I LOVE MY LITHIUM !!!!!!!! I was diagnosed in May of 2001 and my pdoc started me on a series of various designer drugs. In 2002, I was admitted to emergency at a local hospital because I had an allergic reaction to Depakote. It almost killed me - so I fired my drug-pushing quack - and travelled along that lonely road to recovery with a variety of new pdoc's and therapists. FINALLY - my newest pdoc says, "Gee, no one has tried lithium yet. Let's see if it might work for you." BLILLIANT IDEA - IT WORKS WITH 100% EFFECTIVENESS !!!! I've been on it now for a year and a half without the slightest indication of a bipolar symptom. If it works for you then you're one of the lucky ones - but don't worry about any killer side effects, because there doesn't seem to be any.