I've been prescribed Lithium for my post-natal depression which i've been suffering for over a year. I've tried 8 different medication combinations, of all classes of anti-depressants and had a course of ECT.

I've been on Nardil (an MAOI) for 6 weeks and finally had some improvement.

I have just started seeing a new psychiatrist, he is one of the best in the state, so I trust him. But he has prescribed me Lithium as he says it will work with my Nardil, and act as a mood stabiliser.

I can't find much information about this, and when googling just came across lots of negative opinions about lithium which made me anxious.

I was wondering if anyone has taken it for something other than Bipolar and how it helped you?

Hi Fairy Wren,
I feel for you going through such a hard time with your depression. I understand that. Ive been through that too. Sounds like you have tried a great deal many of a/d's and ect and did get some improvement with Nardil. Im not too familiar with maoi's so I cant give much input on that. However, I was on Lithium for 8 years along with Paxil. Lithium is usually prescribed for Bipolar but it is also very helpful for depression, being a mood stabilizer. You say that he is the best in the country. Good for you finding a very good doctor with an excellent reputation! What I can say for myself as far as Lithium goes is that it is a very good drug. When I took Lithium, I was even, calm and not depressed at all. I swear, I never worried! And I am a big worrier. I was confident (which could have been the Paxil or the combo of the two, I dont know). I was happy and did my job very well. I was also focused. Now, as you know, there are drawbacks with every medication. It did make me gain weight. Then again, my friend was also on Lithium and she gained only a very little weight, as she ate very healthy and exercised. I exercised but didnt watch how I ate so I was to blame for a lot of the weight gain. I would say give it a try. Stay with your doctor and keep him advised as how you are doing so he can monitor you. I think this will be a good thing for you, since you have tried just about everything so far. Best of Luck, Fairy Wren. Feel free to pm me anytime!

Gentle Sun

This post has been edited by gentle sun: Oct 15 2009, 04:12 AM

Thank you for your kind and reassuring response gentle sun! It's a relief to hear that it has worked so well for you, especially over the long term. I have had some short term improvements from some of the medications, but as my Dr has said they "poop out" on me. But none have had such effect as the nardil has. I have become functional again and my mood has lifted, I'm almost optimistic. But also scored very poorly on the psych assessment test and my Dr thinks that a part of it is me having just adapted to living with the depression for so long, and i think i have.

I also have Generalised Anxiety Disorder, so daily life for me is filled with constant worry, nothing has ever managed to remove it completely, its just something i live with. So i am curious to hear more when you say it helped with your worry? How did it help? Did you feel subdued? or just no longer anxious? I started it yesterday and have felt a bit fuzzy headed and slower, i'm hoping its not going to be sedating...

As for the weight gain, that seems to be a side effect of most of the meds unfortunately. I've gained 10 kg in the past year, but part of that was eating poorly also. I've recently changed my diet significantly so am eating mostly natural foods and nothing processed. But i haven't got the energy to exercise, apart from the PND, after looking after a baby and toddler i am just too exhausted. So hopefully further weight gain won't be an issue for me.

I hope you don't mind answering a few more questions? How long did it take to start working for you? did you have any other side effects? How did you feel in general? like yourself?

Thanks again for your reply.

Hi Fairy Wren!
I need to get better at tracking my posts as I didnt realize you had other questions. If you want to pm me, that would be the best way as I get notifications when I have a pm message. Lets see, it didnt take very long at all for the Lithium to work. Now, I also was on Paxil with it too. I was very tired at first and needed to take naps. The naps were great though, I slept like a log and felt better when I woke up. Im glad you are eating healthy and exercise is very important too. Probably it did make me a bit flat, emotionally wise. I guess there are always trade-offs. But yeah, I never worried. Mostly, I didnt worry about things to come in the future. Which I have a problem with normally. I remember thinking, maybe I can do what I did with the Lithium once I went off it, but no, I am back to my old worrying self. How are you doingt these days?
Thinking of you!!
Gentle Sun