Have you gone to see your dr as a follow-up to the hospital visit? You might need some more tests and maybe a referral to see a specialist. I am assuming they checked your lithium levels and all that. Maybe it has nothing to do with your medication?

No not yet. In a week I am going for a follow up. My lithium levels checked out good. Maybe you're right. Sigh I just feel so overwhelmed :(

You might make an appt with your pdoc as well and get checked out. Maybe your meds need to be adjusted even if your levels ok. I would make an emergency appt.

Did they do an orthostatic BP check..could be your blood pressure..also did they check your sugar levels..could be a hypoglycemic thing..I agree with Ele it could have nothing to do with your medications but another underlying physical condition..

I know that is not what you want to hear but maybe a good physical work up and CBC is what you need to make sure nothing else major.

Yeah, I have a suggestion!! Stop driving!!!!!

At least as much as possibly can!! What if you had a 'worse spell' while you were behind the wheel!!?

I've never taken Lithium and so know little about it. Is it possible that lightheadedness/dizziness is a side effect of it, even if the levels are all right?
Not everyone can take everything.
And you can be on a med for a long time and THEN start experiencing side effects.

I'm on Lamictal and I've never had any problems with unsteadiness -- but I'm pretty sure that others have mentioned it.

Here! Here's a link to a list of side effects. Dizziness is mentioned, as is lack of coordination (the unsteadiness, maybe?)

http://www.rxlist.com/lamictal-drug/patient-images-side-effects.htm

I hate to blame the Lamictal -- it's such good stuff! -- but that might be the culprit. Maybe it took 8 months for enough of it to build up in your system and cause trouble.
I wonder if a lower dose might still be enough to help you but not enough to cause you problems?

Did they check your ears out good to make sure you don't have a middle ear infection? Sometimes you can have that without knowing about it and it can affect balance, etc.

Good luck. I guess it could be so many things, but whatever it turns out to be, I hope it isn't serious and I hope it can be cured!!!!

(((((Hugs)))))

I had lithium psychosis because I took it in combo with a NSAID but no dizzy spells.

It could also be your ears. I had horrific dizzy spells that would knock me down, and it was an inner ear infection. My sister had dizzy spells that turned out to be MS.

Pray for an ear infection, probably the least of all possible problems, and it will go away after a year or so. Mine were well before lithium or psych meds,just to be clear.

May be your inner ear... I agree that you should not be driving right now... Your doc should have taken your licence away..
I hope you find out the cause and have it treated soon sweetie..x

So sorry for your struggle. I have two friends who have had severe dizziness/vertigo that was hard to find the cause. One turned out to be a virus
http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/unilat/vneurit.html

the other finally discovered the cause was intolerance of dairy. I thought this must be BS but after 10 years she's fine until she ingests more than a tiny bit of dairy. And her symptoms are SEVERE and her husband says he's proven it's not her imagination - he "snuck" dairy into her meal once and she couldn't walk for a day.

The cause of vertigo can sometimes be very difficult to find but luckily is often not life threatening - unless of course you're driving. Good luck.

Mine was an inner ear virus, just to be specific. It did damage my inner ear. I couldn't balance for years. But I learned to balance by using my eyes for relative pitch. I still can't walk in the dark though.

Hope you figure it out. But still the lesser of all the things it could have been. Dairy? Very interesting - I wonder what the physiology of that is?

Blood pressure would be my first guess or inner ear because of the unsteadiness like maybe you have vertigo. Inner ear can make you pretty sick and if you get bad enough it can make you extremely nauseated just from your equlibrium being out of whack.

Had the same problem a couple of weeks ago, went to doc and found that I had the virus and they didn't give me any meds to take since the doc said it had to run its course.
Please stop the driving too!!!!!
You don't need an accident to add to the trouble.
ttfn AnnieEm

I'm thinking inner ear or vertigo?

Like they said, mainly just follow up with your GP and get checked out more thoroughly, maybe even eventually a specialist if need be.

i googled it.

* high blood pressure,
* low blood pressure,
* heart diseases or conditions (for example heart attack, arrhythmia,
* strokes,
* tumors,
* headaches,
* dementia,
* medication (for example, high blood pressure medications, sedatives, tranquilizers, antidepressants, pain relievers, certain antibiotics, and diuretics),
* metabolic disorders (hypoxia, hypoglycemia, dehydration,
* effects of aging,
* internal bleeding,
* anemia,
* prolonged bed rest,
* infections,
* endocrine diseases (thyroid or pituitary gland),
* depression,
* anxiety,
* panic disorders,
* hyperventilation, and
* somatization.

inner ear issues or your having anxtys..lamctal and the combo with lithem wont always cure anxtys..i also get dizzy..mostly when i lay down for over 20 min..so i wont do it..or if you have pains bad this will throw you inner ear off,,you may need to be a seen from a (e.n.t.) ears nose thoat!! this way they can diagnose you or say ur ok..lithem can make you have tinanits not spelling rite..but it can mess withn your balance,,its also causd from your inner ear!! if this keeps going on go see the ent..or they may run tests a eeg is the brain waves to see if everythings ok there..45 min you just sit there with leads on your head/..these are things your gpdoc can order..but i bet its med realted or your inner ears..and when this happens does it intenes your anxtys???? belive me ive went threw this last 7 yrs..you have days it wont do it at all....and belive me your not alone!!!! go google it up and read on lithem and other sites like tintinis!!!

Hi! I know I wrote this awhile ago but I sincerely thank those of u who responded. I had some insurance problems and some doctor switching I had to do but today is my appointment. I took your suggestions to heart and will ask him today. Thank u all so very much!!! Sassy