Lithium vs Valproic
 | Lithium |  | Valproic |  |
| This medication is used to treat manic-depressive disorder (bipolar disorder). It works to stabilize the mood and reduce extremes in behavior by restoring the balance of certain natural substances (neurotransmitters) in the brain. | This medication is used to treat seizure disorders, mental/mood conditions (such as manic phase of bipolar disorder), and to prevent migraine headaches. It works by restoring the balance of certain natural substances (neurotransmitters) in the brain. | |||
Alternatives
Reviews
| Add Lithium review I have seen or felt no change with my Bipolar, but have had the severe side-effects. NOT worth it to me. Lithium works very fast. Within a day I felt much better. It pulled me out of a depression that wanted to leave me crying for no good reason. It is a very wonderful mood stabilizer. So if you need something to work today and not 6 weeks from now I recommend lithium highly but beware of side effects. At the time this was the best thing for me but after awhile the side effects became worse. I gained 25 lb. in just a couple months. After two months I lost so much hair that my hair got so thin it felt like I had got a haircut. The worst thing of all was the restlessness which will keep you uneasy and twitchy the whole time. I'm sure this is dose dependent. I took 1200 mg daily. If you can deal with the fact that lithium might make you fat and bald then this may be the perfect bipolar medicine. | Add Valproic review After years of fighting Depression the new Dr. tried this med and it started to work for the better. I didn't know I was bi-polar but my new wife did and she wasn't afraid to speak up as she too deals with depression. Have been taking from 750 to 1000mg for about 5 years. Weight gain seems to be the most noticable side effect, 10-12 lbs., then infrequent fluctuations of approx. 5 lbs or so. I also take sertraline; buproprion, propranolol, trazodone. Mild side effects overall. | |||
