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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by deuce224 on June 18, 2006, at 17:46:30
I just got to a therapeutic dose of lithium and I am curious. For those of you who have had a good response from lithium, how long did it take? 1 week? 1 month? thanks-joe
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on June 18, 2006, at 18:36:43
In reply to HOW LONG BEFORE LITHIUM KICKS IN, posted by deuce224 on June 18, 2006, at 17:46:30
Usually it kicks in quickly--a few days, not even a week. It is my understanding that this is true regardless of the condition that you are taking it for. I take it for unipolar depression and it kicked in quickly for me.
Hope that it helps you!
Best,
EE
Posted by Squiggles on June 19, 2006, at 8:44:57
In reply to HOW LONG BEFORE LITHIUM KICKS IN, posted by deuce224 on June 18, 2006, at 17:46:30
> I just got to a therapeutic dose of lithium and I am curious. For those of you who have had a good response from lithium, how long did it take? 1 week? 1 month? thanks-joe
It was within a week for me, during mixed
states. It was a long time ago, so it may
have been 3-7 days for lift-off and then
quite a few months for stabilization.Squiggles
Posted by blueberry on June 19, 2006, at 18:40:37
In reply to Re: HOW LONG BEFORE LITHIUM KICKS IN, posted by Emily Elizabeth on June 18, 2006, at 18:36:43
EE, I was curious...
How did you end up choosing lithium for unipolar depression? That's interesting. That's cool it is working for you too. I mean, I know it has side effects, but compared to pharmaceuticals, at least you can say you are using natural treatment.
Anyway, why lithium? Did other meds fail? What history led you to lithium?
> Usually it kicks in quickly--a few days, not even a week. It is my understanding that this is true regardless of the condition that you are taking it for. I take it for unipolar depression and it kicked in quickly for me.
>
> Hope that it helps you!
>
> Best,
> EE
Posted by deuce224 on June 19, 2006, at 18:57:40
In reply to Re: HOW LONG BEFORE LITHIUM KICKS IN » Emily Elizabeth, posted by blueberry on June 19, 2006, at 18:40:37
I am also using lithium for unipolar depression. I have never had any signs of bipolar, but AD's have not been working for me. I have some family history of bipolar so I'm hoping lithium is the missing link in me getting well. I have been at a therapeutic level (.9) for 4 days now and I don't feel anything except maybe a little bit worse. Hopefully a little more time will do the trick.
> EE, I was curious...
>
> How did you end up choosing lithium for unipolar depression? That's interesting. That's cool it is working for you too. I mean, I know it has side effects, but compared to pharmaceuticals, at least you can say you are using natural treatment.
>
> Anyway, why lithium? Did other meds fail? What history led you to lithium?
>
> > Usually it kicks in quickly--a few days, not even a week. It is my understanding that this is true regardless of the condition that you are taking it for. I take it for unipolar depression and it kicked in quickly for me.
> >
> > Hope that it helps you!
> >
> > Best,
> > EE
>
>
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on June 19, 2006, at 23:31:33
In reply to Re: HOW LONG BEFORE LITHIUM KICKS IN » Emily Elizabeth, posted by blueberry on June 19, 2006, at 18:40:37
It wasn't at the top of my list, but I had bad luck getting a complete response. Li is very well studied as an augmentor and seems to have a good success rate. Specifically, it has been shown to reduce suicidal thoughts. It isn't the 1st thing that pdocs reach for though b/c it can have bad side effects. I haven't had probs w/ that though.
Prior to Li I tried lots of other stuff: Paxil, Prozac, Lexapro, Neurontin, Desipramine, Lamictal, Dexedrine. When I first started Li I took it along w/ Lex, Desipramine, Neurontin, and Dexedrine. Recently, I switched to Effexor to augment the Li (still taking the Neurontin and Dex). Unfortunately, I'm still not 100% so I added Abilify last week. So far so good, but I seem to have awful luck w/ drugs working at first and then fading. That said, 2 pdocs both said that we wouldn't touch the Li b/c it was clear that it is one piece of my combo that works.
Is it something that you are considering?
Best,
EE
This is the end of the thread.
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