Lithium facts

[Atlantis]

Hi Tracey,
Sorry to hear about your RLS. I experienced this while I was taking Abilify and it was so severe I stopped the medication after 1 week...
I could not sleep and could barely keep my body still while i was driving, even short distances in the car was agony, i would stretch out my legs, have to take my foot off the gas pedal, shift around in my seat, looking back really I should not of been driving. I could not sit in the same postion for longer than a few minutes.

The RLS was so severe that even though I had an appt with my pdoc in about 5 days time, I stopped the med on my own because I thought I was going to crawl out of my own body...I have never stopped a med on my own before.

Here is a link that talks about RLS and the many causes of RLS, examples Lithium, dopamine agonists, SSRI's (Abilify is a partial dopamine and serotonin agonist). There are many more causes listed in the article too.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000701/108.html

I hope the article is helpful and I hope the RLS goes away soon, it is a terrible side effect.

[paul m]

Hello All. RLS (restless leg) usually is not caused by lithium(it may) . However due to the huge amount of water we drink when we take lithium and the amount of extra sweating we do (at least I do) we can often flush out and above average amount of essential vitamions and minerals as well as becoming slightly dehydrated.

When either happens to me, I end up with more minor (and sometimes major) leg cramps and RLS. It especially happens to me during hot weather or if I am doing any activity where I sweat a lot(physical work , cleaning, working in a hot kitchen etc).

I take multi vitamins yr round and they seem to help, sometimes I increase them a bit in hot weather. Some sports drinks help too.

For those with MINOR rls streching exercises may help. Lie on your back with your legs staight and together, toes pointed upright. Point your toes away from you as far as you can, stretching and hold for 10 seconds, then relax, after a moment of relaxing your muscles, then point your toes towards your head and stretch for 10 seconds. Repeat multiple times(about 5 minutes). This helps to stretch and loosen the muscles in the back of your leg so that minor contractions don't bother you as much. The best part about this exercise is that if you wake up because of rls, you can try this solution without getting out of bed. Take Care. paul m

[gtchamp]

Hi guys...I want to thank you for the advice. I am trying to incorporate what I have read in the articles and what is written here. However, I have been woken up at 3:30 for the past 3 nights. Fortunately, it has not effected my mood yet but I am getting REALLY frustrated. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it subsides soon. I don't see my doctor for another 2 weeks. It even wakes me out of my sleeping med induced sleep!

Grrrrrrr

Thanks for listening. I just needed to vent.

[Atlantis]

Hi Tracey,
Can you call your pdoc and see if you can get an earlier appt, not getting a good nights sleep can be so dangerous for our mood stability.

p.s. I tried to respond to your pm but i get an error saying that you can not recieve pm's, that you may have the function disabled. Woody/AJ will be able to help you fix this.

Let me know when you have it fixed so i can reply

[gtchamp]

Thanks Atlantis. I was awake again at 3 this morning. I am going to call the doc today. I am very frustrated.

In regards to the pm....I think it is because you were not added to my contacts/friends list so I sent you a request for that. Hopefully that helps.

I look forward to hearing from you!
Tracey

[Woody]

Boy that was hard to fix ... I'm wiped out

[gtchamp]

Lol .... you are very funny Woody.

[Atlantis]

Woody, I love the funny sarcasm jokes, very funny

[gtchamp]

Hi everyone. I just wanted to say that since I have been on Lithium things have been going great. I mean, I have suffered alot from med withdrawals (going off other meds) but my mind is very clear and my mood is good. My question to anyone is this, whenever any of you had some stability, did you find that you were constantly wondering when it will end? I am constantly having to remind myself to stay positive and not worry but it has been soooooo long since I have felt like this. In some respects I kinda feel scared. Does that make sense?
Tracey

[Re-O]

Hi Gtchamp,

I'm glad that lithium is working for you. That's great news. When I first started lithium I too was amazed at how clear things seemed. I also had the fear of slipping.

At times I wondered if I was going to somehow accidentally burst the bubble. Almost to the point of self induced panic. I felt like I was holding my breath for fear of a hiccup. Since, I have had some rough days but not nearly as rough as before I took it.

If I could suggest anything, It is to appreciate the moment and try not to worry about what may or may not happen. Enjoy the current stability.

[A.E.V.]

I do the same thing every time Tracey... I just wait for the other shoe to drop! it's a feeling I truly hate - when is it going to end kind of feeling.

Anne.

[paul m]

Hello Tracey. The following is an exaggeration, but not by much. I live in constant fear that my meds will quit working and I will have to go back to that awfull period of my life. I am not sure if I would have the strength to through all of that again.

Having said that, I know that no matter what I will never have to go through another extended horrid period like that again. I have learned what works and more importantly I have learned where to go for support when I need it. For example, you nice folks weren't around in 1999. I have also learned more about the medical system and no longer just blindly follow a doctors orders while I continually get worse.

Of course, there are many who would not consider me real stable at any time. But yes I do worry about something happening.

As a side note, my wife worries even more. We have terrible illnesses and we have all had rough times, we would be less than human not to worry about it. Take Care, paul m

[Woody]

Like Anne said, always ready for that shoe to drop. Logically, there is no reason for this but it is still very present in the back of my mind. Other worry is what if the Maple Leaf do win the cup... hell freezes over and I cant get my Seroquel anymore Setting aside for a moment the poking fun at the Leaf, one tornado, one black out, one terrorist attack, one policy change at Queen's park and poof ... what then

[gtchamp]

Well it sure feels nice to know that I am not the only one who feels this way. I am taking it one day at a time and am thankful for each "stable" day. It took me 7 years to get here. It was a long road and I never thought it would get better but it has. Fingers crossed....

[Atlantis]

I'll cross my fingers and toes for you