I have to say that when difficult child was on Lithium, she was the most stable she has ever been. She finally started to blend in with other kids. She was still active and had age appropriate issues like whining when asked to do her chores, not wanting to do homework, etc. But she was happy and enjoying life. Between the Lithium and social skills group she finally was making real friends!
She had blood work done every 3-6 mos. The psychiatrist gave us a script for Lidocan (sp) gel, to numb up her arm before the blood test. It made it go so much easier. As with all medication's there are side effects. The key is to know which ones are dangerous and which are not. And every medication interacts with a child differently. At worst end of the lithium, difficult child had tremors, foggy/slower thinking and headaches. None of them dangerous but became too much for difficult child. Off of it, she thinks faster (which may be partly mania and anxiety), no tremors or headaches, but she is unstable and rages again and is aggressive. She is losing her friends and is miserable. She even asks to go back on Lithium.
What happended to your Uncle was a horrible thing. I can understand your concern. But you can be an informed consumer if you choose lithium to avoid that type of tragedy.
