What does lithium do to a person?
Lithium helps reduce the severity and frequency of mania. It may also help relieve or prevent bipolar depression. Studies show that lithium can significantly reduce suicide risk. Lithium also helps prevent future manic and depressive episodes.
Can lithium make you depressed?
Hypothyroidism is another concern for those taking lithium. In a person with hypothyroidism, the thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones. This condition can cause symptoms that include: depression.
Can lithium damage your brain?
Prolonged lithium intoxication >2 mM can cause permanent brain damage. Lithium has low mutagenic and carcinogenic risk. Lithium is still the most effective therapy for depression. It “cures” a third of the patients with manic depression, improves the lives of about a third, and is ineffective in about a third.
What foods are high in lithium?
The highest concentration of lithium has been found in nuts, pastries as well as cold meat and sausages [8], but also in samples of tofu and fish [7]. Grains, vegetables, dairy products and meat have also been considered major dietary sources.
Is lithium an antipsychotic?
Is lithium an antipsychotic? Lithium is not an antipsychotic medicine, it’s known as a mood stabiliser.
Why does lithium have a bad reputation?
The researchers’ analysis bore out one of the two main criticisms of lithium, but found the other to be baseless. They found that patients on lithium had a higher risk of suffering kidney function problems and developing hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism and also hypercalcemia.
Is lithium addictive?
Lithium is not addictive. But when it’s stopped, it should be reduced gradually to minimise the chances of the illness coming back.
What medications interact with lithium?
Major Lithium Drug Interactions SSRIs – These medications include Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, Prozac and Zoloft. Taking lithium with these medications increases serotonergic activity. The exact mechanism for why this happens is not known.
How is lithium used as a medication?
Lithium is used to treat and prevent episodes of mania (frenzied, abnormally excited mood) in people with bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder; a disease that causes episodes of depression, episodes of mania, and other abnormal moods). Lithium is in a class of medications called antimanic agents.
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 is lithium used for medically?
Lithium affects the flow of sodium through nerve and muscle cells in the body. Sodium affects excitation or mania. Lithium is used to treat the manic episodes of bipolar disorder (manic depression).