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Q Can Lithium Increase Cycling?
While I know that every medication will respond differently to a variety of
people, I would just like to know if there has ever been a link between Lithium
and it making people exhibit greater symptoms of Bipolar illness (specifically
rapid cycling)? I've been on Lithium (1,800mg / day) for approximately 2 1/2 to
3 months and the higher my dosage goes (I started out at 600mg / day), the more
rapidly I seem to cycle from depression (with suicidal ideations) to rage. Thank
you for your time.
Hello John --
I've not seen this happen, in fact I routinely tell folks that lithium is one of
the few medications we have with some "antidepressant" potential that
does not run the risk of increasing cycling. However, from what we are
learning recently about how lithium works, I can imagine that it is possible
for lithium to act like antidepressants do, even though I've never clearly seen
it myself, nor ever having heard it described by mood experts. But you're
describing it, so I'm chalking up a mark in that column: I've now heard,
once, of lithium possibly increasing cycling. Of course the problem is,
how can we know for sure that something else is not associated? Including
just some underlying change in what the lithium is supposed to be
treating.... So we should list this one in the "not sure but
important to listen" category, for now, I think.
Dr. Phelps
Published April, 2003
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