I took it a few years ago after having dealt with so many side effects from 'newer' medications. My thought process with that lithium has been around so long that every possible side effect has probably been researched, there wouldn't be any surprises. I forget how much I was on as it was several years ago and I have has so many medication changes. I thought it worked pretty well for me mood wise but I had any annoying side effect that made me stop taking it without talking to my doctor and we all know how that goes. I had really bad tremors on it, not just seeing my hands shake but dropping stuff all the time too. Since I was waiting tables at the time it looked really bad and my boss ended up firing me because he assumed I had a drug problem because I was shaking so much. When I would serve coffee or tea the saucer or cup would rattle while I was putting it down and it was a very high-end restaurant so officially I was fired for not using proper service techniques.

If what you are taking isn't working I would say give it a try. While my logic may be stupid I still think that fact that is a so well researched is a bonus. The reason there are so many side effects listed for it is that it has been around so long so even the really uncommon ones have had time a present themselves, at least that is my theory. While I didn't have this issue I was told the most common bad side effect is it can kill your personality (like any mood stabilizer) and you get a little zombie like.