i was on the lowest dose of lithium, 450 mg. once a day, for more than 30 yrs. i'm female, in my 70's now and lithium was the drug of choice way back then....over those yrs. with regular blood work, it ruined my thyroid; i had to have most of my parathyroids removed and was on high levels of calcium daily, and the final straw a few yrs. ago was the effect on my kidneys from long-term lithium use. i quit it immediately. please do your research on this drug...you may do very well on it...but i was on it daily for 30 yrs. so maybe short-term, it won't do as much damage.