Lithium is a state of mind stabilizer and can aid to treat or prevent mania. It can also be made use of to lower the regularity of anxiety episodes.
Take this drug as routed by your doctor. It is very important to consume plenty of liquids while taking this medicine. Lithium may communicate with specific medicines that influence serotonin (such as antidepressants, SSRIs, MAO inhibitors). Tell your doctor regarding all of your medications.
Mood Disorders
Lithium is often utilized to deal with bipolar illness, a mental disease that creates very fast changes in between the extreme state of minds of anxiety and mania. Bipolar disorder can make it difficult to live a normal life and can trigger serious issues in partnerships, work or school. Lithium helps to prevent these extreme state of mind changes and decreases the severity of clinical depression and mania.
The early studies of lithium at Glostrup Psychiatric Hospital in the 1960s and 1970s offered convincing evidence that it can decrease the frequency of hospitalizations for anxiety (38 ). Baastrup and Schou's placebo-controlled discontinuance study was particularly vital because it revealed that individuals fell back on sugar pill yet not on lithium (39 ).
Your doctor will certainly check your blood degrees on a regular basis to see to it you are taking the correct amount of lithium. It is very important to consume alcohol a lot of liquids while taking this medication. Your medical professional may suggest a low-sodium diet while you are taking this medication.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Lithium is a mineral so soft you can suffice with a blade and so light it drifts on water. It is discovered naturally in the setting, with studies linking reduced levels of it to psychological and psychological illness and violent criminal activity. The mineral was added to sodas in the 1960s, where it brightened moods and assisted people focus and concentrate-- therefore the name, 7-Up.
Lithium decreases mania by boosting the activity of an enzyme that controls natural chemicals, decreasing glutamate levels, and assisting to balance other chemicals in the brain. It has also been shown to have antidepressant impacts and enhance rest, irritability, hostility, and anxiousness in ADHD patients.
Individuals taking lithium must have normal blood tests to keep an eye on degrees-- too high can be toxic. It is essential to allow medical professionals understand about other drugs and supplements taken, as some can communicate with it. Tell your doctor if you have diarrhea, vomiting, sleepiness, tremors, weakness, unstable walking, or fainting (especially after exercise). Usage reliable contraception to prevent pregnancy while taking this medication.
Hyperthyroidism.
Lithium may be used as a temporary treatment for overactive thyroid glands (hyperthyroidism). This is particularly important if the patient has Tomb condition or other autoimmune problems like thyroiditis or Hashimoto's illness. Lithium prevents the release of thyroid hormone by obstructing iodine uptake at the thyroid gland through the sodium-iodide symporter and by hindering tyrosine iodination. [9] Lithium also hinders thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation and reduces the production of thyroxine from tyrosine in the thyroid gland. [10] Nonetheless, lithium use might lead to hypothyroidism and a goiter in some individuals. [11] Thus, constant examination of thyroid function tests and dimension is recommended in individuals on lithium treatment.
It is very important to discuss the advantages and risks of this medication with your physician before starting it. It is likewise essential to avoid products reduced in sodium (salt) while taking this medicine and drink enough fluids. If you have any type of issues, call your physician or the emergency situation department today.
Epilepsy.
The anticonvulsant effects of lithium are well established from both medical and experimental research studies. It is important to note that unlike a couple of primitive professional reports and the lithium-pilocarpine animal version, a number of current studies show that lithium in restorative degrees does not reduce the seizure threshold however really reduces the limit for seizure occurrence.
This is believed to result from the reality that lithium raises cholinergic task, prevents phosphoinositide metabolic rate and GSK-3b signalling. It likewise decreases glutamate excitotoxicity by enhancing NMDA receptor agonist-evoked apoptotic currents and improves the endogenous nitric oxide synthase activity in nerve cells [36]
Lithium is well endured by most people with bipolar affective disorder, but it has a couple of adverse effects that have to be taken into account. These consist of a lowered capacity to focus urine (nephrogenic diabetes insipidus) and an increase in the concentration of lithium in the blood (lithium toxicity). It is for that reason extremely vital to follow affordable therapy your doctor's instructions regarding having routine blood examinations.
