Tapering off Lithium

[ClayTheScribe]

Hey all,

So Saturday I started tapering off lithium from 1350 mg a day down to 900 mg a day. I'm getting off the drug because me and my psychiatrist have determined I am not bi-polar and that I'm probably over-medicated, and I hate the side effects. The withdrawal has been kind of rough and I wanted to know if anyone else has weaned off lithium? What I'm noticing the most are stomach pains/aches and tension/knot all underneath my belly from hip to hip. My friend recommended taking celery (apparently lithium mimics potassium in the body and celery is high in potassium and raises lithium levels) and that seems to help, but when I eat anything else the pains seem to come back. Antacids don't seem to help. And of course I'm more irritable and a little more depressed. Though I find I have a bit more concentration and I can read faster.

Just wondering if anyone had any shared experiences?

[AstroGirl]

Hi Clay: I have NO experience with lithium withdrawal, but I have tons of experience with knotted-up tummies. So this response comes purely from my intuition and my life-long experience as a massage therapist and yoga teacher. Hey, who knows what might work . . . you might try some gentle self-massage in the painful areas, and if you find that gives you any relief at all, then you could seek out a professional masseuse/masseur to help you gently connect your breath and body and see if you can get those nasty knots to surrender. The abdominal area is where we all carry tons of tension and holding, so whether the discomfort is lithium related or not - couldn't hurt!!!

I've read some of your comments on the board and really appreciate them. Congratulations and good luck with you continued progress . . . . Best, Beth

[WantToHeal]

Clay:

No experience with Lithium, but I have come up/gone back down on meds enough times this year to be able to empathize...at least in a sense.

You'll get there, man. I'll be thinking about you.

[atomica]

i came off lithium, but it was so long ago i dont remember the effects (sorry cant be more help). i was SO glad to be off of it, i hated it so much. i got sick of not feeling anything at all like a zombie, and getting toxicity shakes all the time whenever i didn't drink enough water.

i always have tummy problems, so i might not have noticed that as a withdrawal effect. i do find peppermint is slightly helpful, rather than antacids. something in peppermint somehow eases muscle cramping/spasming that comes with emotional tummy probs. just some peppermint tea or even a little essence in water.

other than that, all i can offer is my empathy and hope that you feel better once you're on the other side.

ae

[ClayTheScribe]

My doctor said there's not supposed to be any withdrawal effects from Lithium. Besides the stomach cramps, I'm experiencing irritability and a little bit of depression. I noticed I am able to focus a little better and read faster and my libido isn't as suppressed (not that I need that right now haha). My doctor said me starting the Ambien may have more to do with my stomach problems, though I noted someone on the Net reported feeling pains in their upper ribs which I have noticed. Though since I started the Ambien and went down on the Lithium, I've had more energy.

[Faerie]

Clay,

As Atomica said peppermint would be a great idea, another natural stomach remedy is ginger, so break out the ginger ale.

Also a wheat bag or hot water bottle on your belly may relieve the discomfort a bit, sounds like you're experiencing something similar to period pain us girls get and heat on the area helps many of us women.

Good on you for coming off of the lithium, I know it's hard but you can do it.

Faerie

[ClayTheScribe]

Can't really afford any of that fancy stuff right now, but thanks. Eating non-sugary foods seems to help make the pain/tightness go down. I'm still incredibly irritable, I feel like I'm going to explode at someone at any moment. This is not helping with the job search either. I feel so stupid, like I'm doing everything wrong. I know I'm not supposed to be just sitting on the computer looking for a job all day, but I don't know where to go. If this irritability and depression gets worse by Monday, I'm going back on the Lithium.

[evmdimples]

Hi Clay, re: your comment about celery and potassium: bananas are also high in potassium (in case you get tired of the celery. Celery is also a diuretic, for whatever that is worth!).

Re: job search. Have you thought of signing up with an employment agency? My (estranged) husband, an out-of-work professional photographer, finally decided to sign up (with Randstadt); within 2 weeks he had a 40-hr wk. office temp job (looks as though they'll hire him permanently). It's not in his field, but it does use some of his office management skills, it's also giving him some new skills, he gets to interact with people, and most importantly, gets a paycheck! Good luck!

[ClayTheScribe]

Originally Posted by evmdimples

Hi Clay, re: your comment about celery and potassium: bananas are also high in potassium (in case you get tired of the celery. Celery is also a diuretic, for whatever that is worth!).

Apparently celery has like 1,000 the times of potassium that bananas have, according to my friend. I haven't found celery to be too bothersome as a diuretic.

Re: job search. Have you thought of signing up with an employment agency? My (estranged) husband, an out-of-work professional photographer, finally decided to sign up (with Randstadt); within 2 weeks he had a 40-hr wk. office temp job (looks as though they'll hire him permanently). It's not in his field, but it does use some of his office management skills, it's also giving him some new skills, he gets to interact with people, and most importantly, gets a paycheck! Good luck!

I have an appointment Tuesday with a staffing company (not sure if that's the same thing as an employment agency?) to place me in a data entry position. Hopefully they can find me something, even if temporary. I grow more unsure of how I'm going to do said job coming off lithium though, it's so distracting.

[DonneIslanding]

Originally Posted by ClayTheScribe

I have an appointment Tuesday with a staffing company (not sure if that's the same thing as an employment agency?) to place me in a data entry position. Hopefully they can find me something, even if temporary. I grow more unsure of how I'm going to do said job coming off lithium though, it's so distracting.

Since it's almost a week away, I hope your system will have enough time to stabilize without lithium by then. Just have to take it like anything else: one day at a time.

You should be excited! I know a couple of people who started off as temp workers in data entry positions, only to work their way up through the ranks and become more invaluable to their companies. It's all about trying to learn as much as possible and work as best as you can.

[ClayTheScribe]

Originally Posted by DonneIslanding

Since it's almost a week away, I hope your system will have enough time to stabilize without lithium by then. Just have to take it like anything else: one day at a time.

You should be excited! I know a couple of people who started off as temp workers in data entry positions, only to work their way up through the ranks and become more invaluable to their companies. It's all about trying to learn as much as possible and work as best as you can.

I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm only "excited" because it's a job, assuming I get one, and I need money. I'm not looking to move up or become more invaluable to the company. I could care less. It's just a job until I can get a writing gig.

If my symptoms don't improve, I'm going back on the Lithium to be overmedicated and miserable again.

[wanttolive]

Clay,

You could google celery nutrition facts and banana nutrition facts to find out for sure on the potassium. If I can find the link I will put it in here. I'm low on paotassium to the point I take supplements and don't recall celery being high in PT. Bananas are though. I'll try to find the link.

Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Celery, raw

Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Bananas, raw

Hope these work. it would appear you very well intentioned freind may have been mixed up on celery. You can google for any fruit or veggie for potassium. I ended up in the er for low potassium and I though I was having a heart attack. IV Potassium hurts like hell too so take care of yourself Clay.

[ClayTheScribe]

Originally Posted by wanttolive

Clay,

You could google celery nutrition facts and banana nutrition facts to find out for sure on the potassium. If I can find the link I will put it in here. I'm low on paotassium to the point I take supplements and don't recall celery being high in PT. Bananas are though. I'll try to find the link.

Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Celery, raw

Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Bananas, raw

Hope these work. it would appear you very well intentioned freind may have been mixed up on celery. You can google for any fruit or veggie for potassium. I ended up in the er for low potassium and I though I was having a heart attack. IV Potassium hurts like hell too so take care of yourself Clay.

It's amazing what you can find using Google:

"It is able to do this because of being rich in potassium, but this health benefit of celery consumption is due to more than one ingredient that most sufferers of high blood pressure are not aware of."

"List of Potassium Rich Foods
# Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Brazil Nuts, Brown Rice, Cantaloupe, Figs, Honeydew, Kiwi, Legumes, Lima beans, Milk, Oranges, Orange Juice, Peaches, Potatoes, Prunes, Rasins, Roasted Peanuts with skin, Spinach, Squash, Vegetable Juices, Wheat Bread, White Rice, Winter Squash, Yogurt

# Tomatoes, milk products, avocados, meats, potato, celery"

My friend knows what he's talking about, he's studied these meds because he's been on them. Beside that all I know is they help me. I can't eat bananas because for some reason sugar makes the symptoms worse. He also said bananas don't have as much potassium as celery. Based on his word and my logic, I'm going with that.

Thanks.

[ClayTheScribe]

Sorry for being cantankerous, it's the tapering. I will be grateful for any job I can get in this economy.

[DonneIslanding]

ClayTheScribe, no need to apologize whatsoever. I totally understand your viewpoint and often a job is just a job (is just a job!) when you've got to pay the bills... that's often my attitude when I get frustrated with my current vocation. Plus you have a dream position to work towards, that's the kind of thing I'm looking for!

Hope you're feeling better today.

[ScaryStory]

I went off Lithium a few times in my life and both times weren't pretty. I was substituting Seroquel for Lithium but Lithium just works the best.