It is not advisable to use marijuana while taking lithium. Before beginning to use marijuana while taking lithium, always get advice from a marijuana doctor. A medical professional will advise you on how to use marijuana safely and assess whether it’s right for you in your particular circumstances.
To date, little research has been done on the combined use of cannabis and lithium. However, data sampled shows that the two, when taken in their combined form, may be disadvantageous since cannabinoids such as CBD raise the level of lithium poisoning and inhibit the liver enzymes required for lithium to break down. For this reason, it is recommended to practice the non-use of both interlocutors whenever possible.
Lithium has been found to interact with medical cannabis in the recent past, and therefore, patients on prescribed lithium should consult their doctors on the possibility of reducing their lithium dose if they intend to take medical cannabis.
What Is Lithium?
Lithium is an oral mood stabilizer that is used in the treatment of bipolar disorders, major depressive disorders, and manic disorders. It can also assist in decreasing aggression, self-injurious behavior, and suicidal behaviors. It is available as a liquid preparation or as a tablet.
Lithium can affect the kidneys and the thyroid; therefore, it is given to patients who are older than 12 years without kidney or thyroid illnesses. A doctor will typically request a blood test to confirm this before writing a prescription for lithium. When starting lithium therapy, you may require an ECG to check your heart health prior to the commencement of the process.
Side effects of lithium medications include the following:
- Diarrhea
- Dry mouth
- Excessive thirst
- Gradual weight gain
- Metallic taste in the mouth
- Mild tremors
- Nausea and vomiting
- Tiredness
Lithium should not be stopped or the dosage changed without prior consultation with the doctor because it might be risky.
Uses and How It Works
Despite the unknown mechanism of lithium, we do know that the drug acts on the central nervous system to change the way chemicals are released in this part of the body.
Lithium has several benefits, including:
- Blocking particular enzymes that impede the growth of cells.
- Boosting the density of brain cells in bipolar disorder sufferers.
- Growing concentrations of specific neural indicators of the health of brain cells.
- Preventing cell death in neurons, which are information messengers.
Potential Risks of Combining Cannabis and Lithium
Despite the finding that cannabis may reduce side effects associated with lithium, the following risks are likely to offset all the benefits that come with the consumption of the two substances: But in seeking to execute a perfect plan that can only be described as excellent, it is just not worth it.
Lithium Toxicity
Interactions between lithium and cannabis have also been evidenced in some research that showed that lithium and cannabis have a side effect that leads to lithium toxicity if a lithium overdose is ingested. In its interaction with lithium, CBD may be responsible for this toxicity. Nevertheless, when the dosage of lithium is increased to a toxic level, it poses a dangerous risk of death.
The kidneys remove 95% of the lithium, with the remaining portion being excreted through perspiration and feces. Lithium is not a drug that is metabolized, and if a patient with kidney problems takes it in large doses and the kidneys cannot clear it out of the system, this drug will circulate within the bloodstream and raise the lithium toxicity level.
Nausea and Vomiting
The use of cannabis and lithium may worsen nausea and vomiting, among other side effects.
Possible Increase in Negative Side Effects
Since marijuana, particularly the CBD, has been known to inhibit liver enzymes that metabolize substances such as lithium, it becomes easier for the two substances to cause harm when taken together.
Side Effects
If you mix lithium with cannabis, you may experience some of these side effects:
- Cardiac arrest
- Coma
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Hives
- Itching
- Palpitations
- Respiratory depression
- Seizures
- Shortness of breath
- Sluggishness
Above are the side effects for which you should go to the emergency room or call for an ambulance if you consume cannabis with lithium: These might be signs of toxicity to lithium or another pathology resulting from lithium and marijuana. If not treated, it is fatal. For example, we have had a case where the DVD. I could not control it.
How to Manage Using Both Lithium and Marijuana
Lithium and marijuana can both be used, but how to manage them is the question.
If you’re willing to blend lithium and cannabis, consult with your healthcare provider. Your doctor will let you know of other treatments that can be taken and guide you on the side effects or risks that may be involved.
If employing cannabis and lithium simultaneously, one must know about lithium toxicity, as serious cases include death. The symptoms of mild to moderate lithium toxicity are: The symptoms of mild to moderate lithium toxicity are:
- Diarrhea
- Drowsiness
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness
- Stomach pains
- Tremors
- Uncontrollable movements
- Vomiting
- Weakness
Severe lithium toxicity symptoms include:
- Agitation
- Coma
- Confusion
- Delirium
- Heightened reflexes
- Hyperthermia
- Kidney failure
- Low blood pressure
- Rapid heartbeat
- Seizures
- Slurred speech
- Uncontrollable eye movements
If you experience any of the following symptoms after using cannabis or lithium, you should contact your physician or emergency services.
The Closing Words!
It is an antipsychotic drug that is prescribed to patients with bipolar, manic, and depressive disorders.
If you are both a cannabis consumer and a lithium consumer, you should be careful when using the two products concurrently, since the present literature indicates that the combined use of the substances puts the user at risk of developing lithium toxicity. While current studies on the interactions of potential contraindications between the two are rare, the few that are available confirm that there is harm when cannabis (especially CBD) is taken alongside lithium.
We need to be careful because we do not know how the other cannabinoids, such as THC and THCV, will behave.
Some tentative evidence exists that medical cannabis may decrease the use of some types of antipsychotics and medications like lithium, but, once again, this is still considered tentative evidence. People who wish to employ marijuana in this manner should seek medical advice to minimize the adverse impacts of marijuana.
Obtain a medicinal marijuana card to take advantage of cannabis’s possible health advantages. Consult a medical expert and begin the MMJ card online application process right now.
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