Any of You Taking Lithium?

Hi,

Almost one month ago I started taking lithium. I have been on a whole slew of antidepressants since 2001. As a bipolar II patient I am mostly depressed and very rarely hypomanic. I am now in a depressed phase that started the beginning of February.

To be fair to lithium, I was already doing a lot of sleeping - I'd spend days at a time in bed due to depression. Now that I am on lithium I am still spending 15 or 16 hours a day in bed. I feel perhaps it is still depression symptoms but I am not sure because it feels differently than before the lithium. For instance, I am no longer constantly thinking about suicide. (I made two attempts late last year.) I am also no longer constantly thinking about the sad parts of my life. My lithium serum level is still only .5 even though I am on 1200mg of lithium. I feel it's possible the lithium has helped alleviate the suicidal ideations yet since it's still not at a therapeutic level it is not doing all it can for my depression. What do you all think? Did anyone feel the lithium working only slightly when at a smaller dose and then feel it really kick in when at the therapeutic level?

I am trying to figure out if it is my depression that makes me so sleepy or if it is the lithium. My pdoc prescribed some Ritalin to help wake me up a bit. It does help a little bit but I'm still on a small dose. I'd like to just have a normal day on lithium without resorting to a stimulant. I fear I will really come to love that Ritalin wakes me up everyday only to have to one day face growing tolerant of it and thus having it not work anymore.

I'm hoping the lithium will do even more for me when we get to a higher dose, because I love that it's slowed down my suicide obsession. I don't want to go back to that scary place. I'm still depressed but it is a different kind of depression than pre-lithium.

Thanks to all for your thoughts, experiences, ideas, etc.!

P.S. I am also thinking the lithium has made me very apathetic. I haven't communicated online with friends for a long time. I used to love Facebook but now I don't care to go back to it even though I have lots of messages and notifications waiting for me. I also have other friends I've kept in touch with via email but I just can't seem to get motivated to email them.