Jump to content
SurvivingAntidepressants.org is temporarily closed to new registrations until 1 April ×

Avonleamarillo: Cutting my own pills for lithium taper


Avonleamarilla

Recommended Posts

'm tapering off lithium and I'm not able to get reduced dosages yet from the shrink I am working with. (it's a long story about why...)

 

Anyway, after much deliberation and research, I tapered myself from 900 mg to 450 mg over the past two months.

I know that I tapered too fast according to the med. experts who I am now familiar with (i.e. Dr. Liz Miller, Dr. Breggn etc.)

although I have been 100% stable and fine at 450 mg for the past 6 weeks.

 

Also, for the past 8 months I have been drinking a gallon of water a day I really think that the water has diluted the lithium in my system and brought it way down to a possibly non-therapeutic level. I asked a new psychiatrist last week who I saw for my taper, about that and she agreed it's definitely possible.

 

I haven't had blood tests since last year (my current psychiatrist doesn't ask for it - don't even ask about that one...he's not thorough with me, to say the least) so I don't know what my current lithium blood level is. Last year at 900mg/day it was .5 or .6 I think.

 

Anyway, as stated on this website in another lithium taper thread, a 10% taper rate/month is most wise, not a 20%+/month taper like I did the past 2 months, for the best tapering results & to prevent a manic relapse in the case of lithium and bipolar.

 

So I have 450 mg generic Eskalith tablets. They actually have a score mark, but the pharmacist tells me that one is not supposed to cut them up as it changes the way the dose is dispersed -

I'm not really worried about that factor (maybe I should be) as I take it at night and it was arbitrary that my pdoc gave me ER in the first place- he has given me regular lithium in the past.

 

What I did last night was cut one 450 mg tablet in half (yielding *super-roughly* 225 mg) and then I cut that half into half (to create ***super-roughly*** 100 mg)

So I might be ingesting around 300 mg a night. Each night I am certain this dose would fluctuate a bit, since my cuts are not exact at all.

 

My goal is to get less of the lithium in my system until I can proceed with the shrink & taper more gradually, which may take me months at this rate & possibly may not even happen.

 

In summary, I'd like to take around 300 mg a night and see how I do.

 

I guess my question is, do you think I'm doing something super-dangerous & super-stupid? The fact that I have been able to do an Ashton taper successfully with benzos has made me feel more confident about what I am capable of, and if I relapse I will know the signs unless I go psychotic, which I never really have been for any length of time.

 

And do you know anyone else who cuts pills like this? I can't get fancy equipment. I'm broke.

 

THANKS!!!!!!

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Avonleamarillo,

 

I moved your post here to Introductions and updates, as it's your first one telling us about yourself. Please continue to post about your problems and progress in this thread by using the "Add Reply" button at the bottom of the page unless you're posting general information or questions about tapering, symptoms, et cetera,

 

Here's some information I found on our site on getting off of lithium:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2976-tapering-lithium/page__p__32409__hl__lithium__fromsearch__1#entry32409

 

Please try to hold on and don't change anything until our administrator, Altostrata, can advise. Also, please put your drug history in your signature like so:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 

The more information we have, the better the advice we can give. Thanks.

Psychotropic drug history: Pristiq 50 mg. (mid-September 2010 through February 2011), Remeron (mid-September 2010 through January 2011), Lexapro 10 mg. (mid-February 2011 through mid-December 2011), Lorazepam (Ativan) 1 mg. as needed mid-September 2010 through early March 2012

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." -Hanlon's Razor


Introduction: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1588-introducing-jemima/

 

Success Story: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6263-success-jemima-survives-lexapro-and-dr-dickhead-too/

Please note that I am not a medical professional and my advice is based on personal experience, reading, and anecdotal information posted by other sufferers.

 

Link to comment

Thank you so much Jemima! I found out about this site through the wonderful BeyondMeds website/blog!

 

Thanks for the link about the lithium.

 

I am definitely going to stay where I am at dosage-wise for the next month; I know the trick of an effective taper is to take it as slow as possible.

 

As far as my drug history goes, I'll get that in here the next time I post, I promise - I have a five-year-old and a seven-year-old distracting me with their antics right now. (They are my sweet little girls full of frozen yogurt, jelly beans and gummy worms as a special treat!) I'll write again when they are at school.

 

Again, many thanks for your advice, support and for helping me navigate this forum.

 

take care! I'll be back!

 

Avonleamarilla :)

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

I am definitely going to stay where I am at dosage-wise for the next month; I know the trick of an effective taper is to take it as slow as possible.

 

 

FANTASTIC!!! That seems to be the hardest part for most people to understand!

Psychotropic drug history: Pristiq 50 mg. (mid-September 2010 through February 2011), Remeron (mid-September 2010 through January 2011), Lexapro 10 mg. (mid-February 2011 through mid-December 2011), Lorazepam (Ativan) 1 mg. as needed mid-September 2010 through early March 2012

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." -Hanlon's Razor


Introduction: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1588-introducing-jemima/

 

Success Story: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6263-success-jemima-survives-lexapro-and-dr-dickhead-too/

Please note that I am not a medical professional and my advice is based on personal experience, reading, and anecdotal information posted by other sufferers.

 

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Avonleamarillo, here's a discussion of splitting Eskalith CR http://www.jfponline.com/Pages.asp?AID=4895

 

Dr. Jefferson is correct that Eskalith CR is scored and we too have asked patients to split the pill for many years with no apparent difficulties.

 

However, the latest Eskalith CR package insert states, “When patients require closer titration than that available with doses of Eskalith CR in increments of 450 mg, immediate-release capsules should be used.” This statement implies that splitting this pill is not recommended.

 

Additionally, GlaxoSmithKline—the manufacturer of Eskalith CR—informed us that the pill is scored to facilitate dissolution studies on split pills, but these studies were never conducted. Therefore, the company cannot recommend pill splitting for Eskalith CR.

 

Although splitting Eskalith CR pills is common, based on the information above we were conservative in our recommendation and put this medication in the “Do not split” column.

 

Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH

Director of psychopharmacology research

R/D Clinical Research, Inc.

Lake Jackson, TX

 

Shailesh Jain, MD, MPH

Assistant professor of psychiatry

University of Texas Medical School

at San Antonio

This is a case of the drug manufacturer not providing complete information. It's obvious that in clinical practice, patients have been splitting the pills.

 

I've added additional info to the tapering lithium topic here http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2976-tapering-lithium/page__view__findpost__p__36863

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment

Thank you Altostrata, for this profoundly useful information!!!

 

Reading your post has made my day and has also validated my gut feelings about having made my decision to split my generic, scored Eskalith CR pills - so far, so good.

I will stay where I am at for some time and take it slow. That's my mantra.

 

I still need to do my med info. for you - please bear with me.

 

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart.

 

Avonleamarilla

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use Privacy Policy