HAS ANYONE BEEN PRESCRIBED LITHIUM?
Posted , 4 users are following.
I have had depression for 15 years. At first I was on 75 mg Venlafaxine and felt back to normal for 10 years. Then it stopped working. Since then I have been tried on various ads. At the moment I am on 225 Vensir and 15 mg Mirtazapine. Each increase only lasted for about a year. I can carry on with my everyday tasks and even go to classes at the gym five times a week. However I feel very low every day from getting up until late afternoon when I feel back to normal. Last time I saw the physch. he wanted to put me on Lithium but as I was having an operation on my thumb he wasdn't allowed to. The thought of taking Lithium filled me with horror. So I just wondered if anyone on the Forum is or has taken Lithium and how they got on with it. Many thanks.
1 like, 7 replies
Anne1968 patricia85842
Posted
I have a friend who takes 300mg venlafaxine and lithium and she's extremely well on them.
Pleiades patricia85842
Posted
I was prescribed Lithium for a very short time (less than a week) whilst on a Psych ward - not enough time to really see if it helped, but enough to know that the constant monitoring of iron levels would be something I couldn't manage easily... I'm now on 225 Ven and 250 Lamotrigine (and 15 Mirtz supposedly, but as I mentioned in another thread, the last one's side effects are exceptionally strong for me so I'm not taking it)...
elaine73394 patricia85842
Posted
I can't comment on Lithium but i found it very interesting that you feel low from getting up and until late afternoon when you feel normal. I have the same.I'm on 150mg Venlaflaxine which i don't feel is working. Most days are difficult but i function. Then around 6pm i start to feel normal, relaxed and calm and by late evening i feel good. I go to bed feeling fine and wake up feeling awful. Do you know what causes this / I've never come across anyone who has this before. I do hope you find the medication you need
patricia85842 elaine73394
Posted
Hi Elaine. As I said I have had depression for 15 years. When it was at its worse I was still back to normal at night. I read in a book that it's callled Diurnal. I am on 225 mg Ven and 15 mg Mirtazapine but still get low moods. I also have good days and bad. When I first had depression I used to stay in bed most of the day and then when I got up I would lie on the settee. I don't allow myself to do that now. I think that is one thing I have learnt. I go to classes at the gym 5 days a week and do voluntary work at our local hospital twice a week. I do have good days and bad so feel I can probably cope without going back to the the Psych as I really don't want to take any mor3e medication.
elaine73394 patricia85842
Posted
I'll read up on Diurnal. Like you, even at my worst i was fine in the evening. I suffer more with anxiety which makes it impossible to stay in bed or do nothing. This has been going on for about four years now and i get good day and bad days and sometimes lots of good days in a row and i think it's over and i'm going to be ok but i
then the bad days come back. I've been on 150mg Ven for about a year and i don't feel it's working but i'm scared to wean off because I've had several anti-depressant and son't know what they would change me too. I would like to try meds free but i'm afraid. I have a very unsympathetic unhelpful doctor and no access to mental health service. I try to function as best i can. I do a couple of little jobs and as i live alone i try to get out and see people as much as i can. It's a struggle though. I'd like to get back to the person i was fifteen years ago, working full time leading a normal life. I wish you all the best and thank you for replying
patricia85842 elaine73394
Posted
You sound just like me Elaine. I have been off and on for 15 years now and as I am 75 I keep thinking is this me for the rest of my life? I have the odd good days but more bad than good. I do voluntary work in the office of our local hospital and on those days I usually feel back to normal For instance I was at the hospital yesterday and I woke without that awful feeling and I was great all day then today I have been terrible. The only difference now from when I first started with the depression I don't let myself lay in bed and I think that is why I do get some good days. I keep hoping to get back to normal.
elaine73394 patricia85842
Posted
We do sound very alike. Fighting a battle against something that oneday i hope to win. I'm 60 now and thinking that this is it for ever then i get mad and think i will get back to how i used to be. I think it's about having something to do, a purpose.It's good that you have the job at the hospital. I suppose i get half good days and half bad days every month. I actually put a red dot on the calender for good days and black one for bad days and when i'm feeling awful i look at it and remind myself that there are good days. I'm at a stage now where i'm being to think that SSRI/SSRNI meds make the anxiety worse and Venlaflaxine is not for me. I see someone from the mental health team next week, can't believe i got an appointment through today. Hoping she will be more help than my doctor who is useless.I Isuppose, as he once said to me "I don't know what to do with you" Do you ever feel that you're inside still but can't find a way to get out ?