Lithium is a mood stabilizer and can help to treat or stop mania. It can additionally be used to decrease the regularity of anxiety episodes.
Take this medication as directed by your doctor. It is essential to drink plenty of fluids while taking this medication. Lithium might connect with particular medicines that impact serotonin (such as antidepressants, SSRIs, MAO inhibitors). Inform your doctor concerning all of your drugs.
Mood Disorders
Lithium is usually utilized to treat bipolar illness, a mental disorder that creates extremely rapid changes between the extreme state of minds of anxiety and mania. Bipolar disorder can make it tough to live a normal life and can trigger serious troubles in relationships, job or school. Lithium assists to prevent these extreme state of mind changes and lowers the seriousness of clinical depression and mania.
The early studies of lithium at Glostrup Psychiatric Hospital in the 1960s and 1970s given persuading evidence that it can minimize the frequency of hospitalizations for clinical depression (38 ). Baastrup and Schou's placebo-controlled discontinuance study was specifically important since it revealed that clients slipped back on placebo however out lithium (39 ).
Your doctor will certainly check your blood levels consistently to ensure you are taking the right quantity of lithium. It is essential to consume alcohol plenty of fluids while taking this medication. Your doctor may suggest a low-sodium diet regimen while you are taking this medicine.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD).
Lithium is a mineral so soft you can suffice with a knife and so light it drifts on water. It is located naturally in the atmosphere, with researches linking low levels of it to psychological and psychological health problems and violent criminal activity. The mineral was included in soft drinks in the 1960s, where it brightened state of minds and helped people concentrate and concentrate-- thus the name, 7-Up.
Lithium minimizes mania by raising the action of an enzyme that regulates neurotransmitters, reducing glutamate degrees, and helping to balance other chemicals in the brain. It has actually additionally been revealed to dialectical behavior therapy (dbt) have antidepressant effects and improve sleep, irritation, hostility, and anxiousness in ADHD people.
People taking lithium should have regular blood tests to keep track of levels-- expensive can be toxic. It is important to let doctors learn about other medicines and supplements taken, as some can engage with it. Inform your medical professional if you have looseness of the bowels, throwing up, sleepiness, shakes, weak point, unstable strolling, or fainting (specifically after workout). Usage effective birth control to stay clear of pregnancy while taking this medicine.
Hyperthyroidism.
Lithium might be made use of as a short-term therapy for overactive thyroid glands (hyperthyroidism). This is especially essential if the individual has Tomb condition or various other autoimmune conditions like thyroiditis or Hashimoto's illness. Lithium prevents the release of thyroid hormone by blocking iodine uptake at the thyroid gland with the sodium-iodide symporter and by disrupting tyrosine iodination. [9] Lithium likewise hinders thyrotropin-releasing hormonal agent (TRH) excitement and lowers the manufacturing of thyroxine from tyrosine in the thyroid gland. [10] Nevertheless, lithium usage might lead to hypothyroidism and a goiter in some individuals. [11] For this reason, frequent examination of thyroid function tests and size is advised in patients on lithium therapy.
It is very important to talk about the advantages and threats of this medication with your doctor before starting it. It is also essential to avoid products low in sodium (salt) while taking this medicine and drink enough fluids. If you have any problems, call your doctor or the emergency department immediately.
Epilepsy.
The anticonvulsant impacts of lithium are well established from both medical and experimental studies. It is important to note that in contrast to a couple of primitive professional records and the lithium-pilocarpine pet design, a number of recent studies show that lithium in restorative degrees does not reduce the seizure threshold but really decreases the threshold for seizure occurrence.
This is believed to result from the truth that lithium increases cholinergic task, prevents phosphoinositide metabolism and GSK-3b signalling. It additionally decreases glutamate excitotoxicity by increasing NMDA receptor agonist-evoked apoptotic currents and boosts the endogenous nitric oxide synthase activity in nerve cells [36]
Lithium is well tolerated by many people with bipolar illness, however it has a few negative effects that should be taken into consideration. These consist of a decreased capacity to concentrate pee (nephrogenic diabetic issues insipidus) and a rise in the concentration of lithium in the blood (lithium poisoning). It is as a result very crucial to follow your doctor's guidelines about having normal blood tests.
