View Full Version : lithium therapy
lsmith1162
02-05-2008, 05:05 PM
Has anyone heard about the new lithium therapy just published for ALS patients? It is a study which was shown to slow the progression of ALS significantly. Just wondering if it would work for PLS patients - has anyone spoken to their doctors about this?
This is the published report: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0708022105v1.pdf
i know some plsers who do take this for emotional liability,but there are side effects and it requires regular blood tests for monotoring
AHands
02-07-2008, 12:59 PM
Yes, it does require blood monitoring. The amount you take orally does not simply translate to a blood level--theres a lot of variance. The optimum blood level (.4) for ALS is believed to be significantly lower than the target for mood stabilization, about half i think.
I started on 150mg/day yesterday, will up it to 300mg this weekend, get my blood checked at the lab, and adjust accordingly.
Walter
03-04-2008, 11:05 PM
I have PLS. I just took my first 150 mg capsule two hours ago and will increase the dose to 300 mg next week.
Just had to try something instead of just watching myself get worse and doing nothing.
With the relatively low dosage, the potential benefit seems to out weigh the risk of taking the medication.
Walt Let us know what happens Symptoms, side effects etc etc Geo
Walter
03-05-2008, 10:43 PM
Will do.
Already have one side effect that I had expected.
When on lithium one is to increase their fluid intake.
So, with an existing "urgency" problem, my expectations have been fulfilled.:-)
Whitsend
03-06-2008, 07:14 PM
Sorry to hear about the 'urgency' problem. I suffer from it also. Boy, I'd hate to have to take something that would make it worse.
Just read your reply about Lithium. So how are you feeling after taking it? Let me know if if helped.
My mom was on it for 6 months and it did not stop progression for her. She tried stopping two weeks ago and had bad withdrawal, i.e. her speech got so slurred it was very difficult to understand her. She is back on a low daily dose of 150mg/day and her speech is better (not as good as before trying to stop).
It would be interesting to see how the progression of PLSers is with lithium as many of the people who have tried it so far have had ALS.
Good luck to you all.
