What are the serious side effects of lithium?
Rare/serious side effects Signs of lithium toxicity include severe nausea and vomiting, severe hand tremors, confusion, vision changes, and unsteadiness while standing or walking. These symptoms need to be addressed immediately with a medical doctor to ensure your lithium level is not dangerously high.
What causes high lithium levels?
Chronic Toxicity The chronic form of lithium toxicity can occur when you take lithium daily but your serum blood level has crept up into the toxic range. 1 Possible causes for this level increase are a dosage increase, being dehydrated, interactions with other medications, and problems with kidney function.
How do you treat high lithium levels?
Moderate to severe lithium toxicity usually requires additional treatment, such as:
- Stomach pumping. This procedure may be an option if you’ve taken lithium within the last hour.
- Whole bowel irrigation.
- IV fluids.
- Hemodialysis.
- Medication.
- Vital sign monitoring.
What food is high in lithium?
Lithium in Food Products The main sources of Li in the diet are cereals, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, and some mineral waters [44]. It may also be found in some spices such as nutmeg, coriander seeds, or cumin; however, their share in the total supply of this element is negligible in many geographic regions [49].
Can bipolar turn into dementia?
We found that a history of bipolar disorder significantly increases the risk of dementia in older adults. Our results provide robust evidence that mood disorders in general, and not only major depressive disorders, are associated with increased risk of dementia (17,18).
What are the long term effects of lithium?
The principal long-term risks of lithium are damage to the thyroid and to the kidney. Lithium can cause permanent damage to the thyroid gland, which is involved in the regulation of energy, mood, metabolism, and other essential life functions. Typically it does so gradually,…
What are the emotional effects of taking lithium?
Lithium improves the body’s ability to synthesize serotonin. This simply means that the body’s levels of serotonin increase in response to lithium, which has the effect of improving mood and reducing feelings of anxiousness. Is it Anxiety or Something Else? There are many different ways to experience anxiety.
How does alcohol effect Lithium levels?
The combination of lithium and alcohol can lead to a dangerous condition known as LITHIUM TOXICITY if too much of the drug builds up in the body. Alcohol can cause dehydration, depriving the body of the necessary water levels to process lithium and keep the drug at safe levels.
What does an elevated lithium level mean?
A lithium level above 1.5 mEq/L may be indicative of lithium toxicity in patients wit chronic intoxication from long-term lithium therapy. Patients with acute intoxication have less of a correlation between lithium levels and toxic symptoms. Toxicity may be predicted in some patients when lithium levels are above 1.43 mmol/L,…