and they haven't offered it.

have you tried Buproprion? (Wellbutrin)

anonymous · 03-26-2013, 11:30 AM

i have

225 mg Venlafaxine/day (Effexor)
150 mg Buproprion/twice a day (Wellbutrin)
10 mg lisinopril/day (blood pressure)
1 mg Lorazapam (Ativan) as needed up to 3 x day.

Dropped the hormones. Too expensive. Insurance charged me 50 bucks/mo and pay out of pocket was 40/mo. How does that makes sense?

So my severe perimenopausal symptoms try to steal relief from the medications intended for other purposes. It doesn't work so hot.

And still, not out of the woods.

I read in Darkness Visible (Styron) that there are trends to treat unipolar depression with Lithium. No. They offered. Lithium scares me much more so than the SSRIs. I don't want to be a complete zombie.

footfootfoot · 03-26-2013, 12:12 PM

Yeah and Darkenss Visible must be at least 20 years old. 33, I just checked.

I am convinced a lot of depression is caused not only by chemical imbalances in our brains, but also the fact that things are really fucked up and we feel (rightly or wrongly) there's not much we can do about it.

Sundae · 03-26-2013, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

have you tried Buproprion? (Wellbutrin)

I don't get to choose, because I only pay £8-ish (just under, can't remember, keeps going up) on prescription.

But no, nothing offered this time.
Last time I was suicidal.
This time I'm just dying.

Aliantha · 03-26-2013, 02:07 PM

My friend on lithium isnt zombie like at all. In fact, after she got over the ect and used to lithium, shes the best shes ever been.

She was pretty chronic before though.

footfootfoot · 03-26-2013, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae

I don't get to choose, because I only pay £8-ish (just under, can't remember, keeps going up) on prescription.

But no, nothing offered this time.
Last time I was suicidal.
This time I'm just dying.

You can't go to your doc and say, "Hey, my friend has had brilliant success with (x) and I'd like to give it whirl around the park?"

regular.joe · 03-30-2013, 11:48 PM

I thought this was an interesting talk about meds that we take for "chemical imbalances" in the brain.

orthodoc · 03-31-2013, 06:42 PM

All of these meds are two-edged swords. Two of my kids needed meds at certain points in their lives, and I think they were life-savers. At the same time I read journal articles about how some of the meds may 'prune' axons and change neural pathways, and it makes me feel sick. At the moment I'm on a medication for chemo side-effects that is giving me, as a side-effect of its own, more mental clarity than I've had for months. I'm grateful.

Many times these meds save lives, but like everything else they come with a cost.

footfootfoot · 03-31-2013, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orthodoc

All of these meds are two-edged swords. Two of my kids needed meds at certain points in their lives, and I think they were life-savers. At the same time I read journal articles about how some of the meds may 'prune' axons and change neural pathways, and it makes me feel sick. At the moment I'm on a medication for chemo side-effects that is giving me, as a side-effect of its own, more mental clarity than I've had for months. I'm grateful.

Many times these meds save lives, but like everything else they come with a cost.

Send me your leftovers.

and Axons make the heart grow fonder.

Clodfobble · 04-02-2013, 11:32 AM

It's not just the psych meds, either. There have been studies showing that certain antibiotics affect dendrite growth as well.

ZenGum · 04-02-2013, 05:21 PM

Heck, there is strong anecdotal evidence that Tamiflu (influenza medicine) messes with your brain.

03-26-2013, 05:54 AM	#2
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	They gave me lithium first time I was trying to come off alcohol. I don't know if it really made a difference. All I know is that I'm in a far more buggered up state these days and they haven't offered it. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

03-26-2013, 06:06 AM	#3
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	My friend is on lithium for her bipolar. It really helps. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

03-26-2013, 12:12 PM	#7
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	Yeah and Darkenss Visible must be at least 20 years old. 33, I just checked. I am convinced a lot of depression is caused not only by chemical imbalances in our brains, but also the fact that things are really fucked up and we feel (rightly or wrongly) there's not much we can do about it. __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

03-26-2013, 02:07 PM	#9
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	My friend on lithium isnt zombie like at all. In fact, after she got over the ect and used to lithium, shes the best shes ever been. She was pretty chronic before though. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

03-30-2013, 11:48 PM	#11
regular.joe Старый сержант Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: NC, dreaming of large Russian women. Posts: 1,464	I thought this was an interesting talk about meds that we take for "chemical imbalances" in the brain. __________________ Birth, wealth, and position are valueless during wartime. Man is only judged by his character --Soldier's Testament. Death, like birth, is a secret of Nature. - Marcus Aurelius.

03-26-2013, 11:30 AM	#6
anonymous Operations Operative Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: in hiding Posts: 578	i have 225 mg Venlafaxine/day (Effexor) 150 mg Buproprion/twice a day (Wellbutrin) 10 mg lisinopril/day (blood pressure) 1 mg Lorazapam (Ativan) as needed up to 3 x day. Dropped the hormones. Too expensive. Insurance charged me 50 bucks/mo and pay out of pocket was 40/mo. How does that makes sense? So my severe perimenopausal symptoms try to steal relief from the medications intended for other purposes. It doesn't work so hot. And still, not out of the woods. I read in Darkness Visible (Styron) that there are trends to treat unipolar depression with Lithium. No. They offered. Lithium scares me much more so than the SSRIs. I don't want to be a complete zombie.

03-31-2013, 06:42 PM	#12
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	All of these meds are two-edged swords. Two of my kids needed meds at certain points in their lives, and I think they were life-savers. At the same time I read journal articles about how some of the meds may 'prune' axons and change neural pathways, and it makes me feel sick. At the moment I'm on a medication for chemo side-effects that is giving me, as a side-effect of its own, more mental clarity than I've had for months. I'm grateful. Many times these meds save lives, but like everything else they come with a cost. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

04-02-2013, 11:32 AM	#14
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	It's not just the psych meds, either. There have been studies showing that certain antibiotics affect dendrite growth as well. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

04-02-2013, 05:21 PM	#15
ZenGum Doctor Wtf Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 12,861	Heck, there is strong anecdotal evidence that Tamiflu (influenza medicine) messes with your brain. __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.

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