Lithium is a mood stabilizer and can help to treat or avoid mania. It can also be used to reduce the frequency of depression episodes.
Take this drug as guided by your medical professional. It is essential to drink plenty of liquids while taking this medicine. Lithium might interact with specific medications that impact serotonin (such as antidepressants, SSRIs, MAO inhibitors). Inform your doctor concerning all of your medicines.
Mood Conditions
Lithium is frequently utilized to deal with bipolar disorder, a mental disorder that triggers extremely rapid shifts between the severe state of minds of depression and mania. Bipolar illness can make it hard to live a typical life and can trigger significant issues in connections, work or institution. Lithium aids to stop these extreme mood adjustments and decreases the seriousness of anxiety and mania.
The very early researches of lithium at Glostrup Psychiatric Hospital in the 1960s and 1970s offered convincing proof that it can lower the regularity of hospitalizations for anxiety (38 ). Baastrup and Schou's placebo-controlled discontinuance research study was specifically important since it revealed that people relapsed on placebo however out lithium (39 ).
Your doctor will inspect your blood levels consistently to make sure you are taking the right quantity of lithium. It is necessary to drink lots of liquids while taking this medication. Your doctor may suggest a low-sodium diet plan while you are taking this medication.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD).
Lithium is a mineral so soft you can suffice with a knife and so light it floats on water. It is found naturally in the environment, with research studies linking low levels of it to emotional and mental health issue and fierce criminal activity. The mineral was included in sodas in the 1960s, where it lightened up state of minds and aided people focus and concentrate-- hence the name, 7-Up.
Lithium decreases mania by enhancing the action of an enzyme that controls neurotransmitters, decreasing glutamate degrees, and aiding to stabilize various other chemicals in the mind. It has actually likewise been shown to have antidepressant impacts and enhance sleep, irritability, aggression, and anxiety in ADHD patients.
People taking lithium should have regular blood examinations to monitor degrees-- expensive can be toxic. It is essential to let physicians learn about other medications and supplements taken, as some can interact with it. Tell your doctor if you have diarrhea, throwing up, sleepiness, tremblings, weakness, unsteady walking, or fainting (especially after workout). Usage efficient birth control to avoid maternity while taking this medication.
Hyperthyroidism.
Lithium may be used as a short-term therapy for over active thyroid glands (hyperthyroidism). This is particularly essential if the patient has Tomb condition or various other autoimmune conditions like thyroiditis or Hashimoto's disease. Lithium hinders the launch of thyroid hormone by blocking iodine uptake at the thyroid gland via the sodium-iodide symporter and by hindering tyrosine iodination. [9] Lithium likewise inhibits thyrotropin-releasing hormonal agent (TRH) excitement and reduces the production of thyroxine from tyrosine in the thyroid gland. [10] Nonetheless, lithium exposure therapy usage may lead to hypothyroidism and a goiter in some people. [11] Hence, constant examination of thyroid function examinations and dimension is recommended in patients on lithium treatment.
It is very important to talk about the advantages and dangers of this medication with your medical professional prior to starting it. It is additionally crucial to avoid items reduced in sodium (salt) while taking this medication and drink enough liquids. If you have any troubles, call your physician or the emergency division right now.
Epilepsy.
The anticonvulsant effects of lithium are well developed from both medical and experimental researches. It is essential to note that unlike a few primitive professional records and the lithium-pilocarpine animal design, a number of current research studies show that lithium in restorative levels does not reduce the seizure threshold yet really decreases the threshold for seizure event.
This is thought to be due to the truth that lithium enhances cholinergic task, prevents phosphoinositide metabolic rate and GSK-3b signalling. It likewise reduces glutamate excitotoxicity by boosting NMDA receptor agonist-evoked apoptotic currents and enhances the endogenous nitric oxide synthase task in neurons [36]
Lithium is well endured by lots of people with bipolar affective disorder, yet it has a few negative effects that must be thought about. These include a minimized ability to focus urine (nephrogenic diabetic issues insipidus) and a rise in the focus of lithium in the blood (lithium toxicity). It is therefore extremely vital to follow your physician's guidelines about having normal blood tests.
