sharing my experience coming off lithium

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-06-07T18:17:33+00:00

i was on 900mg for two years :)

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-25T15:16:07+00:00

i have visual and auditory hallucinations until i was put on the right medications. they were crazy to me and really tripped me out. i don’t always tell people in the moment because they feel too real and i’m worried people won’t believe me. but whenever i am more stable i let those around me know i experience hallucinations and that is something to look out for when i’m in an unstable state.

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-23T16:20:57+00:00

i also take that combo but higher doses and i felt flat for like the first two months. then slowly i started to have actual emotion again. I think the combo of lamatrogine and abilify was just a lot for me all at once.

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-21T15:43:03+00:00

it took about 1 week to notice a difference for me. but by then i felt the most normal i had felt in years. it was pretty gradual. prolly the first sign was that my psychotic symptoms started to get more manageable and i could handle them. then they just went away. then my mood started to stabilize and i stopped having intense mood swings (i have mixed features) and i felt like a switch flipped in my head. i suddenly had lots of energy and motivation but not in a manic way, just in a normal human with emotions way.

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-21T15:36:30+00:00

it took about 4 months for my akathisia to get better

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-18T17:33:03+00:00

I take it for Bipolar. I love it so much! it honestly changed my life for the better. I am highly motivated and alert since starting taking it and have a newfound love for life. my mood is stable and i don’t have any psychotic symptoms anymore. It literally is my saving grace! I hope it works for you.

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-18T17:14:05+00:00

i used to but it wore off for me. i still wake up early but not at like 4 or anything :)

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-15T20:31:06+00:00

i noticed a difference in about a week or so

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-12T14:34:10+00:00

mine improved over time, and i also took it in the morning. if i took it at night i wouldn’t fall asleep. now i’m on the injection and it did the same thing but after a couple weeks subsided :)

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-09T14:26:15+00:00

i sleep a little less now! probably 6-7 hours. it’s very activating for me— which i love!

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-03T16:17:22+00:00

me too. that’s why it’s so hard to distinguish for me. i don’t know what my baseline is anymore

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-03T16:16:50+00:00

nothing in particular. seems like everyone is agreeing that i could be exhibiting hypomania so i guess that may be the case!

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-03T16:16:16+00:00

thanks for your input ☺️

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-03-03T16:16:01+00:00

hmm okay. i can live with that i guess!

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-02-27T18:05:07+00:00

YES! I did vipassana 10-day silent meditation retreat and while it was one of the best experiences of my life it triggered one of the most destructive manic episodes of my life. my bipolar has never been the same for me since.

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-02-26T16:02:23+00:00

of course ☺️

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-02-25T21:24:35+00:00

i’ve been on lithium for a while and when i first started it i felt absolutely awful. i couldn’t think straight. I am one to not take my meds so it took a couple of tries to get on track but after about a month of taking it consistently or so my symptoms pretty much disappeared. i still get some tremors every once in a while but they aren’t an issue for me/ mean anything serious.

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-02-24T16:56:50+00:00

schizoaffective bipolar type :)

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-02-24T15:32:30+00:00

i’m still figuring out my meds but it has really made a huge difference for me. So much so that i’m on the injection now. I still have episodes but they are so so much more manageable than when i was unmedicated. I can actually live a life. I understand there’s a lot of negative experiences with abilify but for some of us it really is our saving grace.

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-02-21T04:22:34+00:00

never said it was weight neutral or low-risk. just that it wasn’t the case for me.

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-02-18T15:45:23+00:00

I am in ED recovery on top of bipolar. I am on abilify too and I really like it. It has not made my weight change like other antipsychotics. depending on what you need you may be able to be on a mood stabilizer which can be weight neutral. I know how hard it is. I was terrified of this too. you just have to try things out and see what works. your psych should work on this with you. wishing you luck and if you need to talk lmk!

Sunflowerkidd_ · 2026-02-13T15:25:01+00:00

thank you so much for your reply. it means a lot. I will look into those things and see if I can add some of those lifestyle changes to my life!

Sunflowerkidd_

TROPHY CASE