Also new - what now???

[pikkewyn]

Hi,

I'm 34 years old and was diagnosed earlier this week with Bipolar 2......   

I am on Lithium 600mg and all I can think about is how much weight this stuff is going to put on me?  Is weight gain a sure thing or not with Lithium???

Is this the beginning of a new life or the beginning of an intoxicated medicinal state - any tips out there?

[Phyllis]

I'm not familiar with what Lithium side effects are. But there are many people here who are and I'm sure will share their experiences with you. Welcome to the site!

[cadno]

Hi

I'm on Lithium myself, I have not found that I gained weight with it at all, what did it for me was Olanzapine!

Rich

[donna14]

Not everyone gains weight.  I have but I would rather have the extra weight than the bone-crushing depression or the what-the-hell-did-I-do- mania.
There are other drugs that are weight neutral but Lithium is the gold standard for treating bp.

[Paz]

 I took lithium for 3 years and did not gain weight from it, but I'm kind of a tiny lady to begin with.
 It will make you super thirsty...drink a lot of water, and it is hard on your kidneys, so make sure you eat right and get your blood levels checked regularly....at least 4x per year.
 Welcome

[sine]

Welcome!  Hope you find a way to deal with this.

[oldman]

Hi I am new here but not new to the bipolar thing. I was diagnosed in 1999. The first six years was bad, I went through so many different meds I can't remember all of them. We finally got to lithum, geodon welbutrin and xanax. This combo is working well and has for the last four years. Before 1999, I was self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. Well, in 1996 I quit all that stuff, my life went down hill from there. I slowly lost my nerve, I would not take the risk anymore. I fell into a depression that caused me to lost the ability to work. Sometime between 1999 and 2006 I gained about 150lbs and diabetes, the diabetes took out my right eye and some of my left eye. So to add to the bipolar, I am now almost blind. I no longer drive, work or do much of anything but housework, walking and working with the kids at church. I am a little manic right now, I need to go an adrenaline rush. I was a speed demon when I could drive. I looked for things to keep me active. Now I just sit here with this thing in my lap and dream. And I have lost that 150lbs through walking and weight loss surgery. I feel better and look closer to what I did in 1999.
 
Now I am bored big time, I am not able to do as before. Old age sucks. Not enough money to do anything, SSI is piss poor and my wife is just barely keeping us afloat. I have this thing caused by the bipolar where I want to buy, buy, buy. I do keep it under control but sometimes that drive is so strong I just don't care how broke we will be.

I will be fifty in Jan. My father gets out of his house and goes every day. He takes my mother, who is in a wheelchair. Nothing slows them down, so why am I stuck here. I know this is the depression doing this to me. I want off this nasty ride, after forty years I am done. I want to go back to the things I did ten to twenty years ago, I would just like to be able to go somewhere without having to wait for a ride to pick me up. Yea, I may sound like I am crying, but you sit in a house under 900 square feet every day for hours on end and we will see how you do. Yea I get out for about eight hours a week beside the time I spend walk the sidewalks of this town. I feel that I can do more if I could just find a way. Even with limited vision, I still manage to find things to do, but most of them are here at the house. I need to drive fast(100mph plus) or spend a week winter camping, maybe sometime at a gun range. I also have trouble finding someone to join me in my adventures. I can't find anyone who is as crazy as I am. I am in a large city now, I lived in the country. Country life is much different, things were not as controlled as they are today. My old friends and I used to have shooting contest, I am talking about twenty guys with handguns, rifles and shotguns just stand in a field shooting at targets. Or maybe do some street racing on a back country road, or just take off and travel across three states for three or four days living on the good will of others. Or load up a truck and with four guys take off to Florida to work and help with the cleanup and rebuilding of a hurricane destroyed city.

I don't want all of that, just a small portion. Something to make me feel alive.
Yea Later
Oldman

[cadno]

Well I think you'll find you are in good company here, one thing I understand is the lack of people who 'as crazy' as I literally only have this forum and the wonderful friends I've made over the old internet to fill that hole.  One thing I tend to find is it takes another bipolar to understand you and even then it takes someone with similar experiences to really connect. 

I hope you find that here, I know I have and I'm better for it if I'm honest, its good to be able to say what you think and feel without the concern that somebody will judge you, here they simply understand

Rich

[Dreamline]

Hey pikkewyn, welcome to bpbabble.

I've been on lithium for over a year, I have BP1.  I have not gained one single ounce accept muscle from working out.  I'm on 1500mg and the side effects I have are mild tremor (fish oil reduces that), forgetfulness, loss of appetite, thirst (taking inositol greatly reduces that!!!), incoordination, bloating (I'm gluten intolerant and if I eat any now it bloats me badly, something about the combination).  The side effects are annoying sometimes but my mood swings are way more annoying...more like horrible.

It does also interact with a lot of drugs so be careful and check after doctors and pharmacists.  Its even very dangerous to take any NSAID (ibuprofen, aspirin, aleve) for example.

I was started out on 900mg and went up and up and added other meds.  I feel like this dose (1500) is working much better than anything before.  I am not on any other meds and am ok and hoping it will last this time.  Give it a try and always stay hydrated, get your labs done...don't skip doses.