my Wednesday shrink appointment

[David Dalton]

I met with my psychiatrist early Wednesday afternoon.

He said my blood level of valproic acid is still below
therapeutic range so we raised the dose from 500 mg
diValproex/day to 750 mg/day, and he thinks I will
probably need 1000 mg/day.

I will get new blood tests done on Friday March 22
and will see him again on March 27. He wants to
wait until my valproic acid blood level is in
therapeutic range before starting to taper me off
lithium, which has been affecting my kidneys in
the last year or two.

--
David Dalton dal...@nfld.com http://www.nfld.com/~dalton (home page)
http://www.nfld.com/~dalton/nf.html Newfoundland&Labrador Travel & Music
http://www.nfld.com/~dalton/dtales.html Salmon on the Thorns (mystic page)
"Here I go again...back into the flame" (Sarah McLachlan)

[Jason]

In article <dalton-FA8959....@mx05.eternal-september.org>,

David Dalton <dal...@nfld.com> wrote:

> I met with my psychiatrist early Wednesday afternoon.
>
> He said my blood level of valproic acid is still below
> therapeutic range so we raised the dose from 500 mg
> diValproex/day to 750 mg/day, and he thinks I will
> probably need 1000 mg/day.
>
> I will get new blood tests done on Friday March 22
> and will see him again on March 27. He wants to
> wait until my valproic acid blood level is in
> therapeutic range before starting to taper me off
> lithium, which has been affecting my kidneys in
> the last year or two.

I hope that you can safely get off of lithium since it is a known cause of
kidney failure.

You should ask your regular doctor or shrink to run blood tests about
every three months to check your liver. Valproic acid can cause liver
problems in some patients.

These are some of the signs of liver problems:

1. Feeling unwell
2. weakness
3. tiredness
4. facial swelling
5. appetite loss
6. yellowing of the skin or eyes
7. vomiting

Source of the above information: The Pill Book

[David Dalton]

In article
<Jason-16031...@66-53-216-245.lsan.mdsg-pacwest.com>,

Ja...@nospam.com (Jason) wrote:

> In article <dalton-FA8959....@mx05.eternal-september.org>,
> David Dalton <dal...@nfld.com> wrote:
>
> > I met with my psychiatrist early Wednesday afternoon.
> >
> > He said my blood level of valproic acid is still below
> > therapeutic range so we raised the dose from 500 mg
> > diValproex/day to 750 mg/day, and he thinks I will
> > probably need 1000 mg/day.
> >
> > I will get new blood tests done on Friday March 22
> > and will see him again on March 27. He wants to
> > wait until my valproic acid blood level is in
> > therapeutic range before starting to taper me off
> > lithium, which has been affecting my kidneys in
> > the last year or two.
>
> I hope that you can safely get off of lithium since it is a known cause of
> kidney failure.

I should be off it within another 4 to 6 weeks, and
am scheduled to see a nephrologist again on June 11.

> You should ask your regular doctor or shrink to run blood tests about
> every three months to check your liver. Valproic acid can cause liver
> problems in some patients.
>
> These are some of the signs of liver problems:
>
> 1. Feeling unwell
> 2. weakness
> 3. tiredness
> 4. facial swelling
> 5. appetite loss
> 6. yellowing of the skin or eyes
> 7. vomiting
>
> Source of the above information: The Pill Book

Yes, my shrink has already mentioned that after

my valproic acid blood level is in therapeutic

range he will do a valproic acid blood test
every three months and will test my liver at the
same time.

[Jason]

In article <dalton-A92AB0....@mx05.eternal-september.org>,

You have a great shrink.