Does lithium cause diarrhea?

Answer 1

I can cause diarrhea, but it is a side effect that should be reported immediately to your doctor or a health care provider. It can be a sign of the dosage being too high.

Answer 2

You need to talk to the doctor who prescribed you this medication, hopefully you're seeing a psychiatrist. It also depends on how long you've been on it. Mood stabilizers take some time before they start working or before you see full effects. I've been on Lithium for six years and have never had too much trouble with it, however medication affects everyone differently and if you've been on it for several months, it may be time to try something else. Also, no medication can increase the severity of your illness, it just means that it's not helping your mood. Your doctor will be able to tell you more.

Answer 3

I have no experience with lithium, however I do know of a good website for info on side effects studies on most meds:

http://www.rxlist.com

This site was recommended by my biopsychology lecturer and it is really comrpehensive in terms of side effects etc, as it has real data from real studies.

Answer 4

Decreased tolerance to lithium has been reported to ensue from protracted sweating or diarrhoea and if such occur, supplemental fluid and salt should be administered.

Lithium toxicity and side effects
The required dosage (15-20mg per kg of body weight) is slightly less than the toxic level, requiring blood levels of lithium to be monitored extremely closely during treatment. In order to prescribe the correct dosage, the patient's entire medical history, both physical and psychological, is taken into consideration. Blood tests are carried out every 3 months to ensure the level of lithium is appropriate and to prevent toxicity, along with kidney and thyroid tests.

Those who use lithium should receive regular (generally monthly once stable) blood tests and should monitor thyroid function annually and kidney function three to six monthly for abnormalities. As it interferes with the regulation of sodium and water levels in the body, lithium can cause dehydration. Dehydration, which is compounded by heat, can result in increasing lithium levels.

High doses of haloperidol, fluphenazine, or flupenthixol may be hazardous when used with lithium; irreversible toxic encephalopathy has been reported.

Lithium salts, with the possible exception of lithium orotate, have a narrow therapeutic/toxic ratio and should therefore not be prescribed unless facilities for monitoring plasma concentrations are available. Patients should be carefully selected. Doses are adjusted to achieve plasma concentrations of 0.6 to 1.2mmol Li+/litre (lower end of the range for maintenance therapy and elderly patients, higher end for pediatric patients) on samples taken 12 hours after the preceding dose. Overdosage, usually with plasma concentrations over 1.5mmol Li+/litre, may be fatal and toxic effects include tremor, ataxia, dysarthria, nystagmus, renal impairment, and convulsions. If these potentially hazardous signs occur, treatment should be stopped, plasma lithium concentrations redetermined, and steps taken to reverse lithium toxicity.

Lithium toxicity is compounded by sodium depletion. Concurrent use of diuretics that inhibit the uptake of sodium by the distal tubule (e.g. thiazides) is hazardous and should be avoided. In mild cases withdrawal of lithium and administration of generous amounts of sodium and fluid will reverse the toxicity. Plasma concentrations in excess of 2.5 mmol Li+/litre are usually associated with serious toxicity requiring emergency treatment. When toxic concentrations are reached there may be a delay of 1 or 2 days before maximum toxicity occurs.

In long-term use, therapeutic concentrations of lithium have been thought to cause histological and functional changes in the kidney. The significance of such changes is not clear but is of sufficient concern to discourage long-term use of lithium unless it is definitely indicated. An important consequence is the development of diabetes insipidus (inability to concentrate urine). Patients should therefore be maintained on lithium treatment after 3-5 years only if, on assessment, benefit persists. Conventional and sustained-release tablets are available. Preparations vary widely in bioavailability, and a change in the formulation used requires the same precautions as initiation of treatment. There are few reasons to prefer any one simple salt of lithium; the carbonate has been the more widely used, but the citrate is also available.

Answer 5

for some people it does. Slow release preparations can reduce this, so can taking all of it at night.