Author: tearj3rker
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 9:58 pm
| hatmaker510 wrote: |
| Now I can’t see using Lithium though. It’s a very powerful, potent medication and I wouldn’t use it myself unless I had the condition for which it was intended. But that’s just me. |
Agreed completely. Lithium is a medication that should only be used to treat bipolar spectrum illness, and should be handled with care just like any other prescribed medication.
I don’t agree with the often heard idea that lithium is "a very powerful, potent medication", as if it’s more hardcore than other psych meds. It is just like any psychiatric medication. Take the correct dose and it’s fine, take too much and it’s toxic. I’m on lithium and have been for years. Once I stabilised on it, to me it’s had less side-effects than any other psychiatric medication, including anti-psychotics and other mood-stabilisers.
I have a bit of an issue with this, because as a result of this idea people who hear I’m on lithium often think I’m "very crazy" or "very sick".
Lithium has had less side-effects for me than any other psych med I’ve been on. To me, SSRI anti-deps are much more mind altering than lithium. Lithium is an organic salt mined from the ground, and has been used to treat mental illness since pre-Roman times (though they didn’t really know it at the time). It’s neuroprophylactic (protects the brain from damage) and some believe neurotrophic as well (helps your brain grow back). Side-effects? Verbal memory is a bit outta sorts at times, and I get the Lithium shakes / tremor in the hands sometimes, though it’s hardly noticeable. Since taking slow-release this is at a minimum and I can play guitar fine. Beats the massive weight gain and permanent tardive dyskenesia from all the anti-psychotics, the pain of coming off SSRI’s and blunted libido.
When it comes to a psych medication you gotta stay on for life, Lithium is the one most decent docs are happiest to prescribe. It’s not neurotoxic in the long term at correct dose, it’s straight-forward and it’s still the most effective mood stabiliser. And it’s the only psych med around that you can say is 100% organic 
OH and lamerj: Lithium won’t helps your withdrawals one iota.
