{"id":7130,"date":"2012-10-11T19:45:01","date_gmt":"2012-10-12T02:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/?p=7130"},"modified":"2018-05-15T09:58:19","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T16:58:19","slug":"reader-question-julie-what-is-the-best-lithium-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/reader-question-julie-what-is-the-best-lithium-level\/","title":{"rendered":"Reader Question: Julie, what is the best lithium level?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

All people with bipolar disoder know the medication called lithium.\u00a0 Did you know that lithium is measured in the blood to make sure the dose is not\u00a0too high?\u00a0In the question below, Dyane asks\u00a0how she can know what level works the best. I wrote a long answer- so be ready to become a lithium expert!<\/span><\/p>\n

Hey Julie,<\/span><\/p>\n

I have been taking lithium for the past 4 years. I think it’s a great drug, and I have accepted the fact that I need to take it for the rest of my life as long as it doesn’t poop out on me or destroy my organs. I wondered if you take it or have taken it, and if so, how low a dosage did you take? My other question is do you know ***how low*** do people ever go with lithium – of course everyone is different, everyone has different blood levels of it, etc., so that’s a difficult question to answer well, but I figured I’d throw it your way. I currently take 900 mg of lithium a night, with no adverse side effects (thank God) and my blood level is at the low end of the therapeutic range. .7 I think. THANKS for anything you can share with me! Take care, Dyane<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hi Dyane,<\/span><\/p>\n

Your question has many levels- the kind of question I like!<\/span><\/p>\n

First of all, drug efficacy as well as side effects are completely dependent on our physiology.\u00a0 It\u2019s about the brain and the liver as this is basically the train station for most drugs.\u00a0 My coauthor Dr. John Preston has a theory that those who experience severe side effects tend to keep a med in the liver for a longer period- which means the meds stay in the body longer. Interesting theory.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lithium, unlike\u00a0most\u00a0bipolar disorder medications\u00a0is processed through the kidneys.<\/strong> Kidneys are sensitive creatures which is why people taking lithium absolutely must have blood tests to measure their lithium level.\u00a0 I talk to a lot of people who take lithium and the main reason they go off of lithium even though it\u2019s working is for kidney safety. \u00a0This is usually after taking the drug for many years.\u00a0 You don’t have to be scared to take lithium- you just have to be careful.<\/span><\/p>\n

I started lithium last year and it has profoundly changed my life.<\/strong> Though it\u2019s basically an anti mania drug, it\u2019s also used for serious depression.\u00a0 I added Zoloft to the lithium and kept on my Lamictal. I also take Ritalin and use Ativan when I can\u2019t sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n

My lithium side effects were off the chart for months- weight gain, fogginess, apathy ( a very serious side effect), memory loss and sleepiness-\u00a0 intense sleepiness. But I waited it out. Maybe I just gave my liver and kidneys enough time to process all of pills. I am depression free for the first time in ten years.\u00a0 Interestingly, \u00a0my lithium levels have stayed the same even though my side effects have lessened considerably.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m glad the lithium is also working for you and you don\u2019t have side effects. Awesome!<\/span><\/p>\n

This means that my brain\/body reacted differently to the lithium than yours. I wish I were more like you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding lithium levels: the goal is 1.0, but this is just a benchmark.\u00a0<\/strong> It\u2019s mostly to make sure people don\u2019t go in to lithium toxicity. All med dosages are based off average milligrams, but it\u2019s common to go way under and way beyond the dosage with meds such as Lamictal.\u00a0 For example, my mom takes 125 mg for her depression and I take 700mg. \u00a0Lithium dosage is more compact. Most people I know who take lithium are between 900-1200 mg. But this is not really the important statistic- it\u2019s all about the lithium level in the blood.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reason I\u2019m writing an encyclopedia here is to point out that successful lithium use is a combination of a dosage that works with the minimum of side effects and a level as close to 1.0 as possible.\u00a0 Your .7 level is very close to 1.0 and is not low at all. When my friend Sharon went to the hospital in a manic episode, her lithium level was at .3\u00a0 That was too low for her and the mania broke through. But, this isn\u2019t to say that a low level will not work for someone else. If it works, it works.\u00a0 We just have to keep it from going too high.<\/strong> It\u2019s so important to remember that when blood levels are too high it can lead to lithium toxicity which can ruin the kidneys.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was in and out of an extremely severe depression for almost five years. Lithium with added Zoloft saved my life. To be honest, I would give up a kidney for this, but I prefer to stay healthy! This is why I get my lithium level checked regularly. I\u2019m glad it works for you.\u00a0 Lithium works well with other drugs, so if any of you reading this are desperate for relief, lithium may be the answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

You are now an expert on lithium! \u00a0Julie<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All people with bipolar disoder know the medication called lithium. Did you know that lithium is measured in the blood to make sure the dose is not too high? In the question below, Dyane asks how she can know what level works the best. I wrote a long answer- so be ready to become a lithium expert!<\/p>\n

Hey Julie,<\/p>\n

I have been taking lithium for the past 4 years. I think it’s a great drug, and I have accepted the fact that I need to take it for the rest of my life as long as it doesn’t poop out on me or destroy my organs. I wondered if you take it or have taken it, and if so, how low a dosage did you take? My other question is do you know ***how low*** do people ever go with [ Read More ]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7130"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7130"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11457,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7130\/revisions\/11457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}