Firstly, meds are no quick fix, the people I've seen doing the best via medication route also changed their lifestyles, i.e eating, sleeping right, meditation, exercise, therapy. So, either way (psychotropic / holistic, lifestyle changes help).

Secondly, do what you are comfortable with. Not what makes your family comfortable.

Thirdly, yes Lithium is a natural compound, but its not a salt, its a metal that gets turned into salt by way of chemical reaction (my biotech friend explained it, but you can wiki it) and thus cannot be absorbed by your kidneys, so bloodwork IS a must. Any good dr will tell you this. Don't wait for toxicity to get bloodwork, your kidneys may have shut down by then. A member here nearly lost her husband due to kidney failure and he was having regulary bloods done.

There is a different version though, Lithium Oritate, I hear its safer.

Fourth: My experience...

It wasn't pretty, but others have had better luck, so bare that in mind while you read my horror story

At first it was beau.ti.ful. No more daily suicidal ideation, my thoughts slowed down, I actually processed one thought at a time instead of my usual 3. I loved it, I sang its praises and recommended it to all and sundry.

The first side effects was a metallic taste in my mouth, being dehydrated and perpetually hungry. I.did.not.get.full.ever. (lucky my body is allergic to fat so no weight gain, just ate everything in sight).

Those I could deal with, they were annoying, the hunger made me angry ( but I'm an angry b1tch as is) so the side effects were initially managable.

Then the hand tremors started, I wasn't too thrilled at all, and instead of get better (like the other side effects) this just got worse. I looked like I had parkinsons, lost all fine motor skills, couldn't even write and smoking was a chore. I gave up make up and tweezing my eyebrows. My brother had to apply my nailpolish. It got so bad I was banned from carrying beverages and using knives. Yes. I spilled shyt everywhere and cut myself.

That sounds horrid hey? But did I mention I became borderline retarded? Yep, so that about metals growing my brain matter? It ate mine, fast . My former longterm elephant like memory vanished, I needed a list if I had to purchase more than 2 items. Then my working memory diminished, I forgot my thoughts mid sentence, forgot what someone had just said or what I just did. I was a fricken gold fish. My vocabulary decreased as I lost words. I either suddenly didn't know the definition or that the word existed at all. I was communicating at a 12 y.o level resorting to lame a.s.s synonyms, highly embarrassing and self -esteem crushing as my vocabulary has been complemented since childhood. Oh oh oh, and my word recognition broke. You know? When you see your spelling error because the word obviously looks wrong... I needed a spell check for the first time at age 27, and I'm still working on the word recognition.

Oh, and the cherry on the retard cake? I have some permanent memory loss. Pictures of an epic vacation I "never knew" we took as a family does not ring any bells. I've run into people who are now complete strangers. I know that may seem common, but in the past, it only took 5min into a convo for me to place someone from my past. I have come across 2 people who know my family and the ins and outs of my life and I still have no idea who they are. The one dude spoke to me all night a few weeks ago and I.don't.know.him. From talking to him and a mutual friend I realise we used to hang out regularly on weekends in the past, he was part of our party clique, but I don't remember him from before now.
So no. I didn't have a good time, at all

Sometimes the amnesia still has me in tears, especially when family reminisc ( dunno if that's spelled correct) about fantastic events that are now lost to me.

Anyway, I asked my pdoc to change my meds, he gave me tremor meds for the parkinsonian symptoms, but he didn't care that I was borderline retarded.

So I flushed the shyt down the toilet. Figured I've been living with this beast ignorantly and managed to survive it, I have a much better chance now that I can identify it and its weaknesses.

That was 2 yrs ago, and amnesia is still present, so I doubt I will regain those memories and am afraid to find out about any others I've lost.

Sorry for the novel, I'm chatty at 2am with nobody to talk to, and got carried away.

Remember this though. Idk of anyone else that got fkd over the way I did by lithium. So I'm a major minority, because even the people I know of who were distasified didn't have it as bad as I. In other words, the odds are in your favour

I will say this though, if you have any medical predispositions to kidney or thyroid issues, steer clear, as there are many other mood stabilizers for you to choose from, and permanent damage isn't worth it.