Lithium users - not what you think!

[brooksea]

For those of you that have gone off Li, have you found your symptoms increased?

My husband, DaddyO, wants to go back on Li after he slowly came off of it. His cramps, while on Li, were less severe and less frequent. Now they have really ramped up, since stopping the drug. Also, his gagging has increased.

Of course, we cannot know if this is just the course of the disease or if Li really helped with symptoms!

Any thoughts from those that actually tried Li?

(Mood may have been better, just from my observation. Or maybe I am just experiencing my own placebo effect!)

 

[JeffP]

hi brooksea i have never tried it but in other countrys they still use lithium for als so if it was working i guess i would try it again no sence having your husband in more pain and that will let you know if its the lithium or the progression of the diseace just my opinion

 

[Al]

They quit the north american study because it wasn't working. If your husband thinks he did better on it CJ then if he can get the doc to prescribe it then it should be up to him. It seemed to speed up mine and a bunch of others so we quit earlier than most.

AL.

 

[irismarie]

they use lithium for severe depression so I imagine it WOULD have lifted his mood. I'd go along with it - the big ALS people have not got much else right so far!

 

[Danijela]

My partner is still participating in lithium trial here in the UK (study devised differently to North American) but we don't know if he is on lithium or placebo. He keeps progressing relatively slowly but I think this would be the case regardless of the drug. As for symptoms, if L does act as muscle relaxant than I can see how some feel that they progression speded up (some PALs do not take baclofen for the same reason as they prefer spasticity to 'floppyness'). D