I feel for you I have been on so many drugs myself and I always have side effects with all of them, I am currently taking Depakote 3,000 mlg, 3 to 5 mlg klonopin, And I am still not right, I want to switch doctors because mine won't listen to me, She is always trying to put me on latuda which I refuse, All she cares about is money and her kick backs from the pharmaceutical companies and her little samples she wants to hand out, I need to find a doctor that actually listens to me and cares about me, I have thought about lithium myself but have been scared like you, But I am scared of all new meds now since I have tried them all, I would give it a try and drink lots of water and excersise, Please let us know how it works out for you, You don't have any thing to lose and the drug has been around forever, Good luck