Lithium is a mood stabilizer and can assist to deal with or prevent mania. It can also be utilized to lower the frequency of depression episodes.
Take this medication as directed by your physician. It is essential to consume alcohol a lot of fluids while taking this medication. Lithium might interact with specific medications that affect serotonin (such as antidepressants, SSRIs, MAO preventions). Inform your doctor regarding every one of your drugs.
Mood Conditions
Lithium is frequently made use of to treat bipolar affective disorder, a mental disorder that triggers really fast shifts between the severe state of minds of clinical depression and mania. Bipolar disorder can make it difficult to live a typical life and can create significant problems in connections, job or institution. Lithium assists to prevent these extreme state of mind changes and decreases the intensity of clinical depression and mania.
The very early studies of lithium at Glostrup Psychiatric Hospital in the 1960s and 1970s provided convincing evidence that it can decrease the frequency of hospital stays for clinical depression (38 ). Baastrup and Schou's placebo-controlled discontinuance research was specifically important because it showed that clients relapsed on placebo however not on lithium (39 ).
Your medical professional will certainly check your blood levels on a regular basis to see to it you are taking the correct amount of lithium. It is essential to drink lots of liquids while taking this medicine. Your physician may suggest a low-sodium diet plan while you are taking this medicine.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Lithium is a mineral so soft you can cut it with a knife and so light it floats on water. It is found naturally in the environment, with researches connecting low levels of it to emotional and mental health problems and violent criminal offense. The mineral was added to soft drinks in the 1960s, where it brightened moods and aided individuals concentrate and concentrate-- hence the name, 7-Up.
Lithium lowers mania by raising the activity of an enzyme that controls neurotransmitters, reducing glutamate levels, and helping to stabilize various other chemicals in the mind. It has also been shown to have antidepressant results and boost sleep, irritability, hostility, and anxiety in ADHD patients.
People taking lithium should have normal blood tests to keep track of degrees-- expensive can be poisonous. It is necessary to let doctors know about various other medicines and supplements taken, as some can interact with it. Inform your physician if you have diarrhea, throwing up, sleepiness, tremors, weak point, unsteady strolling, or fainting (particularly after workout). Use effective contraception to prevent pregnancy while taking this medication.
Hyperthyroidism.
Lithium may be used as a temporary therapy for over active thyroid glands (hyperthyroidism). This is especially vital if the person has Graves disease or various other autoimmune conditions like thyroiditis or Hashimoto's disease. Lithium inhibits the launch of thyroid hormone by obstructing iodine uptake at the thyroid gland through the sodium-iodide symporter and by hindering tyrosine iodination. [9] Lithium additionally inhibits thyrotropin-releasing hormonal agent (TRH) excitement and lowers the manufacturing of thyroxine from tyrosine in the thyroid gland. [10] However, lithium use may lead to hypothyroidism and a goiter in some clients. [11] Thus, frequent evaluation of thyroid function examinations and size is suggested in individuals on lithium treatment.
It is essential to review the benefits and threats of this medication with your medical professional before beginning it. It is also vital to avoid items low in salt (salt) while taking this medicine and beverage sufficient fluids. If you have any kind of problems, call your medical professional or the emergency division as soon as possible.
Epilepsy.
The anticonvulsant effects of lithium are well developed from both professional and experimental researches. It is necessary to note that unlike a few primitive professional records and the lithium-pilocarpine animal version, a number of current researches demonstrate that lithium in restorative levels does not reduce the seizure limit but really decreases the threshold for seizure incident.
This is believed to be due to the truth that lithium enhances cholinergic task, inhibits phosphoinositide metabolic process and GSK-3b signalling. It also lowers glutamate excitotoxicity by enhancing NMDA receptor agonist-evoked apoptotic currents and enhances the endogenous nitric oxide synthase activity in neurons [36]
Lithium is well endured by the majority of people with bipolar illness, but it has a few adverse effects that must be considered. These include a lowered capacity to focus pee (nephrogenic diabetes insipidus) and a boost in the focus of lithium in alternative mental health treatments the blood (lithium poisoning). It is therefore very crucial to follow your medical professional's instructions regarding having routine blood tests.
