Posted by BarbaraCat on May 24, 2002, at 0:32:46
In reply to Re: What kind of lithium?, posted by TomG on May 23, 2002, at 23:21:55
Good questions, Tom. I've taken just about every other AD on the market and ended up with Remeron. It worked great for two months - the best of all of them and then pooped. The lithium seems to create a synergistic effect. One doesn't work without the other, however, whether or not another Serotonin uptake med would work just as well isn't clear. I've increased the Remeron slowly and am now up to 72.5 mg and the NE effects have definitely kicked in -- much more activating, but still not speedy or wired like, say, Prozac made me feel. I'd like some of that cleaning closets oomph! But come to think of it, I've been kinda obsessively getting back into my dance routine after 3 years of nothing. Can't hurt, since the Remeron has added a fair bit of pudge.
As far as hypothyroid, I've been on thyroid hormone since the early 80's cause it showed up in blood tests and I was feeling it's symptoms. A few years ago on the advice of a naturopath I tapered off and was not taking any for about a year. His rationale was that I perhaps didn't really need it and this was the best way to find out. I really needed it. It took another 6 months to get my levels back and feel warm again.
Currently, I take my blood tests every couple of months because of the lithium. The TSH values are good, under 2.0. I increased my dose from 1.5 grains to 2 grains (Armour thyroid - I can't take synthroid) just for the heck of it when I started lithium and TSH has remained pretty consistent. I just had a test today, so we'll see. I don't feel any hypothyroid symptoms at all now and my energy level is better than it's been in many years. I also have fibromyalgia which causes extreme fatigue and musle aches, so this is very good news for me. When I was feeling hypothyroid it felt like I had a cold furnace at my core. Felt like my joints and muscles were seizing up and aching deep inside, foggy brain, bone-weary tired, sluggish, dry hair, constipation.
Oh, also, just today my pdoc recommended taking all my lithium in one dose. For me this is at bedtime. He said some recent evidence suggests that this avoids alot of the side effects for some reason I don't quite understand.
- Barbara> Thanks for replying Barbara,
> I'm taking lithium carbonate also, but I will discuss with my doctor about different kinds. For me lithium worked alone at 900mgs for five days. How do you distinguish the effects of the lithium from the effects of the Remeron? I took Remeron alone about three years ago and it caused some weird side effects (extremely vivid dreams and it turned me into an obsessive workhorse--- cleaning out closets organizing drawers etc. etc.) but really no antidepressant effects. If you have any other lithium knowledge please tell. Also, were your blood tests normal to indicate you had hypo-thyroid or was it obvious that it was under-producing?
>
> Tom
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:107138
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020517/msgs/107473.html