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Lithium toxicity, also known as lithium overdose, is the condition of having too much lithium. Symptoms may include a tremor, increased reflexes, trouble walking, kidney problems, and an altered level of consciousness. Some symptoms may last for a year after levels return to normal. Complications may include serotonin syndrome. [1]
Lithium toxicity, which is also called lithium overdose and lithium poisoning, is the condition of having too much lithium in the blood. This condition also happens in persons who are taking lithium in which the lithium levels are affected by drug interactions in the body.
Lithium Lithium is the "classic" mood stabilizer, the first to be approved by the US FDA, and still popular in treatment. Therapeutic drug monitoring is required to ensure lithium levels remain in the therapeutic range: 0.6 to 0.8 or 0.8–1.2 mEq/L (or millimolar). Signs and symptoms of toxicity include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and ataxia. [3]
Excessive levels of lithium can be harmful to the kidneys, and increase the risk of side effects in general. As a result, kidney function and blood levels of lithium are monitored in patients being treated with lithium. [2] Therapeutic plasma levels of lithium range from 0.5 to 1.5 mEq/L, with levels of 0.8 or higher being desirable in acute ...
Due to lithium's narrow therapeutic index, lithium levels must be monitored regularly for prevention of lithium toxicity. There is also evidence that the anticonvulsants valproate, lamotrigine, carbamazepine, and topiramate are effective in the reduction of symptoms of hypomanic and depressive episodes of bipolar disorder.
Venlafaxine has been used off label for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy [15] and migraine prevention. [16] It may work on pain via effects on the opioid receptor. [17] It has also been found to reduce the severity of 'hot flashes' in menopausal women and men on hormonal therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer. [18] [19]
Despite the clinic’s failure rate, she has not considered making the medication more accessible. “I don’t know how to answer that question,” she said. “We are an abstinence-based program by nature.” The state’s treatment providers have little idea how their patients fare once they walk out the door.
Electroconvulsive therapy, a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect; Antidepressant-induced mania occurs in 20–40% of people with bipolar disorder. Mood stabilizers, especially lithium, may protect against this effect, but some research contradicts this. [22]