Posted 6/21/2012 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
Xanax - never taken
Lithium - you can expect to see about 3-5 lbs weight increase in first week as it makes you hold water. Long term weight gain can be managed through diet and exercise - I never put any additional weight above the 5 lbs in 20 years of use of 900 mg per day. When levels go around .9 you may get a slight tremor which does not go away, unless it drops to .6 to .7 in my experience. Other than that lithium is a good drug, however longer term use puts stress on the kidneys, liver, thyroid which have to be measured every three months. Plus being on lithium the risks rise for diabetics, higher LDL, cardiovascular decease.
Lithium helps with mood, or narrowing of emotions you will feel lowering the highs, and preventing the lows - basically putting your emotions into a narrower band, somewhat like a letterbox.
Hope this helps, good luck. Maybe best to start using a mood tracker, thre are many available free on the web, just key in "mood tracker" on google and try one.