Lithium

[Rebecca Petris]

Does anybody here have any insight/experience about dry eye issues (side effects/ exacerbating symptoms/ drug interactions) relating to lithium treatment for bipolar?

[Scout]

Rebecca,
Because of the potential for some people to experience fluid loss while taking lithium, some patients may experience dry eye. Lithium can affect thyroid levels as well, which can increase dry eye.

What side effects may I notice from taking lithium? (Back to top)
Side effects that you should report to your prescriber or health care professional as soon as possible:
More common:
•diarrhea
•drowsiness
•loss of appetite
•muscle weakness
•nausea, vomiting
•slurred speech
These symptoms can progress to:
•blurred vision
•clumsiness or loss of balance
•confusion
•dizziness
•seizures
•trembling
Rare or uncommon:
•difficulty speaking or swallowing
•fainting
•hair loss
•hoarseness
•slow, fast, or irregular heartbeat (palpitations)
•pain, coldness, or blue coloration of fingers or toes
•rough, dry skin
•sensitivity to cold
•swelling in the neck
•unusual tiredness or weakness
•unusual weight gain

Side effects that usually do not require medical attention (report to your prescriber or health care professional if they continue or are bothersome):
•increased thirst
•increased frequency and urgency to pass urine
•muscle twitches
•nausea
•skin rash
•stomach bloating, full feeling
•trembling of the hands

The amount of salt (sodium) in your body influences the effects of lithium, and lithium can increase salt loss from the body. Eat a normal diet that includes salt. Do not change to salt substitutes. Avoid changes involving diet, or medications that include large amounts of sodium (such as sodium bicarbonate). Ask your prescriber or health care professional for advice if you are not sure.

Drink plenty of fluids while you are taking lithium. Avoid drinks that contain caffeine, such as coffee, tea and colas. You will need extra fluids if you have diarrhea or sweat a lot. This will help prevent toxic effects from lithium. Be careful not to get overheated during exercise, saunas, hot baths, and hot weather. Consult your prescriber or health care professional if you have a high fever or persistent diarrhea.

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Use...thobid,00.html

Scout

[Rojzen]

Lithium in dietary doses

By chance, I have come across a body of literature on the use of low-dose Lithium supplementation for the treatment of fibromyalgia, some metabolic disorders, and depression. The best articles I've seen, so far, note that Lithium supplementation has been shunned, possibly in too many cases, because of the very problematic side-effects/toxicity associated with megadose Lithium extracts (Rx only) used in treatment of bipolar disease and the associated stigma. (Scout has posted here, on some of the serious side-effects of Rx Lithium.) Doses used in prescription Lithium (often in chloride form) are sometimes 300mg or higher/day of elemental Lithium. Much lower doses, along the lines of 20-30mg/day of Lithium Aspartate, or 150 mcg/day of vegetable-source ("bioactive") Lithium are, in contrast, what are being used in the natural healing community.

Writings indicate that regions where Lithium is significantly present in soil used in agriculture experience lower per capita rates of depression and criminal violence than do regions that are Lithium deficient. This has prompted the nutrition gurus like Drs. Jonathan Wright and Alan Gaby to test and recommend dietary lithium supplementation. Blogs on dietary lithium include some intriguing and impressive experiences.

Anyway, I'm trying a course of Lithium Aspartate now (20-30mg/day), to see what it does for my fibromyalgia (which some docs believe is linked to my MGD), and I will report back.

I will observe closely its effects on my eye sensations, tear production, sleep patterns, bodily pain patterns, and mood. I'm already feeling something significant, in terms of body pain relief, but there has also been some increased eye dry-ness, which could be pure coincidence. Time will tell. I will give it at least 14 days. . .

Has anyone else experimented with this? After months on amino acid supplementation, with little tangible benefit, I'm excited about this admittedly offbeat direction. (And I love to be my own test subject (:^)). . .

[TRiBaL]

Gez, it seems like almost every drug has something in it that will cause dry eye ahaha.

[Rojzen]

drying resolved less than one week on Li Aspartate

Promised I would update on any eye-related side-effects I'm experiencing on Lithium Asparate (the supplement I'm trying now for fibromyalgia). . .

One or 2 days in, I did indeed experience a drier sensation in my eyes, as reported earlier, but now about 6 days on the supplement, the unusual dry-ness is gone, and my eyes are outright moister than usual.

My guess is that in my case, the Lithium has had zero effect on my actual tear production or tear quality, and that the ebbs and flows I've had, since starting dosing, is just my background problem, continuing as usual. . .I won't rule out that the Lithium may ultimately improve my eyes. . .but I have no reason to believe that it either will or won't, at this point. . .

And, of course, I am not an experimental sample, alas. . .Just a voice in our wilderness (albeit an ever-hopeful one). . .

And, just to clarify why I like to report on a supplement I'm taking for something other than DES: It's because so many useful therapies have been discovered incidentally to research conducted for unrelated problems. . .Actually, I think that pharmaceutical, megadose Lithium itself was discovered to be amazingly effective for bipolar disease when it was being used in patients for some completely different disorder. . .Happy accidents do happen (:^). . .