Medication Changes

[Deleted]

Hope everyone's having a great Sunday.

I just hit month 7 of TTCing and my psychiatrist has brought up concerns about my continued use of Lithium. She wants to be proactive and limit exposure if I get pregnant. We are currently exploring options but the medications I am able to take are limited. I'm nervous about switching because ive been doing really well on a relatively low dose of Lithium (900mg). I haven't had a full blown manic episode in over a year and a half (I didn't realize it had been that long. That makes me happy).
Anyway, I'm not able to take Anti-seizurals because I have narcolepsy and recurrent ovarian cysts. I'm also not able to take antidepressants because they exacerbate manic episodes. To further complicate things, I take Nuvigil and Ambien to regulate my sleep. Without the Ambien I can't sleep through the night and without Nuvigil can't stay awake during the day. The N meds are an issue are obviously an issue as well but we are starting with the Lithium.

So I'm wondering if anyone has experience with switching from Lithium to a more safe medication. If so, was it a permanent switch?
Thanks,
Wallie

[icequeen]

Hey! I definitely have no experience with the uses and alternatives for Lithium, but I asked my mom who is a neurologist. Many of her patients struggle with seizures and manic episodes and are on Lithium. She said that she also prescribes Depakote, however, it should NOT be used during pregnancy. I know you said you are TTC, so I don't know how/if this would be any help. Do you have an appointment with the psychiatrist soon so you can bring this up? I definitely think you can find a safe alternative that would be conducive to TTC. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful.

[Deleted]

Hi Ice queen,
I've never taken Depakote due to my history of ovarian cysts. In general, im not able to take anti-seizurals bdcause I have Narcolepsy. They are too sedating. My options are pretty limited which sucks.
I see my psychiatrist once a month and we will continue to look at options.
I appreciate the response though. Sometimes i worry that I ask questions that are way too specific and unanswerable.

[wesleycrusher]

I have seen a few pregnant patients (I work in a doctor's office) stay on Seroquel during their pregnancy but they were on it and doing well before pregnancy. It's also sedating so could help with sleep or I dont know if that would be an issue with narcolepsy.

[Deleted]

I didn't do well on Seroquel. It was a few years ago so I don't remember the exact reason why.

[Deleted]

Having multiple diagnoses has made changes in medication quite difficult.