does lithium really help to avoid suicidal thoughts?

[NothingElseMatters]

i've been on lithium for a few years but decided to quit it by myself, so i did it. low lithium taxes would probably increase my urge to suicide, it kinda did, but was not enough and my psychiatrist will probably find out due to my blood test results.

 

[jodes2]

I guess it can do but different drugs for different people

 

[catastrophix]

Take this as a grain of salt, as I am on a TON of other meds, but I've been taking Lithium for a couple years and I've continued to have suicidal thoughts while on it. However, meds work differently for everybody. The last few times I've had blood drawn, my Lithium levels were on the lower side, so again, the continued suicidal thoughts are just my personal experience.

 

[Capsaicin78]

lithium is scientifically proven to be the only medication ( well ketamine also does, but its pretty new) that reduces suicidal ideation. But it doesn't work for everyone because ctb is obviously a far too complex topic to be adressed by just one chemical.

 

[kitkat7777]

Yeah it helps with suicidal ideation but I've still had attempts while on it.

 

[Mr.Tristesse]

Yes, it's well known for that. Obviously it's not a magic elixir.

 

[Walilamdzii]

No, not for me.

 

[LittleJem]

it did for me at low dose but constant tummy upset and weeing were too much for me. I wasn't happy on it - just less thoughts.

 

[Walilamdzii]

it did for me at low dose but constant tummy upset and weeing were too much for me. I wasn't happy on it - just less thoughts.

I don't feel like it's having any effect on me... I'm on 1000mg.

 

[Fktw0rld]

I was on lithium for a little over 6 years. I felt myself going deeper into depression after roughly 4. More random bouts of isolating myself and crying. Major episodes of self directed agression. Hyper focus on self harm and suicide. Regardless of what it's known for, it gradually made me worse.

 

[blurryblor]

i've been on lithium for a few years but decided to quit it by myself, so i did it. low lithium taxes would probably increase my urge to suicide, it kinda did, but was not enough and my psychiatrist will probably find out due to my blood test results.

been on lithium since i was a kid but recently got off it due to some liver issues from long term use in my experience it worked well on a high dose and if you avoid taking blood tests it's a way to ctb since lithium kinda fucks up your organs definitely kinda slow but a good method if you wanna die without it being deemed a suicide

 

[LittleJem]

you can take it with an ssri (not sure on doseage). It can boost the ssri

 

[eccram]

It didn't work for me.

 

[schrei_nach_liebe]

doesnt help me with not having suicidal thoughts but it nearly completely erases the urgency of acting on them

 

[suicidaleeyore]

lol funny I see this. Supposedly lithium has been super helpful for this according to my team and mum who notice the difference. I came off it in 2021 and ended up getting put back on it. But I stoped taking it like a week ago cause I hate taking it and I'm planning to ctb anyway so I thought why bother with it. Without it I'm definitely declining even faster than I was without it. My dose got increased today because apparently the levels from my last blood tests show that it's not quite in the best range. I didn't say I hadn't been taking it because I didn't want to be lectured tho. But yes it certainly helps me. I'm still suicidal a lot of the time but in a more controlled way