What Are the Effects of Lithium Carbonate Withdrawal?
Lithium was the first effective treatment for bipolar disorder, a psychiatric condition that causes extreme mood swings from euphoric highs to crushing lows. Lithium is not strictly a drug, but a metallic element, with atomic number 3. Lithium carbonate is a powder formulation of lithium available in 150-mg, 300-mg and 600-mg capsules. If you are taking lithium carbonate for bipolar disorder, your doctor might recommend that you stay on it indefinitely. However, some circumstances can require withdrawal from lithium. Reasons Side effects are one of the reasons people sometimes have to discontinue lithium. According to label information available on the U.S National Library of Medicine’s DailyMed site, lithium can (rarely) cause severe tremor, uncontrollable muscle movements, incontinence, kidney problems, blackouts or seizures. Common side effects include weight gain, thirst and fine tremor. Toxicity Signs of lithium toxicity, such as diarrhea, vomiting, mild ataxia (lack of coordinati
