Lithium question

[ColdNorth]

First of all, hello everyone Found some good information here over the years but only joined today to ask about this. Searched around but didn't manage to find an exact answer so..

Quick history in case it's relevant:
I've been bipolar (type I) for half my life and have gone through a wide spectrum of antipsychotic medications and several wrong and weird diagnoses on the way, possibly due to heavy drug use at the time. Apparently I broke something in my brain with benzo abuse, they now only produce pretty much the opposite of the desired effects. About a year ago, the manias got so bad and frequent I had to stop using alcohol, amphetamine and benzos for good. For the first time full-blown psychosis were involved. No idea why.

Since then I've been on 600mg lithium carbonate and 1.2mg buprenorphine daily. It has been a miracle combination, keeps the bipo at bay and keeps me away from the drug circles. I smoke pot frequently but not heavily, have done psychedelics my whole adult life and neither seem to cause any problems.

But I'm not experienced with MDMA, have taken it about 15-20 times total and it's always been great, but searching for info about interactions between MDMA and lithium made it pretty clear it's not a good idea to mix them.

So, my question is does anybody have experience/knowledge with how long you need to be without lithium carbonate to be able to take MDMA safely and without any potential reduced effect? Also, how long to wait after MDMA until returning to lithium?

I don't need moral advice, the chance of a manic episode is an acceptable risk considering the potential benefits but I would like to minimize any possible physiological risks. By benefits I mean that bupre makes you pretty cold and distant in the long term and an empathy booster can be very helpful with that.

And in all honesty life is pretty boring when neither mania or certain chemical experiences are involved.

Thank you in advance. It's because of harm prevention sites that many people are alive/sane today so great work %)

 

[Bearlove]

Theres only the one person in this section that has reported taking lithium and using MDMA - they left it two weeks before using MDMA.

You may want to rephrase the question and ask in the advanced drug discussion section if your after some purely scientific answers about how long lithium stays in your system and how it reacts / interacts with MDMA.

 

[ColdNorth]

That's what I'm after, I'll post there instead. Thank you, I'm still a bit lost here =)

 

[ColdNorth]

I'll post back here since I went through with it and the lithium + MDMA link in the directory leads to this and little info. I went 10 days without lithium and there were no ill effects. It felt like rolling for the first time ever after a break of 3-4 years. I did end up doing a bit too much and too long but I never went back on lithium. Early summer was great, then my doc put me on sodium valproate and I became suicidal couple of days into it, and didn't go back on that either. I really think I'm best off without meds now once I learn to navigate through the irritating instant mood changes bipolar brings.

Another reason I post is because I think MDMA played some part in that. The full effect remains to be seen. <clip clip, irrelevant in hindsight> One concrete benefit was finding Bluelight. =)

 

[alquimista]

There you go!

Hello cold north,
I got just the good part of our "illness", mania only.it's been 14 years now.At the beggining I used to roll up hash, no problem.Then weed came into scene..took me a while to relate sativa's with my total lack of control I used to have with thc so high in my body.My first time in hospital, broke three strings easily.I tried Mdma plus alcohol,plus weed in a good enviroment and felt the same as having a mania.My mania state is just the best.It's as if I can control and prevent less powerful minds (rest of the world) and making all the girls horny(ok, i'm good looking, but it turns ridicoulous!).I've taken good coke and has nothing to do with this feeling.It makes me look under age(I'm 32).I do believe it has efects on your skin.Right now, I'm just experimenting and taking a diary.I dont know why you worry about lithium.Dont think has nothing to do.Also I dont know whta M are you taking..I do believe mdma could help in the way tyour manias come back, reducing them, becuase your brain is already used to deal with big amounts of serotonine.My reasearch only affects me, and my "illness".Each is different, hope you know it.Mdma risk's is about getting dehidrated by drinking alcohol and that's it. It is dea's will.And farmaceutical because otherwise, antidepresives such as prozack will have its life end.How much money is on the table????there are no reasearches with humans on Mdma!!

 

[ColdNorth]

That sounds awesome, all the fun without having to deal with the dark side. And mysteriously some drug people are really young looking. I'm 32 as well and could pass for 22 with a bit of effort like shaving and dressing better. I was recently surprised to hear an old poly user friend is turning 40 and he looks about the same age as me. Maybe it's music or laughter, maybe it's the drugs or not working one's ass off 8-4 every day but some people definitely don't look their age. Anyways, I was worried about lithium due to the fact that it has nasty and potentially lethal interactions with a lot of things. Honestly, I think MDMA is a better treatment for bipolar (or refractory) depression. The risk of potential mania could be controlled, I'm sure of that. It's just too bad nobody can research it. It's like LSD all over again, it got a bad reputation thanks to the clueless media and now it might take decades until it can be put to good use. People need more empathy NOW. =)

I had a thought while dropping acid recently, I was feeling immensely good and it occurred to me that people would be angry at the government for keeping psychedelics illegal once they got even a small taste of the mental bliss and understood what it's really about. "THIS is bad for you?!" Then again, that will probably never happen.

 

[KushNshrooms]

I take lithium carbonate and have done MDMA while on it if anything it potentates it