I am saying no to lithium for now. I'm young and have family members in the medical professional who have seen the damage on a few organs that can result from decade-long use of the drug. I understand it can be very effective and there is a reason that it is the gold-standard. But since I'm still young, I want to avoid it as long as I can. I also would like to try to stick with a med that doesn't require regular monitoring with blood-draws. Lastly, I would like to avoid lithium because I fear out of all the meds my p-doc could offer, because I have such a tendency to be suicidal, it holds the highest potential for me to try to overdose on. (There may be incongruity between wanting to preserve my health and my constant desire to harm myself. Yes, I am a mess.)