text: lithium........? o i have ur opinions on effexor...what about lithium? does it help mania and racing thought.i have been on it 2 weeks and it has helped a little..can it take weeks to theraputically work? it is one of the old medications and as such has pretty severe and permanent side affects.  i would suggest you go online and search new medications for bi-polar disorders.  the new medications don't have the harsh affects that lithium does.  something else you want to educate yourself on is the fact that a lot of psychotropic medications actually can cause the disorders they are intended to treat.  depression, mania, fatigue, anorexia, muscle tremors, insomnia.  it becomes a vicious circle.  when the symptoms return instead of looking to see if it is the medication causing it the dr.   simply increases the amount of the medication or adds other meds to counteract the unpleasant side affects.  be an informed consumer.  check out all side affects onilne.  the ones they print up at the pharmacy are only the ones that were experienced my 2 percent or more of the test group.