What are two long-term side effects of lithium?

Results: Long-term lithium treatment is associated with a reduced urinary concentrating ability, with subsequent polyuria and polidypsia and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (in 10-40% of patients).

What are long-term side effects of lithium?

Lithium also exerts antisuicidal, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective effects. The main problems associated with long-term lithium treatment include kidney, thyroid, and probably cognitive issues.

What are the toxic side effects of lithium?

In mild lithium toxicity, symptoms include weakness, worsening tremor, mild ataxia, poor concentration and diarrhea. With worsening toxicity, vomiting, the development of a gross tremor, slurred speech, confusion and lethargy emerge (Bauer and Gitlin 2016).

Can lithium cause permanent damage?

Rarely, lithium is reported to cause irreversible, permanent neurological sequelae such as cerebellar impairment, dementia, parkinsonian syndromes, choreoathetosis, brain stem syndromes, and peripheral neuropathies.

Why do people quit lithium?

Adverse effects were the most common cause for lithium discontinuation. Among the adverse effects, diarrhoea, tremor, creatinine increase, polyuria/polydipsia/diabetes insipidus and weight gain were the top five reasons for discontinuing lithium.

Lithium: Adverse Effects and Interactions – Pharmacology | Lecturio Nursing

Does long-term lithium use cause kidney damage?

Lithium may cause problems with kidney health. Kidney damage due to lithium may include acute (sudden) or chronic (long-term) kidney disease and kidney cysts. The amount of kidney damage depends on how long you have been taking lithium.

What does lithium do to your organs?

Taking lithium for long periods can affect your kidneys and your thyroid. Lithium can also cause drowsiness. Your doctor will carry out blood tests regularly to monitor how much lithium is in your blood. They will also monitor your kidney function, your thyroid gland and your parathyroid gland.

What does lithium do to your body?

Lithium acts on a person's central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Doctors don't know exactly how lithium works to stabilize a person's mood, but it is thought to help strengthen nerve cell connections in brain regions that are involved in regulating mood, thinking and behavior.

What is the downside of taking lithium?

If you've been taking lithium for some time, it can cause weight gain. It can also cause problems with your kidneys or thyroid gland. Common signs of an underactive thyroid are tiredness, weight gain and feeling depressed.

Does lithium affect memory?

A common complaint made by those who take lithium, but one which may easily be overlooked, is cognitive compromise. Clinically, patients describe this as “brain fog”-an elusive admixture of complaints regarding attention, concentration, and memory occurring in conjunction with a slowing of thought processes.

How do you get off lithium?

If you need to stop taking lithium, it is best for you to come off it gradually, over at least four weeks, but preferably over three to six months. Gradually reducing the dose will make it less likely that your symptoms come back (compared to stopping the lithium quickly).

What drugs should not be taken with lithium?

Common drug–drug interactions with lithium

The most commonly prescribed drugs that have the potential to interact with lithium are ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists (sartans), diuretics, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

How common is kidney issues in lithium?

Although several reports suggest little effect of lithium on renal function, other studies estimate prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) amongst lithium users between 10 and 35% (Presne et al.

What does lithium do to your stomach?

The most common side effects of lithium include gastrointestinal (nausea and diarrhea), polyuria/polydipsia, tremor, weight gain, cognitive impairment, sexual function, and dermatologic effects (acne and psoriasis).

Can long-term lithium cause dementia?

What did the scientists find? In those exposed to lithium, 9.7% of patients were also subsequently diagnosed with dementia. In those that weren't exposed to lithium, 11.2% of people went on to develop dementia. Lithium conferred this beneficial effect even when people were exposed to it for less than one year.

Does lithium cause liver damage?

(Review of the mechanism of action of lithium, its clinical uses and toxicity; states that prolonged exposure to high doses of lithium [above 2 mM] can cause liver injury).

Is there a substitute for lithium?

Calcium ions could be used as a greener, more efficient, and less expensive energy storage alternative to lithium-ions in batteries because of its abundance and low cost, according to a study.

Does lithium cause bladder problems?

Four (17%) of 23 consecutive female outpatients developed significant urinary or urgency incontinence when treated with lithium carbonate. The symptoms remitted or abated with the addition of oxybutynin (an anticholinergic drug), imipramine, or with decreased lithium dosing.

What are the symptoms of poor kidney function?

What foods interact with lithium?

Foods that alkalinize the urine may increase elimination of lithium from the body, potentially decreasing the actions of the drug. Urine-alkalinizing foods include dairy products, nuts, fruits, vegetables (except corn and lentils), and others.

What painkiller can I take with lithium?

Can you take vitamin D with lithium?

Interactions between your drugs

No interactions were found between lithium and Vitamin D3. However, this does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. Always consult your healthcare provider.

Is it hard to quit lithium?

What we do know, however, is that stopping lithium can greatly increase the risk of bipolar disorder episodes recurring — especially when you stop abruptly. According to another 1993 study , the highest risk is the recurrence of manic episodes within the first few weeks after stopping lithium.

Can lithium be stopped cold turkey?

Lithium – When abruptly discontinued, people who have been taking lithium to stabilize moods may experience mood instability and a relapse of mania.