Are there any doctors out there that know exactly what gets checked during a lithium blood test. Do they also look at your full blood count? I know the usual things like thyroid and kidneys but I am just wondering if the normal things get checked too.
View 1 RepliesMy whole body shakes from lithium. Dr decreased my dose today down to 600 mg a day. Does anyone know of any essential oils that would help with this until my lithium levels decrease.
View 3 RepliesI suffer from rapid cycling bipolar disorder, and I'm waiting for blood test results to come back before they'll start me on Lithium. The problem I'm having at the moment is that I'm self medicating nearly every night with alcohol, it's the only thing that seems to keep me stable, I know it's not good for me, but I was wondering if anyone else out there does this, or understands it?
View 9 RepliesDiagnosed bipolar 2 as i have had 7-10 days hypomanic and 17 days of severe depression i write a daily diary looking at this since day 17 i get up and down days of fluctuating mood is this normal with bipolar?
View 36 RepliesI have suffered with anx and depression for many years, but lately bipolar has been mentioned by my therapist. Could I run through my main symptoms and you kind people can give an opinion? I have bad anxiety most of the time, I don't have a classic high, my high is more about lack of need for sleep, don't seem to need much food, loads of creative work going on and I get really out of sorts if I'm interrupted. My downs happen generally after a high time of a few weeks, then I just crash out - don't want to do anything or talk to anyone
View 37 RepliesFirst apologise for spelling and grammar I'm dyslexic.
I first decided to come off lithium because of wanting a child . I was now with a man I'm crazy In Love with and about to be married this summer .
Also found out though blood test the lithium was causing low kidney function to my one kidney.
Coming off was a breeze until a week after my last dose. My chest is so tight with anxiety I feel like I murdered someone and I'm running for life .
Massive sense of guilt & fear and panic. I'm not dealing well with anything.
The only thing that makes me happy and at ease is Richards unconditional love . And planning my wedding . Started a new job and may get fired due to my anxiety and hecticness . I'm all over the place racing thought . Clumsy can't remember anything . I was a fashion designer for many years now I've gone into teaching . And it's my first real course I'll be teaching .
Waiting to see my therapist again in a few weeks but this has had such a domino effect on me . I'm also not sleeping ! Two three hours if I'm lucky .
Lately I've been taking lithium (this will be week 3) I finally feel I am sort of seeing a difference. I can actually think now, understand things a little better, and overall I'm feeling good. But I need to know is lithium supposed to make your moods go up and down while you are still getting used to the meds? For examp. last week (which was wk 2) I was completely manic in front of my stupid coworkers. I had no idea until I was sitting on the bus to go home. Also I've been switching moods. Like from depression to mania....
View 3 RepliesIs a low level (0.5) useful although it's not quite in the therapeutic range? Thoughts?
View 1 RepliesAt first I was on 200 mg of Lamictal and (not sure the dose) of Seroquel. Seroquel made me gain weight. Worked like a charm though! Would also make me feel like I had a major hangover the next day. I said, no more, to that med. Had a really bad Mania episode during the weekend (few weekends ago) seen my doctor two days ago. He put me on 600mg of Lithium and 200mg of Lamictal. I don't have any side effects except I am so tired all day long. I take 100mg of Lamictal and 300 Lithium BUT here is the kicker. For some odd reason, mainly because I think my body hates me, if I take 200mg of Lamictal at night, to lighten up the load of my mornings, I can't sleep.... It makes no sense to me. SO I have to drink lots of water with Lithium, I can barely take a 5 hour energy because the Lithium makes my tummy hurt. I was told the side effects are short lasting. Also, I was told I will need blood work. Do you have to have blood work every so often or just that one time?? I still have Xanax for those moments when I have a really bad bout of anxiety.
View 2 RepliesI just started taking 300 mg of Lithium yesterday. I was nice and calm for the day. Is it too soon to have any effects on me yet? Or was maybe I was just putting my mind on it to make me calm. My husband said I was scaring him bc I was calm and not screaming.
View 3 RepliesI have had bipolar disorder for quite a while now. It usually gets really bad in the winter. Last year I tried to kill myself. Since then I have started smoking weed every day. I've found it helps tremendously. I haven't cut myself for a year now. However This winter I noticed that I am so tired and groggy all the time that I can barely even function. I end up sleeping through my classes, I can barely work, and when I get home all I can do is get to my room light up and play video games. I feel like I need to sleep all the time. Does this sound like it's due to the weed or is it just my bipolar acting up for the winter time. I'm an 18 year old boy who is overall healthy in the most part.
View 3 RepliesI take lithium carbonate for bipolar and think it's the best thing since sliced bread for the bipolar but there's a chance that the distended stomach I have is a side effect.Does anyone else have this side effect?
View 1 RepliesI have been diagnosed with bipolar for 8 years now and have been on Lamictal and Risperidone at different mg's. Just this week I have gone through one of my manic stages and my wife has said that is enough for her. She is asking that I leave the home we built together and the children we raised. I have no idea how to handle this. I am on the backend of my cycle however I know the level of regret I will have once I'm completely. Am i the only one that this disease has affected everyone around them? I feel alone and truly have no one to confide in.
View 2 RepliesI just wanted to know if Bipolar is genetic. My was recently told that my grandad is bipolar and wondered if I was to as I believe I have some sort of mental problem. I don't really know much about bipolar and be good to learn about it also, not just from reading books and websites but from people who actually experience it themselves or with other people.
View 4 RepliesBeen in a relationship with a bipolar disorder person ( i believe) and after a while into the relationship , she has the notion of hurting me in the situation when she is very much emotionally involved with me as in romance etc. Seems like she loses herself and starts scratching me . i kind of ignored earlier but when i wake her up kinda thing she completes looks puzzle and asks me dis she hurt me kinda thing. She also did mention lets breakup coz its gonna get worst then this but i must admit i was adamant and was sure i can find a solution for this and we can be happy together. Then came a point whereby she went through the same episode and woke to ask me did she stab me and when realized no, she went on saying this has to stop kinda thing since next she will go to suicidal mode etc. She also went on i just cant be as normal anymore to you since my mind has already shutting u down. That evening when i got in touch with her , she told me that its happening and she was somewhere alone in her office not sure what she was trying to do neither any recollection how she got there. She was infact awaken by the cleaner lady thankfully she said. She said "i love u more then my life" to me and that's the problem . The next day when i got in touch with her , she acted as though she has no recollection of what we had in between and she seems to have memory loss on all the places and events that she has been and was with me. She even started calling me by my real name instead of dear or darling how she used to. She is also doing her studies now, and i'm confused to whether to help her to recall things that we had in the past or let it be as not to distract her from her studies and help her to recollect once she is done with her studies and then seek medical help so that we can be on track again.
View 8 Repliesi've been taking meds for bipolar disorder and ADHD since I was about 6 or 7, when I was about 13 I was taking a total of 17 pills everyday, it wasn't until about 9 months or more that I was put into a hospital for an immediate detox. my doses have always been as high as I can get. Right now I'm taking bupropion 450 mg, vyvanse 120 mg, intuniv 300mg, and at night I take zolpidem 20mg; everyday! But sometimes when I don't wake up and take my pills in the morning I get stomach pains and I feel like c**p. My mom said that I need to go see a doctor and have tests done to see if I have liver damage, but all I keep hearing is that I should smoke weed. It would help with my stress and anxiety and my eating disorder ( I sometimes put off eating when I feel bloated). Is marijuana the best option?
View 1 RepliesI am a 45 year old female who has bipolar disorder. i currently take 20 mgs of Abilify and have started lamotrigine about 5 weeks ago. I currently take 150 mgs. I have noticed lately that i feel like i am being pinched all over my body. Could this be a side effect of lamotrigine or am i having tactile hallucination? I don't see my psychiatrist for about 3 weeks and wonder if i should call him.
View 1 RepliesDoes anyone else dread Routine Blood Tests scared that they are going to detect some "Blood Cancer"? I've been looking up Leukemia and Lymphoma symptoms all morning. I'm getting a CBC for Fertility treatments.
View 1 RepliesWeekly blood removal was ordered by my hematologist. Being needle phobic I knew it wasn't going to be fun. Since being misdiagnosed since 2007 my iron levels were greatly increased. After going for my first blood removal, I was concerned since after trying both arms, they were unable to get the 500 ml due to the thickness of the blood and the small veins, I believe they were only able to get 50 ml Has anyone else experienced this? Or does anyone have any recommendations on how to get more blood out?
View 6 RepliesHad a blood test for this the other week and got my results back. It's says 200 but next to it says (180-900). Is mine low and need medical attention.
View 1 RepliesIs it possible to have Lupus without inflammation showing up in blood tests?
and ANA is high, he said 60 what ever that means. 1:60 I guess.