After five hours sleep I woke up at 4 am this morning feeling nauseas with a splitting headache. Also I was sweating and shivering mildly. As the morning progressed it became clear these are symptoms of tapering off of Lithium. Even though I haven't changed my dose for a week I decided to increase it a little and see if that helped. It did a little.

Thankfully I had a 2 pm appointment with my pdoc already booked for today. He suggested I stay on the higher dose until the symptoms pass then continue tapering. He trusts I am smart enough to work out the pace of taper that will avoid any more symptoms so didn't dictate to me a rigid plan. He is good that way. He encourages self-autonomy and taking control of my health, including if/what meds to take. The only time he is more authoritative is when I am severely mixed and psychotic so less able to make good decisions for myself. Today he asked a lot of brief questions to make sure I was stable, safe, and enjoying my life despite the hiccups coming off of Lithium. I've been told by him and my T that it is risky business as it can trigger episodes, or not protect you from them. I guess he is trying to be safe by making sure I am closely monitored. While I am grateful for this support I feel confident I will come out the other end in good shape.

Time for 'Roseanne' now. I have rediscovered the old episodes from the 90's. Right when I was in my teens. My family used to watch it together every week, and laugh a lot, so it brings back good memories.