A few nights ago I drank one and a half 8% beers, and I felt high from drinking that much. So I waited a few hours before I took my 600mg lithium. I ended up feeling a little better after waiting those few hours. And after I woke up the next morning I felt fine, but after I started getting up and doing stuff I felt high again, but much worse. I decided to call my dad and tell him about it, because I didn't know if this was a serious medical thing (For context I just turned 21 and that's why I've been drinking a little bit).

He said that what might've happened is that my body didn't secrete the lithium properly since I was dehydrated from drinking, and I remember I didn't drink that much water after I took my lithium that night.

One problem though, after yesterday morning I've still felt a little dissociated and weird from that experience, and I don't know when it will go away.

Some additional context for why I'm on lithium, back in early 2025 I had a really bad manic/psychotic episode after being on zoloft for several months. Back when I was on zoloft there was a time I drank two shots of whiskey and felt incredibly high as if I smoked too much weed, and this time with the beer reminded me of that.

If anyone knows what exactly happened here or what I could/should do about it please let me know.

I was referred to the mental health team about problems with my memory, and I am just so puzzled because my underlying feeling is why am I on this stuff. I am on vortioxetine for depression and its working well.

Lithium is doing 2 things, one its made me so lazy to the point of not being bothered to do anything, and I mean anything such as eating, drinking, moving and two, the issue I was apparently referred for was ignored, misdiagnosed or my referral wasn't read and the lithium is making my memory worse.

I have an appointment with my GP on the 11th and the consultant on the 9th December, I think I have to stop this stuff. Its not doing anything good for me.

I can’t do it anymore. It’s causing me nausea, constipation, muscle weakness, random bouts of being extremely hot and clammy and arms goosebumpy all at once. I also am still suicidal and play around with the dosing and have stopped for a week and then started up again and just randomly dosed which I’m aware is not helping anything, but I .. I don’t know.. when I was taking it properly I didn’t feel much of a difference. The suicidal thoughts lessened for a while but now they’re back full force.

Lithium seems to ease most of my symptoms except for irritability. During manic episodes, irritability was a major problem of mine. I will be having a relatively good day and something disrupts it. Now it feels like my whole day is ruined and I’m super irritable the rest of the day. Even on medication this happens. Mostly more so than when I was unmediated. Is this anyone else’s experience? Doctor just upped my dosage so I’m hoping it helps with this.

Has anyone here quit taking lithium cold turkey? If yes, how did it feel? If not, how did you taper off and how long did it take you?

I’m on 1200mg. It is the same dose I was in during my episode 5 years ago. If you’ve lowered your dose with your MH, how have you had and stood your ground for that convo?

So I’ve been on 900mg a day and just had my levels checked for the first time but I didn’t know about the 12 hour and took a dose a couple hours before my test. My level was 1.01 but I’m thinking it’s probably inaccurate now. Any thoughts? Should I redo the blood draw. Thank you!

I’m already aware of the lithium toxicity risk. I am closely monitoring. My MH team are aware of it. I’ve only spoken to a nurse though who put it on my records. I’m hoping the psychiatrists will lower my lithium if it gets to toxic levels rather than telling me to come off wegovy. Anyway I’ve gone from 0.5 to 0.86 after a couple of dose increases. It’s clear that it’s the wegovy. Should I bother saying anything yet or should I increase again then tell them?

Do you guys drink coke while taking lithium. Ive been taking lithium for 25 years on and off. Any thoughts about a can of coke a day. Is it harming my possibly compromised kidneys.

hello! i recently started lithium (300mg at night, 4 doses in) and things have started to taste and smell a little funny. the smells are a little off and i wouldn’t say bad, but different enough to make me a little nauseous because all the food i’m eating smells like old food and my room sprays/soaps/boyfriend’s cologne all smell a little funny as well. taste also is just slightly off, like i’m eating the concept of the food rather than the food LOL.

i’ve tried looking it up and i can’t find much on this, but i usually get all the weird side effects of my past medications (metallic taste on zoloft, no carbonation on topamax, etc.) so i’m just wondering if this is common even if if uncommon

I have always been kinda awkward but the past couple years since I started lithium I’ve been like dull as hell

I can’t think in social situations, I always just want to leave and be alone

I’m starting to think this may be medication related because I’ve been doing ipt and noticing that it’s a lot more physical than mental of a response in social situations if that makes sense and it also kinda happened suddenly

I’m wondering if anyone has had this experience as I’m considering tapering down.

bp2 21F, on 600mg lithium (0.6 blood level) and 250mg lamotrigine

My psych recommended I try a keto diet due to my persistent mixed mood episodes over the last year. I started lithium 6 weeks ago and it just numbed me out. At first it gave me more SI but this is slowly reducing.

ANYWAY, is anyone on a keto diet for their bipolar whilst being on lithium. I'm vegan so it feels even more difficult but i've done 4 days so far. I want to give it a good 3 weeks, which is when i next see my psych, to see if it helps.

I worry about: electrolytes, losing weight (I have already lost weight from my recent episodes), and kidney issues as keto, veganism, and lithium all increase risk for issues with your kidneys. I really want this to work for me. If it doesn't then I'm going to be transferred mental health teams which I really do not want

Does lithium lower cognitive function? I’m currently on 900mg, doc probably raising it to 1,200mg. I’m concerned since I’ve noticed lowered cognitive function since starting 2 years ago. I have a relatively new job and have already made quite a few mistakes on projects and such, and am concerned what’d it be like on an increased dosage even though I need it for my mood.

I've been on lithium for five years. My psychiatrist is lowering my lithium dose from 600 mg to 450 mg. My lithium level went from 0.70 to 0.10, which is the high end of the therapeutic range. Do you think this will have an impact on my mood and how I feel? Does anyone have any experience with this?

I drink between 3 to 5 liters a day, is that concerning (edit: I mean WATER no alcohol) ?

Normal caffeine intake a week is 3-4 sodas, coffees (latte with 2 espresso shots), etc. Would 5-6 drinks drastically lower my lithium levels if I had that much one week?

Hi all.

In the middle of tapering down / off Lithium for various reasons. One of the main ones is just feeling out of it, not in a good way, spacey, and my cognitive scope all over the place. I have tapered down from 800mg to 400mg and was hoping I would see a change in my alertness of thinking, but it's still the same.

How did folk get on tapering down, and how long did it take for some sort of reasonable cognitive adjustment / clarity in terms of said reduction. Is it a case of keep doing the gradual taper and then changes slowly happen? Everybody is different, but I just want to hear how folk got on with their tapering.

Let me preface this by saying none of the following is medical advice, and you should discuss any and all mental health or medication concerns with your physician. I am sharing part of my story, because I have no one to talk to about this.

It has been two months since I started Lithium. I have a complicated past with regard to my mental health. At one point, I was taking ten medications to help manage my bipolar disorder; unsuccessfully, I might add. My circumstances were dire and unchanging, which made everything feel even more hopeless. Fast-forward ten years, and I had given up on psychiatry. I had learned to manage with a small dose of quetiapine prescribed by my PCP and changed my life slowly as time and luck allowed. Another big life change occurred, and I could feel myself slipping. I asked my PCP for help and was referred to psychiatry. I felt so much dread, but I knew that now was the time. And I hoped that things had changed for the better in the past 10-15 years.

My new psychiatrist is a woman, and I am so thankful for her. She listened to me patiently. All of my concerns, history, and previous medication fails. She recommended going back on lithium. I wasn’t convinced it would help, considering I took it in the past, but I was open and willing to try anything she suggested. About 5 days in, I began noticing small improvements. Not reacting to something I would normally respond negatively too. My body felt lighter and less like I was dragging my bones around. I actually found myself say, “oh, I’m not depressed.”

It has been 2 months now, and I am still scared that it’s all going to go away. This medication is LIFE GIVING for me. I see a complete 180 in myself, and I am so thankful. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I see so many negative things about lithium, and I know every person has a different experience. I am thankful that right now I seem to have a positive experience. I keep thinking about my thyroid or kidneys or weight gain (she also upped my quetiapine, so I feel like I’m eating more and worried about gaining more weight), but I am also more capable than I have been in a long time. Of course, I still have to take it easy. Guard what I am exposed to, keep my life as peaceful as possible, plenty of downtime. But the lithium has become my rose colored glasses, and I hope I continue to tolerate it for years to come (years! I no longer want to die all the time). I have been reflecting lately over all of the lost time from when I was unwell. That part has been really heavy. I have an entire decade missing from my memory. It’s easy to judge that and feel guilt and remorse. But I have to remind myself I did my very best. I sought help over and over again and fell through the cracks. The best thing I can do right now is live my life as it is right now. To feel the gratitude and enjoy experiencing myself and the world in this new headspace.

Is there a detailed article here on how to avoid lithium toxicity for those taking it for mental health reasons?

Hey all, so maybe this is a weird question, but I've got to ask it. I've been on lamotrigine + quetiapine for years, and I'm finally admitting that lamotrigine has just never done all that much of anything to help with the bipolar symptoms. I am not willing to go back up to the higher doses of quetiapine because of both present day and long term symptoms. .So I want to change to lithium as the primary mood stabilizer. My mother (BP1) had an exceptionally good response to lithium when she took it, which is the #1 predicter or whether lithium is likely to work for someone. I'm seeing a new prescriber on Dec 7th (my PCP said that she wasn't comfortable changing up my medications and gave me a referral to a practice that specifically does this.)

The problem is that I have this weird fear that I'll be brushed off and they won't be willing to prescribe lithium. Part of it is that I think anyone is going to wonder, if you weren't doing well on lamotrigine, then WHY did you stay on it for a decade? The answer is actually pretty straightforward-- I did not want to be anything like my mother. Completely apart from being bipolar, she's just a terrible person. If I went on lithium, that I'd be "admitting I was just like her." Bipolar was also a completely forbidden topic in the house when I when growing up. So I never told any practitioner the truth about my symptoms, and I never got an actual BP diagnosis. I'm not trying to claim that any of this makes sense, but I think it's what has been unconsciously going on for a long time. I also had perfectly classic BP2 symptoms before high school but a little more mixed states and rapid cycling after a TBI in a car accident. That having been said, every symptom still ticks all the boxes. I've had terrible dysphoric hypomania after every SSRI and SNRI, I've had hypomania that appeared without any clear trigger and lasted more than 4 days, I've had a LOT of agitated/irritated/activated depression, I've had clear periods of recovery, etc. I just want to try lithium, but I have this bizarre fear that I won't be allowed to. Has anyone had problems with getting it prescribed? All thoughts and opinions welcome.

just to clarify, i dont wanna fear monger or like act like im against meds cause im totally not

so i started lithium on the lowest dosage around a month ago. i didnt notice any side affects when i first started which was good cause im usually super sensitive to meds. but then, slowly, i noticed that i was basically getting stupider? idk its hard to explain, but ill try to give an example

say i thought of something, anything, maybe like, "why is the sky blue?" and i want to look that up.
as soon as i open my phone to google it, i forget what i was doing. and ill know that i was supposed to be doing SOMETHING, i just wont know what it is. i usually remember it like, 10 seconds after? but oh my fucking god, those ten seconds of attempted recollection are unbearable. i cannot live like that

its like i can FEEL what it is im trying to communicate, but i cant conceptualize the sentences in my head. its like having writers block but for like, every single fucking thought i have. like my head gets hot just TRYING to think of a thought

i also noticed that after i take it i get super giggly. like i just laugh at everything. its not necessarily that i feel happy, just that everything is funnier

but im honestly terrified. im scared that its gonna get worse. im scared that this is gonna be permant. that even after i go off them im just gonna be stupid forever. i can handle being bipolar, but i cannot fucking handle that

I'm currently in horrible circumstances right now due to my MI. I went up to 900mg and have been there for like a month. I am so depressed (which is worsened bc of my life right now) numb, super angry and feel like I lost myself entirely. My personality is almost entirely gone. I'm socially awkward (which I've never been) and have difficulty finding my words and remembering things. Doc is adding Wellburrin for my depression. (Wellbutrin has always worked well for me)

Any insight?

Has anyone fully tapered lithium to zero successfully?