Coming off Cymbalta and Lamictal, going on Lithium

Second day not taking Cymbalta or Lamictal at all. I'm constantly out of it and a bit dizzy. Not too bad, though, just disorienting. It's like being in a mental fog, but I know it isn't the Lithium because the level of Lithium in my blood is too low to make a difference.

Erm, I hope people realize that the "i hate my life" avatar is kind of a joke. Something like this:

Nothing to do with my disorders or actual sadness.

Just went up a few weeks ago from 75mg to 100mg seroquel. I was doing great at 75, but since I switched to 100 I've been easily stressed and frequently feel like crying for little to no reason, lots of temptation to go back to cutting. Small things are setting me off again. Maybe some manic-ey stuff but not too much.

I'm pretty set on getting better at this point, so I'm not super worried; I've gotten pretty good at being mind-over-matter about this stuff, and have many friends for accountability. I'm pretty sure I won't actually take any action to self harm or whatever, but the feelings are definitely present. It's more annoying than anything, I'm definitely still functional. But I was wondering if anyone had any experience with increasing seroquel doses. Can it lead to depression? I'm seeing my psych again soon and I think he'll pull me back.

Sorry to hear your having troubles with your meds. I'm currently on 300mg of Seroquel XR, 30mg of Cymbalta, 300mg of Gabapentin, and 15mg of Olanzapine. At this point, after years of balancing, things are bearable. Yes, an increase in meds, especially Seroquel, can lead to depression. Talk to your psychiatric practitioner and see if maybe the increase in dosage could be done at a better time when you're doing relatively well.

I really hope things start working out for you. I've been to those deep, dark recesses of the mind and it is NOT fun. Make sure you have good friends at your immediate disposal, it can be invaluable.

I was on lithium for a year or two and I slept like10-14 hours a day. No joke.

I would avoid it at all costs.

thanks 747

Yeah, I'm gonna page my psych tomorrow. I really think that 600mg lithium + 75mg seroquel (not XR, mind you) was helping, but the increase just put things out of proportion.

Also, that sucks limpyloo. I remember when I was on 900mg I just sat around doing nothing lol.

is Lithium the only psychoactive metal? for some reason it just seems really strange to me to try and cure depression by ingesting something literally off the periodic table

  On 3/8/2013 at 6:16 AM, gmanyo said:

thanks 747

 

Yeah, I'm gonna page my psych tomorrow. I really think that 600mg lithium + 75mg seroquel (not XR, mind you) was helping, but the increase just put things out of proportion.

 

Also, that sucks limpyloo. I remember when I was on 900mg I just sat around doing nothing lol.

I take 25mg of seroquel right now. I decided a couples years ago that I'd rather be under-medicated than over-medicated (for anyone thinking the obvious: there is no perfect level, it's always a balancing act).

  On 3/8/2013 at 6:26 AM, Awepittance said:

is Lithium the only psychoactive metal? for some reason it just seems really strange to me to try and cure depression by ingesting something literally off the periodic table

It's lithium compounds, usually lithium carbonate although there are a couple others.

Shit is getting real.

The mineral Lithium comes from three sources: lithium brines (concentrated salt water), spodumene (a mineral rock) and clay deposits. 70% of the world's supply is located in one spot in Bolivia. Ten billion tons of salt:




Lithium is crazy... did you know that we don't know why Lithium ion batteries work?

"Still no one knows what chemical process yields this material, what is this material, and why a small structural change in the electrolyte makes such a colossal difference in the performance. There have been many theories, but even the first steps towards the formation of this material remain unknown. Higher voltage operation requires different electrolyte, while it is not known how the present one is working. Millions of dollars have been invested into solving of this problem."

In this same light we don't know how Lithium is a mood stabilizer... we know it counteracts serotonin depletion (and serotonin theory in depression is debated anyway), but why does it do this?

"It takes time for lithium to exert a meaningful and therapeutic change in the brain. Interestingly, when lithium is administered chronically (3 weeks +) , this increase in serotonin is focused in the hippocampus, rather than globally. Conversely, when lithium is administered for only a short time (1 week), an increase in serotonin is seen more globally, throughout the cortex. The therapeutic effects of lithium are only evidenced after a few weeks, suggesting that it is the increase of serotonin in the hippocampus which is the target for anti-depressive treatment. This may also explain one of the side effects of lithium use: memory loss."

Maybe how it affects memory has some kind of effect? I've no idea...

We think the big bang was the major source of lithium, and astrophysicists use the amount of lithium in a star to detect if it has planets. Our Sun, and other stars, lack lithium because of the planets (why?), while stars with high concentrations of lithium have no planets.

Haha, the soft drink 7 Up, originally named “Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda”, contained lithium citrate until it was reformulated in 1950. There also existed “Lithia-Beers” and a lithium-containing version of Coca-Cola.

I don't think that seratonin's role in depression is disputed, rather I think the hundred or so other neurotransmitters are the real variables. It's definitely not just seratonin.

Sapolsky's always fun, haven't listened to anything from him in a while, thanks for reminding me of him.

From what little I understand there's this thing called neurogenesis theory of depression, and a drug may increase serotonin in your brain, but the alleviation of depression may be due to the long-term effects of the drugs on neurogenesis and not due to serotonin. It's a theory, but if neurogenesis is increased directly, as opposed to neurotransmitters like serotonin, then maybe it can alleviate depression symptoms. So to come back to Lithium, maybe it can affect something like hippocampal neurogenesis? I'm not sure about any of this, but it's interesting to read about.

Then, just like Lithium, we just don't know:
"Much of this debate [about neurogenesis theory of depression] comes down to the fact that we don't yet have a real understanding of neurogenesis, how it works, and how it is controlled both in normal brains and in the presence of antidepressants."

  On 3/8/2013 at 8:00 AM, LimpyLoo said:

I don't think that seratonin's role in depression is disputed, rather I think the hundred or so other neurotransmitters are the real variables. It's definitely not just seratonin.

 

 

Thanks for posting! That's a really interesting talk.