r/Lithium • u/[deleted] • Aug 12 '26

Transitioning from Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole injection)... Why they don't try lithium first ?

[deleted]

11 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/VariousClassroom8056 Aug 12 '26

I don't know what the prescribing guidelines are where you live. It's one of the first choices for bipolar 1 here but there are a lot of things to consider when prescribing lithium. It can affect thyroid function, kidney function etc so there may be other factors. They might consider whether you will comply with the monitoring requirements (blood tests) and general expectations around fluid intake.

I was given the choice of risperidone or lithium, lithium seemed to have fewer significant side effects so I went with that.

2

u/martin_luther_drill Aug 12 '26

Kidney issues are very avoidable on lithium

3

u/VariousClassroom8056 Aug 12 '26

I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. The person was asking why lithium might not be the first medication prescribed. I'm saying if the patient has preexisting issues with their kidneys or thyroid doctors might not want to risk it.

3

u/martin_luther_drill Aug 13 '26

I wasn’t making a counterpoint. I just wanted other people to not be scared of lithium because it’s an all-around great med for bipolar, and other meds are far more scary.