Posted by RiFi on March 16, 2012, at 6:19:56
In reply to Re: Lithium induced hypomania and anxiety cont..., posted by linkadge on March 12, 2012, at 22:15:12
Hi Linkadge,
Thanks so much for your post. I hung in there for a few more days but, despite lowering the dose of my antidepressant and lithium, my symptoms continued to get worse. I rang my pdoc and he thought definitely serotonin syndrome, especially as I've had it once before (when we trialled a tiny, tiny dose of dexamphetamine in addition to SNRI).
I've experienced 'activation' and drug-induced hypomania many times, but this was fundamentally different - extreme anxiety, rumination, the muscles in my back and shoulder became harder and harder, and every muscle in my body feels like it's run it's own marathon - very sore and stiff, tremor, agitation, and I can't overstate the anxiety which I've beaten for the last decade with meds.
I stopped taking lithium yesterday morning and have kept my SNRI dosage low, and the symptoms are slowly subsiding.
Regardless, thank you for the heads up regarding the activiation you experience with Lithium. Who'd have thought! Especially when it has a reputation of turning people into tired, flat logs (though of course not everyone and I know it can be a wonderful, wonderful drug for many).
Ri
poster:RiFi
thread:1012906
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120316/msgs/1013233.html