Lithium. Can anyone give me any info?

[medusa 16]

I understand about the sedation and losing of time to live- I'm on 4 sets of painkillers long term, 3 of which are seriously sedative.

 

The only thing you can do is to choose between the sedation and the original problem. I'm lucky enough that this choice is easy for me- the issue to me of sleeping a lot is very minor compared to the constant agony.

 

That said, I choose to be pain-reduced rather than pain-free, because I've found that I can function much better with a little pain and less sedation than I can when I have no pain but sleep 15 hours a day and never quite coming round between naps.

[whitehorses 10]

Hiya Mojo1

I'm sorry you've been feeling ill again.I didn't know as I haven't been on SF properly for a while.

Hope you find a medication that's right for you. When it comes down to it, we're all raving loonies!!!

Take care xx

[Jabberwocky 46]

Draaaaaaagging this thread from the depths of hell.

 

My quack put me on sodium valproate yesterday- according to her I have something called "Cyclothymia " and Im taking those alongside Citalopram.

 

She`s surprised that a bloke of my age managed to go through life for so long without being diagnosed earlier and I`d say it was the David Cameron email that I sent a few months ago, that he read out at the tory party conference (My Facebook victims will know what I mean) that finally convinced me that I had a slate or two missing from the roof so I sought assistance before I was locked up or something.

 

I just hope these Valproate things dont stifle the wonder that is me, the citalopram certainly have!

[medusa 16]

I took sodium valproate for a few years when the medics were trying to get my pain levels controlled and they did what they were supposed to do very well, but I ended up coming off them when they gave me one of their most common side effects, which is fluid retention in the lower legs and feet (oedema). Very bizarrely I only got it in one leg though, which meant repeated investigation for DVT and assorted other circulation problems that could be underlying it all (there was none) and it resolved within 2 weeks of changing to carbamazepine.

 

Isn't it amazing that these drugs work in so many different ways? Preventing seizures, treating neurogenic pain, helping mood disorders etc

[Jabberwocky 46]

I just hope they dont do to me what champix and Zyban and Prozac and the other pills of a similar nature did to me. They turned me into a slavering horror and almost got me arrested!

[mojo1 10]

Draaaaaaagging this thread from the depths of hell.

 

My quack put me on sodium valproate yesterday- according to her I have something called "Cyclothymia " and Im taking those alongside Citalopram.

 

She`s surprised that a bloke of my age managed to go through life for so long without being diagnosed earlier and I`d say it was the David Cameron email that I sent a few months ago, that he read out at the tory party conference (My Facebook victims will know what I mean) that finally convinced me that I had a slate or two missing from the roof so I sought assistance before I was locked up or something.

 

I just hope these Valproate things dont stifle the wonder that is me, the citalopram certainly have!

 

Valproate has worked wonders for me, you're on the same cocktail I take, don't know about the levels. I've not been altered too much, just sort of balanced out more and I find everyday stuff easier to cope with.

I still have ups and downs, but I'm nowhere near as bad as I used to be.

The only thing I have a problem with is I get a nasty aftertaste from them for an hour or so after taking them.

Hope they work out for you

[Jabberwocky 46]

Cheers for that, Monster!

 

I dont mind the ups, I like the ups, even though they often get me into trouble. Its the downs that are a bit crap.

 

If they could get rid of the downs and keep the ups Id be happy... even though the rest of the planet wouldnt be. ...Anyway, Im about to take pill three and Im not sure if it IS them because theyre supposed to take a while to work but Im already a hate filled, gibbering baboon of death. If this is whats in store for me, things should get juicy.