Lithium for Bipolar Disorder

Lithium is the number one drug choice made by most psychiatrists. However, there is a fine line between therapeutic and toxic levels of this drug, lithium, used for bipolar disorder. Remember my statement about how my doctor prescribed lithium for bipolar disorder?

I was allergic to this drug and my doctor said I was to go off of lithium right away. Why would one be allergic to a drug that is supposed to be as natural to my body as salt?

Natural But Not Really uh?
It is true, unlike tricyclics, MAOIs, and Prozac, lithium is not a complex molecule, but rather a simple metal ion in the form of a salt. But the man-made chemical is not as natural as we would like it to be. Though lithium for bipolar disorder does work by inhibiting the production of second messengers.

These second messages are molecules that are produced when certain neurotransmitters bond with certain receptors. These molecules activate enzymes that affect the neurotransmitter-receptor bond. We suspect they alter the amount of neurotransmitters, or alter the number of receptors that are sensitive to that neurotransmitters. Or these second messengers could affect the electrical charge that builds in the postsynaptic cell.

The exact chemical process is not yet understood. It's thought that lithium prevents the manufacturing of a particular second messenger called PIP2, stopping the cell from responding to certain neurotransmitter signals.

The condition of mania is produced when certain neurotransmitter-receptor bonds send signals to various neurons,causing them to become overactive or misfire. Likewise, depression can be triggered by cells becoming overactive, but in response to signals sent by a different set of neurotransmitters-receptor couplings.

If the second messenger is not produced, the cells' response to signals that elicit mania, and to signals that elicit depression, will decrease. Lithium turns down the response to any stimulus that depends on the presence of the PIP2 enzyme.

However, there's big problems using lithium for bipolar disorder. To name one is the side effects of lithium. The most common adverse reactions to lithium are:

• weakness
• tremor
• fatigue
• nausea
• abdominal cramps
• diarrhea
• weight gain
• lethargy
• increased thirst and urination.

Now these aren't all that bad to live with if you don't mind gaining a little weight, needing to drink frequently, then consequently urinating very frequently... well ugh.

Or if you don't mind feeling tired all the time and if you're not feeling tired you feel nauseated, have stomach cramps and a "bit" of diarrhea.

Personally, I felt it was better to put up with feeling grandiose and occasionally lethargic due to the down side of bipolar disorder. But that is not all.

Studies indicate most of these side effects do disappear within a month - all that is except the tremor. So if you don't mind the shaking hands and legs, maybe this is the drug of choice for you.

As stated before, lithium for bipolar disorder treatment has its problems. The BIG problem is there is a fine line between therapeutic and toxic levels of lithium. Remember the incident about the hot car engine?

If there's too little oil in the car, the engine gets too hot. If too much the engine gets clogged. So as with the car engine as an example in the natural law of things, so too, we need to be very careful with our "body's engine." If the prescribed dose is too high, lithium poisoning can occur.

Lithium poisoning affects your brain. Signs of lithium poisoning include slurred speech, drowsiness, loss of balance, tumors, vomiting, diarrhea, and, ultimately, coma and death.