Lithium Toxicity

[T4C Fantasy]

I will be writing about my experience with lithium toxicity, I plan to update this thread, this will be a synopsis of my experience.

the attachment is just for fun, my progress in track times.

July 25th/28th
I started walking to exercise while with my gf, I started out at 240lbs and did pretty well with progress.

Aug 3rd
I started to get competitive and timed my laps around a 106m and 404m track (baseball field) 30m to 1h daily and really enjoyed exercising.
Over time I started losing weight and improving how I lived my life, from July to September I went from 240lbs to 217lbs and this is when the problems started.

Sep 28th
I started seeing lights around my peripheral vision and I didn't think much of it.

Oct 7th
I was in the lobby of an office building waiting for it to open and I started to develop tremors (shaking, off-balance) was really nervous but it didn't lead to any other side effects that concerned me.

Oct 8th
I started to lose taste but it was slight and not much of a concern to me.

Oct 9th
my taste got better, seeing more lights though and felt better too. I finally felt normal and went for my walk, perfect weather and perfect day.

Oct 10th
I woke up with depression, stress, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, tremors, a lot of lights shining in my peripheral vision and my taste was completely disgusting (rust\metal) flavored,
because of certain circumstances that happened it caused misconceptions with the family and my symptoms were treated as just being really anxious and spent the day with my mom.

Oct 11th
I woke up better this day, however that was short lived because I took a nap after taking my meds which is what I usually do and woke up with dimness\color changes of light and worse tremors,
I asked for help by this point from my mom, she comforted me and it actually helped calm my nerves. At night when my gf went to sleep I would have panic attacks and got hot flashes. (this was horrible)

Oct 12th
Blurry vision was added to the rest of the symptoms on this day, I started to cry and panic as I thought I was dying and it started with blindness. However my taste came back to about 80% and other things improved.

Oct 13th
I was not that depressed anymore through most of the day, my right hand middle\ring finger was now stiff and hurt.

Oct 14th
Today was the same level of symptoms as Oct 11th but the lighting was becoming all orange, I showed my brother my symptoms log and just told me it sounds like covid.
I took 2 rapid covid tests and they were both negative. Later that night I confided in my mom that these symptoms are related to the brain and can be life threatening (changes in vision) so we looked up fast clinics,
but they don't treat this sort of thing, ultimately we decided on a hospital.

Oct 15th
Around 4\6am EDT my girlfriend noticed the corner of my mouth froze when trying to talk. The symptoms mimicked a stroke/heart attack, very slow response in answering questions related to date and day but both answered correctly. It took around 15 minutes to recover. Me and my mom went to the hospital, around mid morning I entered the hospital and heavy tremors started to form, I could no longer walk and was put in a wheelchair. I was taken to a room to be asked questions, I presented my symptoms log and medical records to the doctor right away (tried to be as prepared as possible). I was getting my blood taken and sent in for a CT scan.
The CT scan showed nothing but the blood test revealed I had very low potassium and critically high Lithium. At this point my Lithium levels were damaging my kidneys and they sent me to the ER when a bed was available. A team of doctors were debating if I should be on dialysis while pumping me with fluids and potassium.

Oct 16th
The doctors determined dialysis may not be needed and decided to draw blood every 2 hours to see my progress. Everything tasted like shit,
my taste buds were trashed and the only thing I could handle was water and something called Italian ice (was on clear liquid diet), the reason for the Lithium overdose is because I lost too much weight for the amount of lithium I was taking.

Oct 17th
I was out of it and didn't really talk to anyone, I had a sleepless day and night while having my blood drawn every 2 hours.
My arm looked like a slasher movie and it was really saddening.

Oct 18th
I started to interact more with friends and family but it was very limited. Tremors and anxiety actually got worse but my depression was gone. My fingers started to heal and some vision changes got really worse.

Oct 19th
I was more unbalanced but was cleared of stress, anxiety, depression, taste was around 80% and I started to develop visions with eyes closed.
The last thing I was asked to do was drink a lot of water to flush out some sodium. I was sent home.

Oct 20th
Woke up pretty good and noticed the tremors were about the same and now with double vision, the visions from eyes being closed have died down now and slight headaches were starting,
through all of this I was thinking the lithium is still being dissolved, didn't think much of it. By the end of the end of the day 95% of the tremors were gone and taste is now around 95%.

Oct 21st
Day started normal until I tried to walk up the stairs, double vision has extremely worsened, left eye feels heavier and headaches are beginning, all of the tremors are gone and taste is still around 95%.

Oct 22nd
around 1am the double vision seemed to have gone down and almost feeling normal, mid morning double vision and balance has become worse. 5pm ringing of ears beginning on and off.

Oct 23rd
Woke up with muscle weakness and worse double vision, worse balance and Oily feeling on lips and tongue (like lip balm) , everything else is 100%. The day continued this way.

Oct 24th
Muscle weakness got slightly worse and double vision about the same, balance improved a bit. (Hoping it's just the last of the lithium flushing, my potassium levels are getting lower because of this.)
By the end of the night my sight is almost back to normal. Very weak wrist strength. Speed walked for a 0:53.9 (100m) 30m of warmup.

Oct 25th
Potassium still decreasing at a steady rate, vision is switching from normal to double. Oily feeling on tongue still there but slightly better, very weak still. Eye doctor says astigmatism went up a quarter but everything else is normal.

Oct 26th
Muscle strength seems to be at 60%, double vision still happening. Depressed from all the resting and no exercising.
Walked for about 15 or so minutes, ran out of energy quick but timed a 0:59.4 100m. I feel like I gained weight but I weigh 213.8lbs.
Food with lots of potassium came in today, tongue feels more normal.
Detoxing a lot by the end of day, drank lots of V8 low sodium juice and eating nuts for the potassium.

Oct 27th
Woke up with a new kind of penalization where I felt weaker but I probably overdosed on another vitamin last night. After taking meds with a nap my wrist strength is getting better, balance hasn't changed. Eye sight has improved a little. Speed walked for a 0:53.4 (100m) 15m warmup.

Oct 28th
Woke up better than yesterday about the same strength, by about 1pm my strength and balance has improved, speed walked better times (0:49.3) 15m warmup (215.8lbs). Bipolar symptoms seem to be creeping up now.

Oct 29th
Double vision improved but comes and goes more, balance and wrist strength improved, tongue and lips back to normal. Blew away my personal record 100m speed walking time (0:48.1 to 0:43.9) 20m warmup (216.4lbs). almost fell down the outside stairs getting the mail, still very unbalanced. the entire day I had no V8 to drink.

Oct 30th
Vision normal so far, strength is weaker like on the 28th, balance almost seems to be back to normal. (just did my walking exercise balance becomes much worse when standing). couldn't do a 100m today so did a 20.8 meter speed walk and achieved 8.95 seconds.

Oct 31st
Everything seems to be back to normal so far, broke another PB 100m speed walking time. (0:43.9 to 0:41.1) 30m warmup (217.0lbs).

Nov 2nd
Still have balance issues, they come and go, after exercising the balancing becomes worse.

Nov 4th
Back to 100%, thank you all for reading my synopsis.

 

[the54thvoid]

So you were on Lithium as a medication at a heavier weight and dropped your body mass down? If anything, that's a lesson on medication and exercise. Been in fitness for 27 years (soon to leave) and it's a very necessary question to ask someone about medication. For example, diabetes medicine can be trashed by sudden activity (blood sugar tanking), heart meds (beta blockers) can make the person feel like shit when they try to 'overdo' it.

As for Lithium, a quick NHS check says a few things about problems, dehydration being one cause of possible adverse effects. And certainly, an abrupt introduction to an exercise regime will potentially dehydrate you. Also (and possibly more on point), heavier and/or deconditioned people produce more concentrated sweat, i.e., you lose far more salt than a fitter person does. Over time, the body adjusts and the salt loss from a fit person is far lower than that of someone just starting out. That would possibly explain your low potassium levels.

The high Lithium would be in comparison to the lower potassium levels, although, as mentioned, your reduction in body mass would affect the required dose of Lithium.

I'm glad things ard getting better but keep your doc up to speed with lifetsyle changes - these things always have a bearing on prescribed drugs and the dose response.


Edit: post moved from previous thread.

 

[T4C Fantasy]

Im recovering in many areas and some slowly. Hoping nothing is permanent.

 

[Hyderz]

keep fighting there bud, wish you a swift recovery and back to your normal daily routines..

 

[Aquinus]

Lithium has an incredibly narrow therapeutic range and can be very dangerous if dosed too high. Typically medical professionals regularly do blood tests for people on lithium given how narrow the therapeutic range is because it's very easy to fall outside of it. My wife refuses to take lithium for mood stabilization. She hates what it does to her and your experience is definitely in line with how it made her feel. Perhaps something else might be safer and/or more effective? Obviously that's a conversation with you and your doctor, but Lithium definitely has a lot of nasty side-effects. Your doc might suggest trying something like Valproate or an anticonvulsant like Lamictal which has mood stabilizing features to it.

tl;dr: If I were you, I'd ask your doc about an alternative for mood stabilization.

 

[T4C Fantasy]

Lithium has an incredibly narrow therapeutic range and can be very dangerous if dosed too high. Typically medical professionals regularly do blood tests for people on lithium given how narrow the therapeutic range is because it's very easy to fall outside of it. My wife refuses to take lithium for mood stabilization. She hates what it does to her and your experience is definitely in line with how it made her feel. Perhaps something else might be safer and/or more effective? Obviously that's a conversation with you and your doctor, but Lithium definitely has a lot of nasty side-effects. Your doc might suggest trying something like Valproate or an anticonvulsant like Lamictal which has mood stabilizing features to it.

tl;dr: If I were you, I'd ask your doc about an alternative for mood stabilization.

currently Lamotrigine is one of my prescriptions already. so far so good on mood.

 

[Frick]

Lithium has an incredibly narrow therapeutic range and can be very dangerous if dosed too high. Typically medical professionals regularly do blood tests for people on lithium given how narrow the therapeutic range is because it's very easy to fall outside of it. My wife refuses to take lithium for mood stabilization. She hates what it does to her and your experience is definitely in line with how it made her feel. Perhaps something else might be safer and/or more effective? Obviously that's a conversation with you and your doctor, but Lithium definitely has a lot of nasty side-effects. Your doc might suggest trying something like Valproate or an anticonvulsant like Lamictal which has mood stabilizing features to it.

tl;dr: If I were you, I'd ask your doc about an alternative for mood stabilization.

Is lithium prescribed as a generel mood stabilizer in the US? The only people I know of who eats it basically has no better alternatives (specific bipolar disorders).

 

[Aquinus]

Is lithium prescribed as a generel mood stabilizer in the US? The only people I know of who eats it basically has no better alternatives (specific bipolar disorders).

Yeah, it is. However I'm uncertain if it's typically used as a first line of treatment these days. My wife was given it after she was hospitalized during a manic episode quite a while ago when she needed to get brought back to baseline. Since then she refuses to take it. I also learned with the most recent episode that she has an allergic reaction to abilify as well. Right now she's taking quetiapine (Seroquel,) and it seems to be mostly working, except the ER version seems to keep her a bit on the sedated side during the course of the day even though she takes it before bed.

I would like to again point out that the risk of lithium shouldn't be underestimated. It's very easy to overdose on it, even unintentionally. Typical serum levels during therapy should be something like 0.5-1.2mEq/L, except toxicity symptoms can begin as low as 1.5mEq/L and 3.5mEq/L or higher can be fatal. To put this into perspective, if you accidently take it twice in a day at an amount that keeps your serum levels stable, you'll be very close to overdosing on it. That's how dangerous lithium is. My personal opinion is that it should only be used in an in-patient setting, but I'm also not a doctor nor a medical professional, so take my opinion for what it's worth (probably nothing. )

 

[Emboldi]

currently Lamotrigine is one of my prescriptions already. so far so good on mood.

Nice, thank you. And I thought this thread was about battery toxicity.

 

[Ozmandias]

My friends partner was on lithium for bipolar disorder. They had to stop giving her it as her kidney function was down to 30%. She is on sertraline now I think. Pretty sure they don't still give lithium in the UK but could be wrong.

 

[the54thvoid]

My friends partner was on lithium for bipolar disorder. They had to stop giving her it as her kidney function was down to 30%. She is on sertraline now I think. Pretty sure they don't still give lithium in the UK but could be wrong.

Lithium is prescribed for bipolar disorder by the NHS in the UK.

 

[Aquinus]

She is on sertraline now I think.

That doesn't sound right. People with bipolar disorder are at increased risk of a manic episode when taking SSRIs IIRC. Typically something like Latuda is a better option for that population, but I'd warn that the same kind of issue can arise with high doses of that, like 80mg. I'm also on sertraline myself and I happen to know that it's a more activating antidepressant than most other SSRIs, for people with a history of manic (not depressive,) episodes, it might be a bad medication to be using. Once again, I'm not a doctor, my wife is just bipolar and has taken several different meds for it and I tend to do research on everything that she gets prescribed and observe how it has worked for her.

 

[Steevo]

Bipolar and borderline personality disorders are a terrible thing to live with. My ex wife went through some really dark times and strange places while we were together, culminating in her leaving me, our kids, her dying mother while on a manic episode that tore her family apart for awhile. Continued therapy, taking meds when you don't think you need them, and trusting the people in your life who have been there for you are essential. Mental health disorders are still as much of an art as a science and what works for one may not work for another, to whoever is hurting, alone, tired, angry or bruised from the world, it does get better, it takes time, and having a daily routine with boundaries is essential.


Stay the course, stay strong with those who love you and sometimes relinquish your fears to those who you know support you.

 

[R-T-B]

Nice, thank you. And I thought this thread was about battery toxicity.

That was my thought when I read the title too, lol.

My brother was on Lithium briefly but it did him no good as well. He's stable now in terms of depression and his set of issues, thank goodness, but good luck in your battles.

Once again, I'm not a doctor

Also, good advice to remember for everyone in this thread, good intentions aside. Do consult your doctor first and foremost.

 

[Frick]

Yeah, it is. However I'm uncertain if it's typically used as a first line of treatment these days. My wife was given it after she was hospitalized during a manic episode quite a while ago when she needed to get brought back to baseline. Since then she refuses to take it. I also learned with the most recent episode that she has an allergic reaction to abilify as well. Right now she's taking quetiapine (Seroquel,) and it seems to be mostly working, except the ER version seems to keep her a bit on the sedated side during the course of the day even though she takes it before bed.

I would like to again point out that the risk of lithium shouldn't be underestimated. It's very easy to overdose on it, even unintentionally. Typical serum levels during therapy should be something like 0.5-1.2mEq/L, except toxicity symptoms can begin as low as 1.5mEq/L and 3.5mEq/L or higher can be fatal. To put this into perspective, if you accidently take it twice in a day at an amount that keeps your serum levels stable, you'll be very close to overdosing on it. That's how dangerous lithium is. My personal opinion is that it should only be used in an in-patient setting, but I'm also not a doctor nor a medical professional, so take my opinion for what it's worth (probably nothing. )

Lithium as general mood stabilizer sounds really dangerous tbh. For bipolar disorder it's ok though as that has a high mortality rate and lithium has proven to significatly lower mortality. It's really managable, but requires frequent liver testing and education.

Quetiapine is a bit of a zombie drug (depending on if you take the slow dissolving ones), with a fun common side effect of weight gain. It can be effective though. It was the only thing that helped me to actually sleep consistently.

 

[Solaris17]

Nice, thank you. And I thought this thread was about battery toxicity.

My boy out here just eating double A’s (just keeping the mood up…wait)

 

[qubit]

That sounds like a horrible experience, glad you're getting better.

Lithium really isn't good for you, especially long term, so I'd see your doctor about coming off it. Whatever you do though, don't go cold turkey.

Please keep us posted on your recovery.

 

[Tropick]

currently Lamotrigine is one of my prescriptions already. so far so good on mood.

This is my experience as well, on lamotrigine 150mg for BPII and have had no problems whatsoever. No emotional blunting or "zombification" to speak of. In fact quite the opposite, small inconveniences bother me a lot less which makes me far more capable of focusing and I can control my emotions much better. I'm also on 300mg bupropion XL which has paired incredibly well with the lamotrigine. The lam keeps the highs from getting too high and the bup keeps me from getting too deep in the pits. Been on the combo for nearly two years now without incident, feel more like myself than I did before the meds

 

[Ozmandias]

That doesn't sound right. People with bipolar disorder are at increased risk of a manic episode when taking SSRIs IIRC. Typically something like Latuda is a better option for that population, but I'd warn that the same kind of issue can arise with high doses of that, like 80mg. I'm also on sertraline myself and I happen to know that it's a more activating antidepressant than most other SSRIs, for people with a history of manic (not depressive,) episodes, it might be a bad medication to be using. Once again, I'm not a doctor, my wife is just bipolar and has taken several different meds for it and I tend to do research on everything that she gets prescribed and observe how it has worked for her.

It seems to be working at the moment, my friend had to get her to voluntarily go into hospital for a while some time ago as she was hearing voices and other things. My mate Paul said he has had problems over the years with them struggling to ge her moods stable.

This is my experience as well, on lamotrigine 150mg for BPII and have had no problems whatsoever. No emotional blunting or "zombification" to speak of. In fact quite the opposite, small inconveniences bother me a lot less which makes me far more capable of focusing and I can control my emotions much better. I'm also on 300mg bupropion XL which has paired incredibly well with the lamotrigine. The lam keeps the highs from getting too high and the bup keeps me from getting too deep in the pits. Been on the combo for nearly two years now without incident, feel more like myself than I did before the meds

I will let my friend see this, maybe this combo might work for his gf better than the sertraline alone.

 

[T4C Fantasy]

I went for a walk and timed a 0:59:4 for a 100m speedwalk.
I was depressed thinking I gained all my weight back but I maintained weight, 213.8lbs.

Edit:
I ran out of energy quicker than usual and didn't warm up much
Oct 24th I speedwalked for 0:53:9 (100m), a huge difference and I felt weaker then.

 

[R-T-B]

My boy out here just eating double A’s (just keeping the mood up…wait)

Mmm... Energizer Lithium power.

 

[caroline!]

I have my doubts about these meds. Had a friend who was taking lithium and other meds, family is poor so he had nowhere to stay, ended up in the asylum where he was getting meds but I went there once and the few that were outside looked and walked like zombies, inside there's cell blocks with dozens of guys doing "crazy things" like the guard told me with a creepy grin in his face, they call that area the reception, it's where they wait for inner cells or "suites" to become available.
But that's where the poor "crazy" people go, the rich have alternatives, like private doctors, nurses and home therapy that for sure doesn't includes being caged like a monkey.

It makes me think, a lot of these people are sick, they don't do the things they do willingly, at least most of them, so why treat them like trash? there's a lot of urban legends and stories about insane asylums doing experiments, some were real because there's been multiple times where bones were found buried in the parks these places have, I don't think they still take out parts of brains to cure hysteria or deppression though, at least not legally, if they do nobody knows.
Their sicknesses maybe don't have a cure but turning them into zombies or tying them to a bed isn't really helping too much either.

The lithium poisoned his kidneys and liver, died after 2 years and 8 months.

 

[T4C Fantasy]

I have my doubts about these meds. Had a friend who was taking lithium and other meds, family is poor so he had nowhere to stay, ended up in the asylum where he was getting meds but I went there once and the few that were outside looked and walked like zombies, inside there's cell blocks with dozens of guys doing "crazy things" like the guard told me with a creepy grin in his face, they call that area the reception, it's where they wait for inner cells or "suites" to become available.
But that's where the poor "crazy" people go, the rich have alternatives, like private doctors, nurses and home therapy that for sure doesn't includes being caged like a monkey.

It makes me think, a lot of these people are sick, they don't do the things they do willingly, at least most of them, so why treat them like trash? there's a lot of urban legends and stories about insane asylums doing experiments, some were real because there's been multiple times where bones were found buried in the parks these places have, I don't think they still take out parts of brains to cure hysteria or deppression though, at least not legally, if they do nobody knows.
Their sicknesses maybe don't have a cure but turning them into zombies or tying them to a bed isn't really helping too much either.

The lithium poisoned his kidneys and liver, died after 2 years and 8 months.

Lithium worked really well in my case (was on it for 7 years) but me losing so much weight so fast and not returning my blood work in fast enough caused this. I had too much lithium for my body mass and now im off of it. Still recovering and hoping to return back to normal.

 

[the54thvoid]

I have my doubts about these meds. Had a friend who was taking lithium and other meds, family is poor so he had nowhere to stay, ended up in the asylum where he was getting meds but I went there once and the few that were outside looked and walked like zombies, inside there's cell blocks with dozens of guys doing "crazy things" like the guard told me with a creepy grin in his face, they call that area the reception, it's where they wait for inner cells or "suites" to become available.
But that's where the poor "crazy" people go, the rich have alternatives, like private doctors, nurses and home therapy that for sure doesn't includes being caged like a monkey.

It makes me think, a lot of these people are sick, they don't do the things they do willingly, at least most of them, so why treat them like trash? there's a lot of urban legends and stories about insane asylums doing experiments, some were real because there's been multiple times where bones were found buried in the parks these places have, I don't think they still take out parts of brains to cure hysteria or deppression though, at least not legally, if they do nobody knows.
Their sicknesses maybe don't have a cure but turning them into zombies or tying them to a bed isn't really helping too much either.

The lithium poisoned his kidneys and liver, died after 2 years and 8 months.

The meds work - it's how the people who take them are treated that counts. Mental illness isn't a state of being that can be cured by goodwill and feelings - a lot of it is neurologically founded and chemically responsive. It's just knowing what chemicals and what other therapies will best benefit the indivudual. Of course wealth makes it easier to access medication but it shouldn't be used as a reason to doubt the efficacy of treatment.

And yeah, unfortunately there are many cases of mental hospitals with effective prisoners but that's not the OP here, so let's not get distracted.

 

[R-T-B]

Having an uncle who was effectively an orderly in the mental health system at a pretty high security facility here in the PNW region of USA, he taught me two things: 1.) there are some people who need meds and no amount of good feels will fix them and 2.) there are some people who are so far gone they really can't be entrusted to live in the outside world, meds or not.

The 2nd group was a very hard spot for my uncle who generally wanted to help people. It led to early career burnout and early retirement. It's very tough working with people you know will most likely never recover.

That's all I got.