Damn - ya'll are scaring me! My problem before lithium was that the drugs the pdoc was giving me were tearing me up with severe side-effects. As I mentioned earlier, Depakote almost killed me (that's a bit of a disagreeable side-effect), and zyprexa nearly caused irreversible diabetes. In fact, when my PCP inadvertently discovered a high blood sugar concentration in my blood, we all thought it was too late - that the diabetes was permanent, but against the odds it reversed itself. Then there was another something that was causing me mild tremors, and invega nearly paralyzed me - but I barely escaped that crisis. LET ME ADVISE EVERYONE TO GO ONLINE AND STUDY THEIR MEDICATIONS FOR THEMSELVES - psychiatrists can be hazardous to your health and may cause death when used often without the necessary precautions.