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Jayne13
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Default Dec 29, 2019 at 04:03 PM
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I’ve been taking lithium for a while, but for the past few weeks it’s been giving me dry heaves and vomiting. My dr advised me to stop taking it for a few days. Problem is I’ve been off for a few days, and I’m already feeling my moods dropping. I’m worried I won’t be able to take lithium anymore and I don’t think I can function without it.
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Default Dec 29, 2019 at 06:34 PM
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This happened to me too with lithium and I had to reduce the dose. The dumb ****s in the psych hospital said I was making myself throw up and didn’t do anything about it but my Pdoc then lowered it when I got out.

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Default Dec 30, 2019 at 04:29 PM
  #3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayne13 View Post
I’ve been taking lithium for a while, but for the past few weeks it’s been giving me dry heaves and vomiting. My dr advised me to stop taking it for a few days. Problem is I’ve been off for a few days, and I’m already feeling my moods dropping. I’m worried I won’t be able to take lithium anymore and I don’t think I can function without it.
I used to take Lithium too. It was the only medication that helped me mentally.

Unfortunately, it made me always throwing up. So I had to be taken off it.

Haven't found a working medication since.

Hope you can find a solution.

I wish I could still take Lithium.

Just wanted to let you know, you aren't alone with the side effect.
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Default Dec 30, 2019 at 06:06 PM
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It can be a miracle drug, literally, but people can puke, too. What's the dose? When did you last have a level drawn?

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Default Dec 30, 2019 at 08:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Jayne13 View Post
I’ve been taking lithium for a while, but for the past few weeks it’s been giving me dry heaves and vomiting. My dr advised me to stop taking it for a few days. Problem is I’ve been off for a few days, and I’m already feeling my moods dropping. I’m worried I won’t be able to take lithium anymore and I don’t think I can function without it.
How long is a while? Have you been vomiting since you first started it or is this sudden onset? Any other symptoms than the vomiting? Have you been remembering to keep yourself hydrated in general and especially if you've been vomiting?

As long as your psychiatrist isn't concerned that it could be due to toxicity, I have a few suggestions:

Take with meals
Do split dosing, i.e. morning and night, if you only take it once a day
Find out if your insurance covers Lithium ER or if you can afford it some other way and ask your doctor about possibly switching to it
Ask your psychiatrist about an antiemetic like trimethobenzamide (Tigan), metoclopramide (Reglan), promethazine (Phenergan), prochlorperazine (Compazine), etc.
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Default Dec 31, 2019 at 03:11 PM
  #6
I’ve been taking lithium for a few years, but the nausea and vomiting started a few weeks ago. I take two 400s twice a day. It seems the vomiting and dry heaving is worse at night when I have food in my stomach. I haven’t had my levels checked for a while, but my dr isn’t concerned about toxicity. I wonder if I should mention it. Within 15 mins of taking the lithium, the symptoms begin.
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Default Jan 10, 2020 at 09:53 AM
  #7
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayne13 View Post
I’ve been taking lithium for a few years, but the nausea and vomiting started a few weeks ago. I take two 400s twice a day. It seems the vomiting and dry heaving is worse at night when I have food in my stomach. I haven’t had my levels checked for a while, but my dr isn’t concerned about toxicity. I wonder if I should mention it. Within 15 mins of taking the lithium, the symptoms begin.
Your levels need to be checked. Your doctor should be concerned about toxicity.

My husband was on lithium, had even had his levels checked regularly, and kind of out of the blue became toxic. His kidneys started shutting down and he ended up on dialysis and in intensive care for a week, psychotic because dialysis pulls all the meds off the system at once. It was a nightmare. If we hadn't gotten him to the ER that night, he very well might have had permanent kidney damage or could have died. Not something to mess with.
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