Hello! I'm new around here. Dx Bipolar II since 2009, with an added fun of antisocial personality disorder (that one I found out on my own after reading my mental health records). I'm ex-military, honorably discharged on a medical, in no small part to my Dx. I get all of my health care through my local VA.

I have tried over 30 Rx's in the 5 years I've been treated, and as a last resort my pdoc has me on Lithium. Right now I'm at 600mg a day, but she has made noise that she wants to titrate me up to as much as 1200mg depending on how I react to it.

I've been terrified of Lithium since I was a teenager and originally got a Dx of bi-polar disorder. The pdoc my mom sent me to gave me so much Lithium (and then Depakote and then Carbamazepine) that I turned into a living zombie. I had to get blood drawn every 2 weeks to check liver and kidney function since the levels were so high I could be overdosing. I can't remember anything from those 6 months other than sleeping a whole bunch. My mom, frightened at what she had done to me, abruptly took me off the meds and never spoke of my "misdiagnosis" again.

So now the Lithium is like a last resort, and I need some help. I've been on it for about two weeks with very little real "side effects" other than maybe some increased sweating. What's bothering me is the fine tremors I'm experiencing. Using a fork and knife properly or holding a coffee cup is almost impossible because of the shaking hands. I've noticed a feeling of jittery-ness in my entire body, and I shake all over when exercising when I never did before (holding a plank position or a squat position is embarrassing due to the shaking) I know it sounds selfish and stupid, but I am very nervous about gaining weight on this medication, and I've been trying to up my exercise routine and change my eating habits to get ahead of any weight gain. Anyone on Lithium have good stories to tell? Ways around side effects? How often should I be getting blood drawn?

TL;DR Lithium side effects like tremors and weight gain are freaking me out. Could use some help.