According to the National Institutes of Health, “Lithium is considered the gold standard treatment for bipolar disorder.” It’s supposed to decrease manic and depressive episodes and suicidal thoughts, which is probably why it’s called a mood stabilizer. Even though it worked for me most of the time, I had many bouts of depression while taking lithium for five years.
Despite being the “gold standard,” lithium isn’t without its side effects. I’m not going to list all of them because there are plenty, but these are the ones I experienced:
hand tremors—so much so that I couldn’t put on eye makeup and had to take another medication to combat it.
dizziness/balance problems—dizzy whenever I stood and when I first started taking it, I tripped frequently because my body was uncoordinated and out of my control for about a minute. I don’t know what I looked like to others, but it felt like I was drunk—that kind of lack of coordination.
blurred vision, though it’s possible I reached that age where reading glasses are necessary.
dry mouth, which increases the risk of tooth decay—I have to use a prescription toothpaste that contains more fluoride and is specifically for dry mouth.
it’s possible that lithium contributed to my poor memory.
hypothyroidism, for which I had to take yet another medication.
taking lithium has a high risk for cataracts for which I required surgery at age 53, and that my primary care physician suggested might have been because of my lithium use.
kidney damage (possibly permanent) after long-term use, which, fortunately, my primary care physician caught early with routine bloodwork.
I don’t know why lithium is considered a first-line treatment when it has so many side effects. Was it worth it? Not for me. As I said, I continued to fall into deep depressive episodes numerous times while on lithium. My abnormal kidney values were the last straw, and my psychiatrist took me off it and replaced it with something else that’s worked much better with little to no side effects.
Now that I haven’t taken lithium for nine months—surprise—my thyroid levels are normal and I no longer have to take medication for it, at least for now. I’ll know for sure when I have more bloodwork done in three months. My mouth isn’t dry all the time. Also, I no longer need the drug that curbed the tremors. And yes, I can now put on eye makeup!