Hi, I'm new here. I've been on several meds through out the years--some have worked better than others, but eventually they do lose their efficacy. Long story short, I ended up in the hospital twice within these last 5 months for a severe suicidal depressed episode. Docs tried several meds to no avail. since my old ones stopped working. Finally, the doc at the last hospital i went to, (which was waaaay better than the previous one), told me she didn't believe that bipolars should be on anti-depressants because it keeps them "looping" in addition to other issues. She took me off all the meds they put me on and convinced me to go on Lithium-- which i was very reluctant about due to the side effects i knew a bit about. She insisted it was fast acting and she wasn't kidding. Within days, once i was put on lithium, the constant crying spells, anxiety, suicidal ideation and depression began to lift. I was shocked at how quickly it worked considering i've been used to waiting weeks for some anti-depressant to kick in.

I was obviously relieved, but now that i've been home for the past few weeks, I'm finding that i'm constantly fatigued. I feel as in a state of limbo/dazed...too tired to do anything, but not tired enough to sleep it away. I eventually end up taking naps and feeling cranky/whiny from being in this fatigued state. I even drink strong espresso to "snap out of it" or energy drinks which does for a short time, but here i am back on my couch too physically tired to get anything done.

Yesterday i just broke down crying because here i thought i finally found something that stabilized me, but what good is it if i'm always too tired to "live" my life and do the things i need to do. Sure i'm glad i don't want to kill myself anymore, but I just hate these trade offs. I had all these plans after leaving the hospital---exercising, finding a network of people (like a bipolar support group), re-joining the human race and building a social life so i wouldn't be so isolated....but now, it just seems like such an effort to running simple errands outside the home---let alone all the daily tasks and in home projects/art work i started working on. I've only worked on this stuff in spurts, then get tired and have to stop. PMS week and the duration of my menstrual cycle only makes it worse. But that's a whole other story that i'm still trying to figure out.

My current Lithium dose is 900mgs plus my new doc just put me on lamictal 25mgs. My question is to those out there who do take Lithium. Do you feel this side effect as well? If so, does this fatigue side effect go away with time or is it a standard side effect that continues? Would a lower dose improve this side effect? Can you offer any advice about what i could do to counteract this constant fatigue? Another additional medication perhaps? Some kind of supplement? One thing that has changed re: my meds is that the doc at the hospital put me on somewhat high doses of topamax since it's an appetite suppressant due to my concern about weight gain. (In my past i gained an enormous amount of weight of depakote and worked hard to lose the weight) My current doc wanted me to come off topomax due to the cognitive side effects, which i agreed with due to some research i did of this medication as well as hearing about personal accounts. I wonder if the topomax at high doses also boosts your energy which is why i didn't feel the fatigue i feel now. He switched me off topamax and replaced it with lamictal about a week ago. I don't remember feeling so tired like i do know since he took me off topomax. Not sure. I've been on lamictal before so it's not new to me, nor did i feel any fatigue effects from it in the past. I've also been experiencing the tremors pretty severely (both hands and legs even) from the Lithium, but that seemed so get a lot better. Good thing i'm not a brain surgeon huh?

I'm just so bummed out since i've always had such a high tolerance for meds that make you tired. I'm also worried about weight gain, acne (since i'm already prone), thyroid issues (which are coming up in my blood work) etc. Right now the one side effect that is presenting itself and interfering with my quality of life is the fatigue, which, in turn, is "psyching me out" or causing me to feel unmotivated which is one of the depressive symptoms i hate most. I fear that this constant lethargic fatigue will trigger me into a depressed episode. Any advice, info. or shared experience would be greatly appreciated.