hard to get weight off
exercise seems useless
you're always tired
your psychiatrist can't answer some of the simplest questions about the cause of the weight gain
lithium is a like living in a nightmare
2006-12-01 03:28:09 · 6 answers · asked by dark mask 1 in Health ➔ Mental Health
One of the side effects of lithium is that it slows down your thyroid this can be the cause for your weight gain. Have your doctor do a blood test to find out about your thyroid. If it does come back that it is low there is a medication that you can take called "synthroid" that will help speed it up and help you to lose weight. If your thyroid has slowed down it can also be "some" of the cause of being so tired.
2006-12-01 03:46:30 · answer #1 · answered by pheebes 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It can take a while to find the medication (s) that work best for you. Lithium works wonders for some people. It is one of the only drugs out there that helps treat and manage both mania and depression and reduces the risk of suicide. It's also very inexpensive, which is a plus if you do not have insurance.
A lot of people do not tolerate it well though, unfortunately.
If you are having that bad of a time with it, talk to your doctor about trying something else. There are other effective medications out there that may have less side effects for you.
2006-12-01 16:13:17 · answer #2 · answered by Jess 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I hated lithium, I truly hated it. I felt the way you are describing and then it basically made me flip out. You should be having regular blood tests done to test your blood levels. As a previous poster pointed out that lithium can affect your thyroid. When I was first put on Lithium, I was also put on Synthroid, a thyroid med. Either way, I hated the medication so much and it proved so ineffective for me, it was discontinued. I know how hard the med game can be. Good luck! Talk to your doc and see if you can come up with a better med approach.
2006-12-01 16:07:51 · answer #3 · answered by nunciata22 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The reason your phychiatrist can't give you a good answer is because the mechanism of lithium induced weight gain is unknown. We don't have any good studies that show what causes the weight gain. It is well known that it occurs, but it is still being studied. It has been observed, however, that individuals on lithium have increased caloric intake compared to others, in particular they consume more high calorie drinks. It is unknown why this is the case.
2006-12-01 11:36:44 · answer #4 · answered by Dr. Okram 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kind of like chemotherapy for treatment of cancer. The chemotherapy can really mess you up but they feel it is necessary to try to save you. Maybe in the future there will be better medications to treat these disorders that don't cause Parkinson's Disease like some antipsychotics do, or diabetes, or other health problems. Hang in there. Good luck.
2006-12-01 18:56:39 · answer #5 · answered by Professor Armitage 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Calsiam or Manacium or Zine would be better
2006-12-01 11:32:18 · answer #6 · answered by JAMES 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋