Taking Lithum Sr Tablets 400 Mg With Divaa OD 500 For Long. Can I Discontinue This Now?

Posted on Mon, 24 Dec 2012

Question: Hi i am taking lithum sr tablets 400 mg daily one during time along with divaa OD 500 1 tab since 2 years ,my doctor says it is only a maintenance dose since i was taking higher dose earlier sinceabout 5 years .
Now i want to discontinue it since ,I am feeling better , in fact I feel it is affecting my concentration and working capacity.... Please advice

Answered by Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (7 hours later)

Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic.

Both Lithium SR and Divaa (Divalproex sodium) are mood stabilizing medication, from which I presume that you are suffering from a Bipolar disorder. Now, you have to understand that Bipolar disorder is a kind of psychiatric disorder which requires long term medication and there is always a risk of relapse if medication is discontinued.

There is no clear-cut period till which the medication has to be continued, but the duration of treatment varies from person to person and depends on a number of factors. So, in order to advise you better, I will need the following clarifications:

- How long have you been absolutely symptom-free?

- How severe was your last mood episode (mania or depression)?

- How many episodes of depression or mania have you had so far?

- Have you had any episodes after discontinuing medication before?

- Are you likely to be under any stressful situation due to work, family or personal problems in the near future?

- Do you consume alcohol or any other substances of abuse?

Please get back to me with these clarifcations, so that I advise you accordingly.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (6 hours later)

I will reply all your questions after studying my history , but mean while I feel due to this medication I have problem of Concentration and reduction of working capacity or I cannot tackle 2-3 problems simultaneously As I used to do before medication.
Also I feel that due to medication my emotions have become little blunt both XXXXXXX happy" as well as XXXXXXX sad"..... Please advice only this part till I send you the details youn have asked for.

Regards.
XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (16 hours later)

Hello XXXXXXX

These problems which you are facing, namely, the decreased concentration and the "emotional blunting" could indeed be a side effect of long-term mood-stabilizers, especially Lithium. I see that you are currently on two different mood stabilizers - if the problems which you are experiencing are causing you significant distress, then we can consider very gradually tapering down and stopping the Lithium and maintaining you on Divaa (but you may need a higher dose of this). Anyway, do get back to me with the other details which I had asked for and I shall advise you on what is the best treatment strategy to follow.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (10 hours later)

Here i am trying to answer your questions

1) I am symptom free since december 2009

2) compared to 1 st symptom in the year 2003.....
( started with lithusun sr 400 x 2 times... + cap. Prodes 20 mg(daily one)+ tab. Trazine-H (daily one) + tab. Oliza 5 mg ( daily one). )
.......the last sympton was in may 2006 and it was about 50% of the first symptom.( here I was taking la lithium 300 mg daily 1 tab + nexito 5mg daily 2tabs + + tab symbal 20 mg daily 2 times )
.....and now since december 2009 i am taking the dose mentioned by me i.e lithusun sr 400 mg daily one and Diva OD 500 daily One during bed time

3)no. Of episodes of depression ......... only two started with year 2003 and the next one in year in the year 2006 as mentioned above.

4) I have not discontinued the medication till now , only if at all it might have missed for 2-3 days during travelling etc. there i did not find any difference.

5) i dont foresee any severe or major family or buisness stress or problem in near future

6) no i dont consume any substance of abuse

Regards
XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (17 hours later)

Hello again and thanks for the clarifications.

From your clinical history, I infer that you have suffered from only 2 episodes of depression and no episodes of mania. You have also been tried on different anti-depressant medication in the past and your doctor must have decided to add on a mood stabilizer, in order to prevent further episodes or relapses. Now, you mention that you have been doing very well on mood stabilizers alone currently. But, unfortunately, you are experiencing side effects such as poor concentration, emotional blunting / insensitivity, etc. Like I had mentioned before, these problems are likely to be as a result of the side effects of Lithium.

My opinion is that, you definitely need to continue some form of mood stabilizing medication, but not necessarily Lithium. There are two options here: One is to increase the dose of Divaa so that you can be maintained on one mood stabilizer alone. The other option is to substitute Lithium with some other mood stabilizer, without such side effects, for example Lamotrigine. Now, the stopping or changing of Lithium must be done very gradually, in order to avoid any relapse or rebound depression. Usually this is done by first increasing the new medication step by step, and then gradually reducing the old medication step by step.

So, I would advise you to discuss these options with your psychiatrist, so that appropriate modifications can be made in your treatment. It is better to do the modification under the close monitoring of your doctor, so that it is safe and even if any problems may arise, they can be tackled immediately.

Wish you all the best.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar