lithium shakes

[A.E.V.]

pfft... still shaking... pretty fed up. will speak to the pdoc tomorrow, and if I don't like what he says, I'm scrapping all my meds! :s

[paul m]

Hello Anne. I'm sure that the shakes are really bothering you, but I would be carefull about dumping all of your meds without a back up plan. . Take Care. paul m

[Lizzy]

Hang in there Anne. It must be bad for you to want to dump everything. Just so you know you're not the only one, I quiver a bit too. Worse when I am a bit nervous & it's embarassing. Your shaking sounds worse.. Hope they can narrow down the cause of it.

[astronaut]

How did the pdoc appointment go, Anne?

[A.E.V.]

never went... slept through til 1pm!
it wasn't an official appointment, just one between two patients to see how I am doing.

I ended up calling in instead, and the pdoc is weaning me off the epival completely. he has not mentioned what we will try next, and he is on vacation for this coming week.

[astronaut]

That must be annoying for you that you missed the appointment but at least you got a phone call in and that the pdoc is starting something that may help the shaking. Do you think it is the epival that is causing the shaking?
Do you have someone else to go to while your pdoc is away incase your mood gets worse or the shaking doesn't stop?

take care,
astronaut

[A.E.V.]

my hand started shaking when I was on the mix of epival and lithium together, at higher doses. they were both started roughly at the same time, so it's hard to tell which initiated the tremor. all I know is that I do not take the lithium anymore, and it's still there...

I have to call in again tomorrow to let the nurse know how I am doing. is there another pdoc I can see while mine's off if needed? I think so.

[paul m]

Hello Anne. I've slept through more than a few appointments. I often felt that pdocs should have to work 1pm-9pm. Take Care. paul m

[A.E.V.]

spoke to the nurse again today, and the pdoc is reducing my abilify because even though I'm shaking a little less, I'm so sleepy it's not even funny! AJ, have you ever found the abilify to make you that tired? I just want to sleep my days away.
I also told her I feel "down yet stable" meaning I have not been feeling better or worse, just down.

[And]

haven't read the entire thread... but I had shakes from lithium. I stopped it and they reduced significantly. Although once I reduce prozac and quetiapine my doc wants to try lithium again. So it did give me shakes, but it could be because of the combination. Just discuss the pros and cons, and make slow changes. Hopefully its cleared up, or you've found a new med.

The only thing that I can say that I loved about lithium, was the $5 price tag.

[astronaut]

Hi Anne,

What dose of Abilify are you on if you don't mind me asking? Abilify knocked me out and made me very drowsy. I started at 5mg and my pdoc wanted me at 10-15mg but she couldn't raise the dose past 5mg because whenever I went up to 10mg I just got too sleepy and drowsy--even though I took it at night, it really affected me.
Abilify never made me shaky though. Risperidal gave me eye twitches and Wellbutrin made me shake a bit when I first started taking it, but not as bad as what it sound like you have had to go through.
good luck!
astronaut

[A.E.V.]

astronaut, I was at 10mg a day up until today. I have reduced it to 5mg. I'm seriously debating removing it to see if it helps!
and, do you think the prozac could be affecting my tremor as well?

it's been over five weeks and I'm fed up of this...

[AJ]

Anne, Abilify has not made me drowsy. I'm on 30mg daily in AM.

[astronaut]

Hi Anne,

I think AJ's response to the Abilify is a more typical response than my own. I was told by my pdoc to take the Abilify in the morning because it might keep me awake and even agitate me. Well, like I said, it made me drowsy so I had to take it at night. When I went down to 5mg, I got used to the med and it didn't cause me to feel tired anymore. Do you take yours at night? Before you consider going off the Abilify altogether, I would wait at least a week or two to allow the higher dose to get out of your system and to allow your body to adjust to the 5mg. I know that sounds like a long time but I think that will give you a better idea as to if it is going to be too overpowering for you to take. Have you experienced any benefits from the Abilify? Keep track of any positive things too because you don't want to lose the positive effects by going off the drug either.

I know nothing about Prozac. sorry.

astronaut

[A.E.V.]

here's the thing... I'm super tired all day and just want to sleep, but then when I get to bed I cannot sleep because I feel agitated and my legs won't stop dancing a jig on their own.

today is definitely not a good day, so maybe it was the starts of a down too... who knows at this point. all I want to do is cry and sleep, but can't do neither!

the one positive effect it has is that it stops me from hearing voices as often as I used to.

sigh...........