Posted by SLS on May 16, 2022, at 23:53:34
In reply to Re:read beloq, posted by rjlockhart37 on May 16, 2022, at 19:40:55
> i've heard the antidepressant effect from lithium is well aware so hopefully this will end depression
My personal experience with lithium has been similar to what is described in the medical literature. Low-dosage lithium is effective for depression. 300 mg/day is my sweet spot. If I go to 450 mg/day or higher, I relapse and experience cognitive blunting and a mixture of amotivation and passivity.It makes sense to start low and give 300 mg/day no longer than 2 weeks before moving up. Increase by no more than 150 mg/day, or you might miss your sweet spot. At 300 mg/day, lithium is unlikely to affect thyroid and kidney function. If upon starting low-dosage lithium at 300 mg/day, you feel any improvement, and going up to 1200 mg/day is ineffective, just keep taking 300-450 mg/day. If nothing else, it might provide prophylaxis against Alzheimer's Disease. The best argument for keeping lithium on board is that it might be a critical component your future combination drug therapies.
Blood levels are irrelevant using lithium this way. I would be surprised if mine were higher than 0.2.
1. "Low dosage lithium augmentation in venlafaxine resistant depression: an open-label study"
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22796912/
.
Recent studies have discovered a bimodal dosage-response curve for lithium. It has opposite effects on glutamate levels in the hippocampus at low versus high dosages.
2. "Bimodal effect of lithium plasma levels on hippocampal glutamate concentrations in bipolar II depression: a pilot study"
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25522399/
.
These are associations seen in some studies:
Low glutamate is associated with depression
High glutamate is associated with mania.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
poster:SLS
thread:1119705
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20220128/msgs/1119708.html