What are common side effects of lithium?
What are possible side effects of lithium?
- Headache
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness or drowsiness
- Changes in appetite
- Hand tremors
- Dry mouth
- Increased thirst
- Increased urination
- Thinning of hair or hair loss
What are the birth defects of lithium?
There are case reports in the scientific journals of newborn babies whose mothers took lithium in pregnancy suffering from various problems including floppy muscles, fast heart rate, breathing difficulties, low blood sugar, excessive sleepiness, shaking, and jaundice.
Does lithium have any side effects?
The most common side effects of lithium are feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, a dry mouth and a metallic taste in the mouth. Your doctor will carry out regular blood tests to check how much lithium is in your blood. The results will be recorded in your lithium record book.
Is lithium a real teratogen?
Last studies rather suggest that lithium is not a strong teratogen. paper recommends that this kind of risk should be taken into account, if lithium administration is considered to be applied in pregnant women, especially during the first three months of pregnancy.
What is lithium used for?
Lithium is a medication used to treat bipolar disorder, which is also called manic-depression. Lithium may also be used to treat other psychiatric and medical conditions. Lithium is sold under many brand names. Some brand names are: Cibalith-S®, Eskalith®, Lithane®, Lithobid® and Lithonate®. I take lithium.
How long does it take for lithium to clear your system?
People eliminate medications at different rates. In healthy adults, it takes up to four days, on average, for most of the lithium to be gone from the body. However, studies have shown that the longer a person has been on lithium, the longer it may take for their body to clear it completely after stopping.
Is lithium bad for you during pregnancy?
Every pregnancy starts out with a 3-5% chance of having a birth defect. This is called the background risk. Some studies have suggested that taking lithium in the first trimester is associated with a small increased chance of heart defects, especially a rare heart defect called Ebstein’s anomaly.
Can you take lithium while breastfeeding?
If someone takes lithium while breastfeeding, they and their healthcare provider should monitor the baby for symptoms such as restlessness, low muscle tone, or trouble feeding.
Can you take lithium while pregnant?
Talk with your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of staying on lithium during pregnancy. If you continue on lithium, you should have your blood levels of lithium checked often throughout pregnancy. You may need to increase your dose during pregnancy to prevent relapse.
Can you relapse from lithium?
Stopping lithium may cause relapse (return of symptoms), especially if it is stopped quickly. It is important that your disorder is well-controlled during pregnancy. For some people, the benefits of staying on medications that work for them during pregnancy may outweigh the potential risks.
Does lithium affect fertility?
Some reports on lithium have found reduced sperm quality and sperm movement, while others have not. One of these reports found no reduction in fertility. Decreased sex drive was reported in another study, but this is a common side effect of depression and may not be due to the medication.
How long should you monitor lithium levels after birth?
Therefore, we recommend twice weekly monitoring of lithium blood levels for the first 2 weeks postpartum. Women with bipolar disorder on maintenance treatment with lithium might want to change to their preconception dose and blood level after 1 month postpartum.
Should bipolar women be monitored during pregnancy?
During pregnancy and the postpartum period women with bipolar disorder should be closely monitored . The possible risks for the unborn child, such as the risk of congenital malformations need to be carefully weighed against the risk of maternal relapse.
Is lithium safe for pregnancy?
Lithium is an effective treatment in pregnancy and postpartum for the prevention of relapse in bipolar disorder. However, lithium has also been associated with risks during pregnancy for both the mother and the unborn child.
Can you use lithium after delivery?
Lithium use postpartum. When lithium is discontinued during pregnancy, lithium should be restarted immediately after delivery and is an effective strategy for relapse prevention in the immediate postpartum. For women with an isolated episode of postpartum psychosis or mania in history lithium prophylaxis immediately after delivery is effective ...
Does lithium help with postpartum depression?
Lithium prophylaxis has demonstrated efficacy in reducing postpartum episodes. However, the dosing and duration of prophylaxis is unknown. We recommend relapse prevention prophylaxis in women with bipolar disorder with a higher lithium target level (for example 0.8 mmol/L) during the first month postpartum.
Does lithium cause obstetric complications?
Obstetric complications. When investigating the effect of lithium exposure on obstetric complications in cohort studies it is important to consider that bipolar disorder, the indication for which lithium is often prescribed, is associated with obstetric complications independent of medication.
How many children were exposed to lithium in utero?
These women were contacted at a later time, and 15 children who were exposed to lithium in utero were evaluated at 3 to 15 years of age. In addition to lithium, 9 out of 30 children were exposed to other psychotropic medications: 2 were exposed to antidepressants, 1 to benzodiazepines and 1 to an antipsychotic drug.
Can lithium be used during pregnancy?
While we have data on the use of lithium use during pregnancy with regard to risk for congenital malformations, there is much less information on the long-term effects of lithium on neurodevelopment. A recent study from the Perinatal Center of the Leiden University Medical Center provides some reassuring data on the long-term effects ...
What are the cases of lithium in pregnancy?
Three of these cases described cardiac defects (case numbers: 026387, 069446 and 116642 ).
What is lithium used for?
Lithium is a mood stabiliser used in the treatment of bipolar disorder 1. The use of lithium in pregnancy was recently reviewed by the Medicines Adverse Reactions Committee (MARC) following the publication of new information 2.
How long does it take for lithium to stop?
If a woman taking lithium becomes pregnant, consider stopping the medicine gradually over 4 weeks if she is well. Explain to her that: stopping medication may not remove the risk of fetal heart malformations. there is a risk of relapse, particularly in the postnatal period, if she has bipolar disorder.
How often should you check your lithium levels?
check plasma lithium levels every 4 weeks, then weekly from the 36th week. adjust the dose to keep plasma lithium levels in the woman's therapeutic range. ensure the woman maintains an adequate fluid balance. ensure the woman gives birth in hospital.
Is lithium dangerous for a baby?
the woman knows that lithium levels may be high in breast milk with a risk of toxicity for the baby. lithium levels are monitored more frequently throughout pregnancy and the postnatal period.
Is lithium dangerous during pregnancy?
Fetal exposure to lithium during the first trimester of pregnancy had previously been considered a significant risk for congenital cardiac malformations. Both studies aimed to clarify this risk further. The risk of cardiac malformations was lower than previously believed, based on birth registry data from the 1970s 7.
Can you stop using lithium during pregnancy?
The New Zealand data sheets for lithium strongly recommend that use of lithium be discontinued before a planned pregnancy due to the risk of teratogenicity, particularly during the first trimester 3–5. Women with bipolar disorder have a significant risk of relapse during pregnancy and post-partum 6.
Is lithium exposure dangerous for babies?
Researchers emphasized that the risk of birth defects in lithium-exposed infants was found to be lower than previously thought based on much smaller studies. “Women should be informed on malformation risk in first-trimester exposed infants, but also about very high relapse risks for mental illness both during pregnancy and during ...
Is lithium dangerous for fetuses?
Lithium Linked to Greater Risk of Birth Defects in Exposed Fetuses. By staff. New York— The largest-ever study of birth defects in babies exposed to lithium found an elevated risk of major congenital malformations in fetuses after first-trimester exposure to the mental health drug.
Does lithium cause preeclampsia?
On the other hand, they reported, lithium exposure was not associated with pregnancy complications or other delivery outcomes, such as preeclampsia, preterm birth, gestational diabetes, or low birthweight.
Is lithium a good treatment for bipolar?
Background information in the study noted that lithium therapy is widely recommended as a first-line treatment for bipolar disorder, which affects approximately 2% of the world’s population In the U.S., bipolar disorder is commonly treated with antipsychotic drugs instead of lithium, the article stated.
What is lithium used for?
Lithium is a mood stabilising agent licensed for the treatment and prophylaxis of mania, bipolar disorder and recurrent depression, and the treatment of aggressive or mutilating behaviour.
Is lithium dangerous during pregnancy?
An increased risk of preterm delivery and neonatal complications has been identified. Lithium use in pregnancy is complicated by its fluctuating pharmacokinetics and narrow therapeutic index, which together present a risk of both suboptimal maternal treatment and maternal/neonatal lithium toxicity.
Can you deliver lithium in hospital?
All neonates exposed to lithium in utero should have their serum lithium level measured shortly after delivery.
